The Silent Patient

 tags: mystery, psychological thriller

from goodreads

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....

I read the novel because Goodreads readers voted it Number 1 in Mystery category for 2019. Umm, no. Not even close. Maybe 100 or lower, IMHO. The book is not written well and filled with all the things I don't like such as describing what characters do upon waking up. Just get on with the story, for Pete's sake! Don't describe clothing and other unnecessary stuff that don't add anything to the plot. It's as though the author is paid by the words. Sheesh.

The premise is interesting and because I am a fan of whydunnit mystery subgenre with unreliable narrators, I continued reading even after rolling my eyes at all the absurdities and inconsistencies. There are too many characters to throw off readers but they are shallow, not believable nor interesting, and went nowhere in the plot. It's exhausting to read the background of the main characters and all the flaws of the numerous minor characters. The author tried really really hard to be the new Gillian Flynn or Keigo Higashino but he failed BIGLY.

Most of the story is told from POV of Theo Faber and a small portion from POV of Alicia through her diary. I normally don't like first person narration and perhaps it added to my annoyance of the novel. The twist at the end is just meh and not really phenomenal as other readers make it to be. Theo's reason for trying to make Alicia talk again is weak. The whole story could have been told in 20 or fewer pages and it still will not be compelling nor engaging. There just isn't a good story to tell in this novel.

Not recommended.