The Silent Patient

Pat 7 - 7.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It moved right along and was a fun read. I figured out the who dunnit part eventually, but ONLY because the reviews on the back kept mentioning what a TWIST there was at the end and the person I guessed was the only one who fit such a Twist. It was a little cheesy and started off a bit like Mel Brooks's spoof on Alfred Hitchcock movies High Anxiety, which I highly recommend. 

K'Lynn 6

Why did Theo work at the Grove-  what is the percentage of murderers who return to the scene of the crime?

This was a predictable crime novel. Popular fiction.  Mystery surrounding the death of Gabriel.  Overzealous psychotherapist with a jaded past.  I NEVER suspected theo was the man watching her.  That was a twist to say the least. The twist is a good one but doesn’t come until the last 20 pages or so. I had not  figured it out.

How he handled his wife's affair seemed out of character for him.  I kept thinking about a Netflix show I watched called You, where at first the guy seems perfect but you know there has got to be a darker, deeper side.  Following her, listening to them do it, following him to his house, picking up a rock with the intention of what?  Then a door opens and discourages him.  What was the point of him stalking Alicia?  Just tell her.  Instead he stages this elaborate roux and breaks into her house and ties her up.  WTF did she do to deserve that?  She was the victim as much as he was.  Was it his past?  Was it that he wasn’t really as reformed as he claimed to be.  I don’t know.  Was his therapist even real? He wanted to create a divide in their marriage, but wouldn’t telling her have done the same thing?  And maybe not brought about such a horrific ending?  

One thing proved true, this book did have me turning the pages quickly to find out what would happen at the end. However while I was turning these pages quickly, I wasn’t really getting very much out of the story. I felt as though the fact that she wouldn’t speak was the main focus of the book rather than looking into whether she was really guilty or not. I know that she had been tried and found guilty but I had hoped that perhaps the doctors would find other issues worth pursuing regarding her guilt or innocence.

There are multiple characters introduced but none of them are really very well described. Dr. Diomedes is the head of the facility and he appoints a new doctor, Theo Faber, who has recently joined the staff to oversee Alicia’s care. She had previously been under the care of another physician but he hadn’t made any progress with her and so it is hoped that this new doctor will help to make her finally speak. Max-Inconsequential, didn’t even have to be in the story.  Tanya definitely not.  For me to love a thriller all the characters have to be well developed and intricate to the story.  I found many of the characters to be shallow and the plot seemed to run off in several directions

The book takes place in “The Grove” a private facility for psychiatric patients. Theo Faber transferred from another facility because he is obsessed with Alicia’s case. We do get to know him through his thoughts about his own marriage to Kathy  who seems increasingly “busy” and coming home late from rehearsals, she is an actress. This is a storyline that is introduced and somewhat developed and then just left hanging. What really is going on with Theo’s marriage? He seems to be spending all of his time at the facility with Alicia.

I would say read it without reading lots of reviews, decide for yourself if it is indeed “the debut novel of the year for 2019” as the publisher has written in the blurb for the book! After the last session that Theo had with Alicia he is writing everything down while it was still fresh in his mind and he states "As you will see, it's an incredible story--of that there is no doubt. Whether you believe it or not is up to you..