I kept seeing this book everywhere I turned! The Silent Patient has a stunning cover that you won’t easily forget, however, as the saying goes… something about a cover and some judgement, or whatever.

I listened to this one on audio book and finished it within a day or two. I will also note that I went into it without having any expectations, and knew very little about the story. I prefer this, especially when a book has a lot of hype!

So, I bet you’re wondering, did it live up?

Well before I give you my thoughts, let’s start with the synop, shall we?

Synopsis

Alicia Berenson had a perfect life. She was a successful artist, her husband was a talented photographer, and they had a healthy relationship filled with love and admiration.

So how is it that Alicia’s husband ended up murdered, and all of the evidence points to Alicia as the culprit?

Perhaps we’ll never know; Alicia has not spoken since the incident, which has propelled her into instant infamy.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who is captivated by Alicia’s story. He has long since waited for the chance to work with her, and now that he’s been assigned as her doctor, will he be able to convince Alicia to break her silence?

My Review

Let me start by saying that this was such an easy and fun read. I got through this book very quickly, which is rare for me when I am listening to an audio book! Usually I’ll pause them for a day or two and listen to some murder podcasts to cleanse the pallet, but that was not the case with The Silent Patient.

Perhaps a couple of reasons it kept me so hooked:

1.) The story is told in such a unique and alluring way, and…

2.) Our two main characters are crazy fascinating.

We’re instantly intrigued by the mysterious Alicia Berenson. The story opens with her husband’s murder, which everyone suspects was her doing. She has since taken an extremely impressive and frustrating vow of silence. Because of this, we are periodically informed of Alicia’s story by her old diary entries, friend’s first hand accounts, and the present day therapy sessions she has with Theo. And trust me, Alicia has a very unusual story to tell.

Simultaneously, we’re also getting to know our other main character, Theo, via his first hand daily accounts. Theo starts by telling us how he sought out his new job at a failing hospital because, as a fan of her artwork, Theo specifically wants to be Alicia Berenson’s therapist. He believes he can help break her vow of silence and assist in working through her trauma. But Theo also has a lot of trauma going on in his own life, since he discovered his wife began cheating on him.

Ugh… While writing this, it has really has become clear to me just how original and fun this story is… So why didn’t I like it?

On paper (haha,) this story has everything I would want! It’s well written, it’s captivating, there is enough mystery and suspense to go around… I mean… I am actually starting to feel guilty for not liking it more than I did… but when all was said and done, I just wasn’t impressed by The Silent Patient.

I cannot confirm if it is the story’s fault or my own, but I figured out the ending within the first few chapters of the book! *sigh.* That has never happened to me! And I should also note, since we’re friends umma be honest with you, I’m not all that smart… 😂 So my first instinct really is to blame the book for this.

(This IS NOT to say that if you didn’t figure out the ending you are not smart! I am just especially not smart, and figuring out the twist could’ve been a complete fluke or some random act of genius to make up for all of my other not so genius moments.)

Obviously, while continuing to read on, I was hoping that my suspicions would turn out to be incorrect. Otherwise, the book would be a big waste of time… *Cringe*

No, I didn’t guess every single detail or thing that happened in the story, so sure, it wasn’t a complete waste of time. But it is extremely unsatisfying to listen to an entire book only to have known the ending the entire time!

I was sincerely praying that there would be a twist or something, and I would ultimately be proven wrong. (Girl, it’s not often in my life that I say those words. Haha!) But seriously! 😦

With all of that being said, it wasn’t all that bad.

Maybe this story speaks to you, and maybe you’ll be able to enjoy this more than I did. I truly hope so, because the book is worth every 5 star review that it has received and it is a unique and fun work of fiction. It’s possible that while reading this story, your mind will take you in a different direction than mine did, and you will be shocked and impressed by this novel’s finale.

I almost feel bad saying…

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

What did you think of Silent Patient? Was the ending as obvious to you or have I turned into some sort of genius overnight?

I’m dying to hear from you.

xoxo

Ande Strega