The Silent Patient has been on my shelf for a while and I got around to reading it this week, I started it and finished in one night- I think that says enough in itself. Im unsure if I would call this book a thriller of sorts; it seemed more like a psychological unravelling if you ask me, which was absolutely gripping and completely different. I felt intrigued from the first page, I loved the style of writing, I felt terrified reading in the dark alone 3/4 of the way through, and lets not even mention the incredible plot twist finish!Thoughts:
I feel like I have so much to say about this book yet I cant decide where to start. Character wise, I hate to say that there were absolutely NO likeable characters in this story, however that aspect totally works with book like this, and surprisingly it didn't put me off.
The story opens by pulling you in straight away 'Alicia Berenson was 33 years old when she killed her husband' - pretty to the point right? After Alicia was convicted, she hasn't spoken a word since. And the plot follows Theo; a psychologist who is fascinated with her case and plans to get her speaking again to find the truth.
The book jumps between diary extracts from Alicia, the meetings with Theo and Theo's life outside the asylum looking for truth with Alicias friends and family, and his own personal life.
In a nutshell: The book is cleverly written and keeps the reader engaged as it flits though different parts of the story. Though it seemed to take a while to get to the meat of the story and I did find the bits going on in the background a little boring compared to the story of Alicia. There was a running theme of a greek mythology tale throughout the book which I absolutely loved up until the ending, in which I found it didn't really tie together perfectly and got knocked on the head a little.
The super twist at the end was amazing (I totally didn't see it coming, though I can see why a few people did) and the way it all comes together is superb.
Fear level: Medium- when reading in the dark at midnight I was slightly freaked out!
Stars: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Favourite quote: “Once you name something, it stops you seeing the whole of it, or why it matters. You focus on the word, which is just the tiniest part, really, the tip of an iceberg.”On the cover:
Illustration: Unknown
Published by: 2019 Orion
Blurb:
Alicia Berenson lived a seemingly perfect life until one day six years ago.
When she shot her husband in the head five times.
Since then she hasn't spoken a single word.
Its time to find out why.
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