Title: The Silent Patient
Author: Alex Michaelides
Year of Publication: 2019
Series: NA
Series #: NA
Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.14
Goodreads Rating (Mine): 3.5
Synopsis: Alicia Berenson shot her husband in the face multiple times, and then never spoke again. Psychotherapist Theo Faber decides to join the mental health facility where she is being held for her crime to try and discover the truth of what happened that night, and to understand Alicia’s response (or lack thereof) to the tragedy.
The Silent Patient is a high paced thriller with a twist I definitely did not see coming. It blends its narration well enough to telegraph the ending without spoiling it. The two main protagonists (Alicia and Theo) are developed in-depth and get the reader invested in their fate – a fate that, as the book progresses, seems to be increasingly and inescapably entwined. And the end of the book, I was excited to go back and re-read with my perspective of the ending in mind – always a good sign for a book.
I particularly enjoyed Alicia using art as a medium of communication. As subjective as art is, and without the artist’s contextual commentary, the messages conveyed to the reader and to various characters through Alicia’s art can, at times, be wildly varied. As a narrative device, this only serves to further camouflage the truth behind Alicia’s silence and the secret of what happened that night, heightening the mystery.
As well written as it is, The Silent Patient’s treatment of mental health and mental illness – a central theme – is severely lacking and at times completely misinformed. This wouldn’t make much of a difference if you’re the kind of reader who isn’t actively analysing every piece of information in order to solve the mystery, but even so, some parts – like the complete lack of understanding about Borderline Personality Disorder displayed by every medical professional in the book (aka 90% of the characters) is quite troubling. Additionally, the lack of understanding of mental health also makes the murderer’s motive less credible, ultimately weakening the central mystery.
Additionally, while Alicia and Theo are well developed as characters, nobody else is. This doesn’t really hurt the story – they’re just there to be red herrings and provide a well fleshed out list of suspects. However, relying on tropes and stereotypes for all these characters is a bit disconcerting at times.
I would definitely recommend The Silent Patient as an excellent read, but I hope the author bothers to put in more research and remove stigmatising content about his central theme next time.
Feminist Quill 
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