The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides - Book Review

Time for a book review! So, let's discuss my most recent read "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides. I am definitely not alone in reading this book during the month of October and while I have some critical things to say about "The Silent Patient", one thing it does do very well is striking that - eerie mystery thriller vibe -  that is so sought after in spooky reading months. I am still reeling over here from the ending to this novel - "The Silent Patient" is definitely known for its twists! But the ending of the Silent Patient is also rightfully controversial and I think I might be in the hated it group. Keep reading to find out why!

 

Book Review of "The Silent Patient"
by Alex Michaelides 

"The Silent Patient" is told from two perspectives - Theo, a psychologist, and Alicia, the silent patient. Alicia has gone silent since being charged with the murder of her husband. Theo takes a job just so that he can work with Alicia, he has been following her case and really wants to figure out what makes her tick - why has she gone silent? Did she really murder her husband, if not then why wouldn't she defend herself, and if she did do it, then why go silent? This book is super easy to spoil - so like Alicia, I'll be silent about the rest of it.

After finishing this book, I've landed somewhere between 3 and 4 stars on it. I really enjoyed parts of it, I loved the spooky Daphne du Maurier feel to it and am glad I read it when I did. But the ending, the one that is so well loved, it was just so frustrating for me!

Part of the reason I have a hard time deciding how much I liked this book, is because it was a book club read. When I finished reading "The Silent Patient" it really felt like a three star read - I was v annoyed and felt let down by the ending, but then after chatting with four other women who *loved* it, I felt myself flipping it to a 4 star read, and I started to see why the ending was so appealing.  So I'm rounding up, but with a huge caveat because I'm still not totally on board, I guess?

 

So much of the enjoyment of this book is built into the twists, and if you aren't into it - the book feels completely different and disappointing. I listened to most of this book, and I don't think I would recommend it as an audiobook. When the twist happened, all I wanted to do was go back to the beginning of the book and see if it actually "worked", and that's a lot harder to do with an audiobook. I was taken so off guard by the ending - which you would think would be the goal with a twist - but it's too the point where it felt cheap to me and just too easy. 

If you have read The Silent Patient, comment down below and let me know what you thought of the twist! If you haven't read it, keep in mind, there will likely be lots of spoilers in the comment section! But even if you haven't read this book, comment down below and let me know the last thriller you read with a twist that totally threw you for a loop! Thanks for reading and watching!