Rather, it is a story that dissects the protagonists’ psyche, drawing the reader deep into the mystery surrounding Alicia, The Silent Patient, and the many secrets that mark the personal life of Theo. Yes, it is not a story that traces the journey of its protagonists from Point A to Point B, frame by frame. Thus begins the suspenseful saga where the reader is held, almost hypnotically, in the grip of the story as it traverses the minds of both - the woman convicted of murdering her husband, and the therapist who’s determined to treat her. But Theo braves them all, because “only she knows what happened” and “only I can make her speak”. There’s opposition from various quarters. In comes forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber, who is determined to break through her silence, and treat her against all odds. She’s whisked away from media glare and lodged in The Grove, a high-security criminal psychiatric facility in North London. “Her enduring silence turned this story from a commonplace domestic tragedy into something far grander: a mystery, an enigma that gripped the headlines and captured the public imagination for months to come.” No justification, no explanation, no argument. So silent that she doesn’t utter a word thereon.
Yet, one evening, when her husband Gabriel returns home from work, she shoots him to death, five times in the face, and goes silent. This is the story of Alicia Berenson who has everything in life - an envious career as an artist, a perfect husband who is a celebrated fashion photographer, and a beautiful house overlooking a park in an expensive area of London. Outstanding, to say the least, this high-octane offering had my jaw hitting the ground.
It’s hard to believe that this is Alex Michaelides’s debut crime novel. These are the words that came to my mind, in the very same order, after reading The Silent Patient.
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