The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is a psychological thriller that kept me interested because I was constantly trying to figure out what was really going on. The book is about Alicia Berenson, a painter who is accused of killing her husband, Gabriel Berenson. After his death, Alicia stops talking completely. Theo Faber, a psychotherapist, becomes interested in Alicia's case and wants to figure out why she refuses to speak and what actually happened the night Gabriel was killed.
One thing I really liked about the book was the suspense. Throughout the story, I kept coming up with different ideas about what happened. The author gives little pieces of information without giving anything away, which made it impossible to put the book down. I also liked how the characters weren't easy to figure out. At first, Theo seemed like he was trustworthy, but as I got further into the story, I started questioning him and wondering if there was more to him than I had originally realized. The ending was overall my favorite part because I did not see the plot twist coming. After finding out who really killed Gabriel, I started thinking differently about some of the earlier parts of the book.
The only think I didn't like as much was that some parts felt a little slower. There were many instances where I wanted the story to get back to Alicia and the mystery instead of diving so deep into Theo's personal life. Even though those details became important later, they made the book feel slower.
I would recommend The Silent Patient to anyone who likes mystery of thriller books. The suspense and unexpected ending make it a five star read. Even though a few parts were slower, I think the ending made up for it. My favorite part was how the book made me question almost everything I knew about the characters. I was left guessing until the very end.
