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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Meeting date: January 28, 2020 ;
Star rating: 3.7/5 stars

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband―and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations―a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

Comments and questions
  • Tension kept up throughout the story!
  • Did not see that twist coming
  • The men in Alicia's life are all crud!
  • Group split on feelings about the ending...
  • Alcestis (Greek tragedy) was a perfect plot device. Amazing.
  • "Psychically killed" - an ideological WOAH! "He killed me that summer." MIND BLOWN.
  • Yuri is probably the only "nice guy" person in the whole story -- and just barely.
  • Our narrator is less than reliable...
  • Who do you believe? Alicia or Theo? We're torn.
  • Everyone is manipulative and untrustworthy in this book, which can be both frustrating and fascinating.
  • Another book about a woman told by a man. *sigh*
  • None of the men actually listen to Alicia -- she speaks, doesn't speak, and doesn't get heard either way.
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