The Silent Patient Book Review: An Addictive Thriller That Keeps You Guessing

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is a psychological thriller built around a murder mystery and mental trauma. I had this book on my reading list for years, but somehow kept putting it off for some reason. Honestly, my experience with popular books usually hasn’t been that pleasant. Every time I see a book making rounds, I’m suspicious of the hype.

An author gifted me this book around a month ago, and since then, it had just been lying beside me. As a reminder that I must read it now. Then, a bookstagrammer I follow suggested reading it, and I finally picked it to read.

And now... I understand all the buzz around The Silent Patient. It’s an addictive thriller that keeps you guessing. The book really is unputdownable.

My Rating:

❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍

An addictive thriller that keeps you guessing.

Check The Silent Patient on Goodreads

Buy The Silent Patient on Amazon

What is The Silent Patient Book About?

The Silent Patient is about Alicia Berenson, a woman who shot her husband and... since then, has stopped speaking at all. She refuses to explain herself, refuses to defend herself, and refuses to say a single word about what happened that night.

Now, enter Theo Faber, a psychotherapist who is obsessed with her case. He wants to understand what really happened, so he joins The Grove, the psychiatric facility where Alicia is being treated.

The novel has a dual timeline. One focuses on Theo’s present interactions with Alicia at The Grove, while the other revolves around Theo’s personal life and Alicia’s diary entries from the past.

What Works?

One thing I definitely liked about this book is how addictive it is. The writing style is simple and accessible, making it an easy binge-read. Plus, the chapters are short, and new developments keep happening every few pages, so the story keeps going on.

Even though the setup is fairly monotonous for most of the novel (mostly just the hospital), the story keeps you hooked. I was constantly at unease waiting to find what Theo discovers next or what’s gonna happen to him while he’s exploring.

The Silent Patient keeps you guessing till the very end. Several reveals occur throughout the story, and one major development is right on the last page. So, there’s always something pushing the story forward. And due to its short chapters, I could easily read “just one more chapter” before stopping for the day. That says a lot about the book, I guess.

What Falls Short?

That said, just because it doesn’t have any action and adventure, it felt long and never-ending at times – almost like how I felt while reading Gone Girl. It wasn’t like the author was stretching the story nut it also was going nowhere near the climax anytime soon.

The real twist also felt a bit underwhelming. I was fully invested in the story, yes, and I didn’t see that coming, also yes, but I was expecting something bigger, I guess. It didn’t leave me with that “OMG, what did I just read?” feeling. Maybe my expectations were high.

And as I’m writing this, I think diary entries were just used for the author’s convenience. I don’t exactly know how to explain it properly, but they were a tad incomplete. It just felt odd. You know, I think the story could probably have worked just as well even if the author didn’t present those chapters as diary entries.

Is Silent Patient a Good Book?

Yeah, The Silent Patient is kind of a good book. It’s worth reading. I won’t call it an extraordinary read, though. It’s best suited for those who are looking for a psychological thriller filled with mystery throughout. It makes you read till the very last page. The book is easy to read; not too heavy with its word choices.

Final Thoughts

Although I found the climax slightly underwhelming, I still enjoyed reading The Silent Patient. It managed to keep me engaged and made me keep turning pages. Definitely a well-written novel. Even if it didn’t turn out to be a mind-blowing thriller for me it was an entertaining one.

Liked this Silent Patient book review?

Join Book Blabbers WhatsApp group to bond over books, memes and quotes.

Subscribe to Book Blabber's Bulletin to get book summaries, reading tips and occasional hugs in your inbox.