Having read The Maidens earlier this month, I decided to pick up The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides to see what his debut novel is about. Across the board, I was satisfied but there were a couple of details that didn’t sit well with me and hindered my overall enjoyment of the book, especially the ending.

Alex Michaelides has a great narrative style and is able to establish and voice and environment that feels authentic and tangible. The settings are rich with detail and descriptors which immerse one into the space alongside the characters, hearing what they hear, tasting what they taste, smelling what they smell. The characters also have their depth and shadows which make for slow reveals of information, perfect for a psychological suspense thriller such as The Silent Patient.

Theo is a very interesting character. Those of you who have read this will understand what I mean by that. I will admit, I had a feeling something was up fairly early on due to a handful of things. As soon as backstory into Alicia was dug up I knew where we were going and I knew answers to the big questions, though I will give credit where it’s due and say that the other major plot points were unveiled spectacularly and I can see how it would have been a real shock to find them out.

I have a few gripes with this book, namely how characters are able to stay in places where they shouldn’t be. My opinion is that the place shouldn’t have been still running given how they were being watched – so many things should have been found out earlier – and that someone in particular shouldn’t still be with a certain someone at the end of the book. Again, if you know you know. It just didn’t make any sense, not even for the denouement.

Overall, The Silent Patient is an intoxicating thrill-ride, ready to strap you in and make your stomach drop with such juicy details and jaw-dropping conclusions. It is certainly worth a read and I hope you pick it up soon.