The Silent Patient

by Alex Michaelides

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I never would have written The Silent Patient without Agatha Christie. She made me into a writer ― or, more importantly a reader ― when I was 13 years old and I discovered her books. They became a compulsion for me that summer ― the first adult books I had ever read ― and I would devour one after the other, on the beach, wriggling my toes in the sand with sheer pleasure, an ice cream in one hand and an Agatha Christie in the other. It was as happy as I have ever been, a magical reading moment, happily lost in the world of a book ― and one that I have always sought to re-create. That’s why I wrote The Silent Patient ― with no more Christies forthcoming and having reread them all so many times, I wanted to see if I could try and write something like it myself; in homage to her, that I might read on the beach, and re-create that early magical experience. It was important that it was a detective story ― a great deal of my love for Christie is for the form itself, which she perfected and exploited to the full. Beginning to read a detective story, for me, is to know that I am embarking on an adventure ― and there will be murder, betrayal, many twists and turns, possibly a hint of romance, definitely an investigation, and ultimately a surprising solution. That is the unspoken pact Agatha Christie makes with you when you pick up one of her books, and I tried to keep the same bargain with The Silent Patient. Every time I got lost or strayed from the path, I asked myself what Christie would do ― and pretty quickly found my way back again. When it was finished, I read The Silent Patient over a few days on the beach in Spain. And magically enough, I caught a glimpse of that first happy reading experience. I felt satisfied ― but not for long. As Christie knew, it turns out writing thrillers is just as addictive as reading them. As soon as it was done, I thought, “I want to do that again.” Another adventure, another investigation, more twists and turns, and another big surprise. And so I began work on The Maidens ― and I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45300567-the-maidens