*Content: Spoilers ahead!
I had heard so much about this book in just the last month that I felt obligated to pick it up. Overall, the reviews I've heard or seen have been very mixed. I've seen some people post that they hated the ending, and I've heard others talk about how engaging the whole novel is from beginning to end. Honestly, my impression of The Silent Patient falls somewhere in between these two viewpoints.
I will admit that it was an an engaging read for me. The blurb on the inside sleeve of the book had me hooked almost instantly. A woman shoots her husband in the face five times and then never speaks again? I needed to know why.
The book is written from the perspective of Theo Faber, a psychotherapist who intentionally seeks out work at the mental institution where Alicia Berenson (the woman who killed her husband) resides. This in and of itself seemed a little sketchy. The ethical guidelines on seeking out specific patients is a little murky to me. Of course, from a research perspective, I can see how interviewing such a patient would be intriguing, but Theo gives up a very promising career to move to The Grove, a mental institution on the brink of being closed indefinitely. This is the reader's first indication that Theo has some sort of obsession with Alicia, possibly beyond her psychology. He even states in the beginning chapters:
"I became resolved to stop at nothing until Alicia became my patient."
Theo's fascination with Alicia isn't fully explained or justified beyond him wanting to help her. Is it just a ravage curiosity that propels him to upend his entire life for this woman he's never met? To me, this seemed far-fetched and led me to question Theo's motives from the beginning.
Sprinkled throughout the book, we also read sections of Alicia Berenson's personal diary in the weeks leading up to the murder of her husband, Gabriel. Michaelides does a good job of arousing the reader's interest here, as Alicia seems to be a very normal woman who happens to love her husband. It makes us even more eager to know why she killed him. Alicia slowly starts to reveal her own internal struggles, including memories of a seriously traumatic childhood event. Because of her mental health history, when Alicia starts to see a man stalking her, her husband Gabriel is worried that she may be losing her grip on reality.
Michaelides keeps his readers going with short chapters that always end on a note of, "Ok well, now I have to keep reading." To me, this was the most impressive part of his writing. There were many moments when I thought Theo's actions seemed strange and unrealistic, but finding out exactly what happened with Alicia is a driving force that keeps you propelling through the novel. It reads so easily, I was able to finish it over the course of two days, in between work and other responsibilities.
However, the confusion about Theo's intentions became even more pronounced as the book carried on. It is not until the very end of the novel that we discover that Theo, in fact, has met Alicia before.
On the night of Gabriel's murder, Theo breaks into Alicia's home and holds them both at gunpoint. What we come to realize is that Gabriel has been having an affair with Theo's wife, Kathy. Upon discovering this affair, Theo begins to stalk Alicia and plots his revenge for Gabriel. But he doesn't kill either of them. Instead, Theo asks Gabriel to choose between himself or his wife, Alicia. Who does he want to live? In a stunning blow to Alicia that made me want to kick him in the nuts, Gabriel tells Theo that he doesn't want to die, subsequently throwing his wife under the bus. Theo leaves the gun behind for Alicia, who is mad enough at Gabriel to shoot him in the face five times. (I still think a nut kick would have sufficed, but the girl has her issues).
Knowing this, Theo's thought process throughout the novel seems very strange to me. At one point while flipping through Alicia's medical reports, he thinks to himself:
"I needed to know exactly what I was getting into, what I'd have to deal with, and if any surprises were in store."
But Theo, you already know! He knows exactly what events led to Gabriel's murder, and yet he sits and ponders Alicia's records as if there is some missing piece to the puzzle. There is no missing piece, Theo, the whole puzzle has been sent through a garbage disposal and spat out on the floor.
On the other hand, I can understand this novel being an exploration of psychosis, both on Theo and Alicia's part. I think the concept is original and clever, especially nowadays, when it's difficult for me to find a thriller that genuinely surprises me. In Alicia's diary entries, especially, Michaelides does a great job of unfolding the mental trauma of his main character. Alicia ponders at her own madness, whether she inherited it from her mother, and seeks to understand her own mental state.
At the same time, this also makes me doubtful of Alicia's decision to murder her husband. Murderous psychopaths don't reflect on their own psyche. So, the fact that Alicia seems self-aware enough to acknowledge her past trauma makes it dubious that she is insane enough to shoot her husband point blank in the face.
One of the biggest issues I had with the book was accepting Alicia's silence after she discovers who Theo is. At a specific point in the novel, she recognizes Theo's voice and connects the dots to that dreadful night of the murder. But she remains silent. Perhaps she thought it was useless to try and convince anyone around her of what Theo had done, but it just left me wondering why she wouldn't say anything at all. Did she think it wouldn't make a difference? Wouldn't she be overwhelmed with the desire to confront Theo after what happened? Sure, she eventually writes this all in her diary, but there's a bunch of people around her that she could have told.
Another point of unbelievability to me was the fact that Theo consistently and brazingly oversteps his boundaries as a mental health professional. No therapist in their right mind (which, I know, he isn't) would have the audacity to reach out to family members of a patient to ask personal questions about them. It was hard for me to believe that Theo wasn't immediately fired after Max Berenson (Alicia's brother-in-law) calls The Grove to complain about him.
Plus, Theo does all of this because his wife cheats on him? Like girl, journal about it, get yourself a new haircut, and start doing reiki. Don't seek out the one person who could put your creepy ass away.
Overall, the suspense was good. The book was a page turner for me. I honestly can't take away from the entertainment value of the book, it really was engaging. The problems I had were mostly with understanding the motivations of the characters.