My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Once in a while amongst all the books that is out there, a rare gem emerges which deserves all the praises and accolades and awards and what not! I was so hesitant to read this coz of its immense popularity, most times such books doesn’t work for me coz of my over-expectation I think rather than any fault of the book, but that’s how it’s always been. The Silent Patient does meet all the expectation that a fan of thriller would expect and much more!

It was an utterly absorbing book that even when reading it with a pounding head, I didn’t want to take a break. The twisty surprise may not come as a big reveal for many coz the one thought that circles the mind as soon you begin reading is why would a psychotherapist become a detective for the sake of a patient? But even then the surprise is huge once we get involved in the story as there’s no time to stop and think as to the ‘WHY’? It’s better to read it like that without over-thinking it coz the author has superbly managed to write a very impressive and immersive thriller. Outstanding debut!

Blurb

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him..

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