I Read 'The Silent Patient' And Trust Me, I Did NOT See That Coming

My jaw was literally on the ground.

One of the best things to have happened this quarantine is that it got people to bring back their long lost reading habits, including me.

I used to read quite a bit as a kid, but like everyone else, as I grew up I lost touch with reading and the number of books I read every year grew fewer and fewer. Reading itself started to seem more like a task, rather than something I enjoyed doing. However, last year I picked out a few simple yet gripping books to start out with, and they helped bring back my reading habit in no time.

If you are also feeling the reading FOMO, I’ve got just the book to get you started on your reading journey.

It’s a gripping-thriller-page-turner that I guarantee you’ll have a hard time putting down, whether you’re a seasoned reader or if this is the first book you’re going to attempt reading.

Check out The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Sumedha Bharpilania.

The book starts like many other books, with the seemingly picture-perfect life of Alicia, a painter, and her husband Gabriel, a hot and happening photographer. Their life runs smoothly until one night when Gabriel returns home after a shoot only to be shot by his wife in the face.

What on the surface seems to be a simple open and shut case, turns complicated when Alicia refuses to speak even one word after the murder or offer any sort of explanation as to why she did what she did. Her enigmatic situation lands her in a forensic psychiatric unit where she is kept under observation while they try to coax an answer out of her.

Enter Theo, a criminal psychologist with a crumbling marriage, who is fascinated with Alicia’s case and believes that he has what it takes to get her to open up and finally get to the bottom of the mystery. As he begins to spend more time with her to try and get some answers, she takes him down a dark, twisted path in search of a truth he’s not sure he can handle the answers to.

Why all the hype about the book?

A lot of my reading recommendations come off Reddit’s r/52books, and for a good chunk of time last year, The Silent Patient was on the top of everyone’s list. What makes this book stand out from other contemporary thrillers is the simple language and writing style that is easy enough even for novice readers to follow without feeling exhausted.

Apart from that, the plot is super interesting and there are many twists along the way that keep you hungry for more, and you never want to stop reading as you follow Theo to the bottom of the murder mystery.

Lastly, the ending of the book has to be the BIGGEST PLOT TWIST I’ve seen in recent times, whether in literature or cinema. Trust me when I tell you, you will NOT see that twist coming.

Who is The Silent Patient for?

Frankly, anyone. Whether you’re a newbie to reading who wants a book to help them with their reading habit or a seasoned reader looking for a good whodunit thriller, this book has something for everyone. Drama, mystery and romance. 

An old friend of mine who’s tried to read many books since we were in school but hasn’t been able to develop an interest says that this is the first book she’s been able to finish from start to end, and in the span of one day. So if this doesn’t convince you to pick upThe Silent Patient, I’m not sure what will. That, and the fact that it has over 75,000 reviews on Amazon!

Where can I get the book?

You can buy a paperback copy of The Silent Patient here for ₹339 and the Kindle version here for ₹267. Happy reading!

You when you get to the ending of The Silent Patient

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