The book , The Silent Patient, is a psychological thriller that takes you through the
shocking story of the character Alicia Berneson. Alicia Berenson was a painter who eventually
ended up in a psychiatric unit as a result of a horrific crime she committed when one day she
shot her husband five times in the face and never spoke another word. Her husband was found
bound to a chair with 5 gunshot wounds in his face and Alicia was convicted of murder. This
book is a first person narrative of the character Theo Faber, who is a psychotherapist. He took
special interest in the case because of the peculiar nature of Alicia's crime and how she refuses
to speak about anything to anyone. This story explains the shocking truth behind Alicia's murder
while touching on Theos story as well, illustrating his experiences, motives, and inner workings
as a character. As the novel goes on, we explore the “therapist and patient” relationship and
show that the two characters aren't so different. The Silent Patient blurs the barrier between
sanity and psychosis as we learn about Alicia's life and experiences while attempting to find out
what happened the night Alicia murdered her husband for seemingly no reason. Theo indirectly
has some introspective thoughts about himself, as we get to see the personal toll a case this
complex can have on him. This book is switching from Theos narration to snippets of Alicia's
diary; the reader is guaranteed to be consumed in this story. As the book goes on the complex
writing and simultaneous story telling of two timelines intertwine. Piecing together the past and
present, this book is sure to have the reader hooked, but not in an obvious way. This story,
although using some classic elements of the genre, brings a whole new aspect to these types of
books. We get to know how Alicia had a seemingly perfect life through the diary entries. Well,
she did have problems like any normal person but nothing to cause such a cruel murder, or
even to indicate she was capable of that. Alicia had a good marriage and was very in love. This
backstory makes the murder all the more suspenseful, as nothing makes sense until the very
end. Why did she do it? Why would she shoot her husband 5 times? As a reader you want to
know what happened the night of the murder and why she doesn't speak, but you also don't
care that you don't know yet because every page of the book entrances you. The complexities
of this plot will have you thinking the entire time. The intricacy of Alicia's life is captivating to any
reader, along with the narration by Theo, the therapist. This book will keep you on the edge of
your seat, and you will be captivated by not only Alicia's story, but by Theos as well. The Silent
Patient is wonderfully written, intense, and more than just a simple murder mystery. It touches
on the patient and therapist relationship. This book is a paranoid, eerie, immersive, mind
blowing novel which has one of the most shocking plot twists I have ever read. I personally
physically could not put this book down and read it in one day. I highly recommend it.

Check out The Silent Patient from NBPL!