"The Silent Patient" is the inaugural book by Alex Michaelides and was so good I immediately ordered the two he has written since.
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.
Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations -- a search for the truth that threatens to consume him.
This one was recommended to me by my eldest daughter, a voracious reader herself, who appears to know what kind of books her father likes (kind of a scary thought).
I really enjoyed the ending. I didn't see it coming, yet it wasn't one of those contrived, forced endings where you're going "no way." It also wasn't sprung on you at the last second to tie up loose ends. It was wonderful.
Amazonians liked it too, giving it a 4.4 of 5, Goodreaders a 4.2, and me an 8 of 10. It was one of the best books I've read this year.
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