Two revelations in the interest of full disclosure: I won an advance copy of this book through BookishFirst; and, about a third of the way through, I had what turned out to be a spot-on brain niggle about how it would end (the who, not the why). That acknowledged, I'll simply say Wow! If this doesn't hit the big leagues among 2019 releases, I'll be shocked and thoroughly disappointed.
The patient, Alicia Berenson, is an intriguing character; living, if you want to call it that, in a mental health facility for the past six years or so, she was found guilty of murdering her photographer-husband Gabriel in cold blood and subsequently deemed "mad." From the time she was found standing near his just-killed body, she has never uttered a single word. Enter forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber, who has learned about the case and is so intent on "healing" her that he leaves his job at a successful clinic to join the financially shaky Grove, where Alicia is an over-medicated resident. Through chapter shifts, readers get information on Alicia's childhood, her work as a painter, her marriage and their family and friends. Interspersed are excerpts from a diary she's been writing in secret. Among the revelations? A strange man may have been stalking her.
But the bottom line is that for the real story to be known - or at least Alicia's version of it - she must find and use her voice. That's been Theo's goal from the beginning, but he has to fight not only the facility's higher-ups - most of whom have been treating and working with Alicia for years and have concluded that she's incurable - but also a very determined-to-remain-silent patient.
All that happens from that point on makes for great reading - and a book I highly recommend to anyone who loves psychological thrillers. Thanks again to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review it.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (Celadon Books, February 2019); 336 pp.
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