The Silent Patient in Drop Everything And Read

Feb 14, 2019 Misty rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019

The Silent Patient was, in the beginning, a test of MY patience, as the slow burn barely kept the glow under the ash. Once the pace picked up, it was an easier read, but it would be a mistake to assume that was because of any action. Any. At all. Seriously, NOTHING HAPPENS.

So, the plot—Alicia Berenson is an artist who, without any prior warning, kills her husband Gabriel by shooting him in the face—five times. She then refuses to speak. After a trial declares her mentally incompetent, she is rel The Silent Patient was, in the beginning, a test of MY patience, as the slow burn barely kept the glow under the ash. Once the pace picked up, it was an easier read, but it would be a mistake to assume that was because of any action. Any. At all. Seriously, NOTHING HAPPENS.

So, the plot—Alicia Berenson is an artist who, without any prior warning, kills her husband Gabriel by shooting him in the face—five times. She then refuses to speak. After a trial declares her mentally incompetent, she is relocated to a residential facility, the Grove, where her silent existence is largely tolerated and allowed to continue virtually unchallenged. Theo Faber is a psychotherapist with an obsession for all things “Alicia.” He manages to secure a position at the Grove, where he inveigles his way to work directly with Berenson. The remainder of the novel then revisits Alicia’s life and Gabriel’s murder, as the truth of what happened is (slowly) revealed.

For me, this novel pens a bold stroke under the differences between action suspense and psychological thrillers. Though many may straddle mid court, this is the quintessential example of the latter—a book that crawls into the recesses of the human mind and discovers the capacity for man’s inhumanity to man. Much of the terminology here is psychology “jargon”, and the pages are littered with it, detracting from the plot with short forays into psychological theory. In the end, buying the conclusion means accepting the diagnosis, and without a background in psychology, this necessitates a whole lot of blind faith that I wasn’t able to find. Specifically, there is a comparison drawn between Alicia and Alcestis of Greek mythology. The connection was drenched in “shop talk” and remained a bit cloudy to me, even after a detailed explanation. Nothing was concrete and instead I was left with a feeling of being slightly off kilter.

Overall, this is a well written psychological suspense novel that takes its time and makes no apologies for its reliance on the tenants of psychology (therapy, relationships, etc.) to further the plot. Just not my cup of tea! ...more

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Jan 14, 2020 Maggiebooks rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: want-to-read-2020

It took me completely by surprise! This is a great thriller that made me think about how easy it is to be deceived by someone’s personality. All the way through I was completely mistaken about all my suspicions of who was the bad person.

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May 25, 2019 Antonia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, mystery-suspense-horror

Great writing, good characters, unputdownable, but unfortunately a bit predictable and flat for my liking. I am still excited for the author's future books, though, as I really liked his style. 3 out of 5 stars! ...more

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Jul 29, 2019 Lorraine rated it it was amazing

Oh my gosh, what did I just read? This was an incredible thriller! I loved the red herrings and the twists and turns. He is the perfect blend of Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie. A must read... WOW!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Aug 28, 2020 Rachel Pruchno rated it liked it

Lots of good twists and turns in this debut novel. I didn't particularly love any of the characters. Theo the therapist was cold and twisted. We know Alicia mainly through her journal, since she does not speak. Didn't see the ending coming. The link to the Greek myth was too much for me. ...more

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Apr 17, 2019 Chrystal rated it it was ok

I listened on audio; may need to read it to enjoy it more.

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Aug 22, 2019 Rosemary May rated it it was ok

Cheated

It’s a great premise, I would like to say it was well told, but I can’t, because the method chosen by the author to throw off the reader for the sake of the “reveal” was very misleading. There is a difference between an unreliable narrator and a straight up lying narrator.

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