The Silent Patient

Finally! A psychological thriller that hit the spot for me! I have been having back luck with books lately and none of them have managed to deliver what I was looking for until this book! Even now, as I type this, I barely had any sleep last night and that's what I should already be doing but I couldn't put this book down until I had finished it. Also, I loved that the main character is a psychotherapist, it's what I went to school for and I loved all the little insights and snippets into the psychology of the human psyche. I just couldn't put this book down for the life of me and it will be going down as one of my favorite books of all time and I will be reading everything that this writer writes in the future!

The Silent Patient, is about a psychotherapist on the quest of trying to help Alicia, a woman who was found guilty for shooting her husband and then reverting into herself and refusing to talk ever since. Now, as she's in a psychiatric facility, he makes it his personal mission to help her work through whatever is preventing her from talking facing what happened. First of, I don't remember loving a plot more! As much as I love domestic thrillers, I loved how psychological this one was and that it took place in a psychiatric facility. I thought it was genius and complex and there were so many intricate layers to it that it was extremely satisfying revealing the layers, one at a time. There was not a moment that this book dragged for me, there was amazing insight all throughout, even when nothing major was happening. Also, the fact that it goes back and forth between what Alicia wrote in her diary and what is actually happening at present time, that made it even more amazing and helped us put things together even more cleverly.

Further on, the characterization is mesmerizing to say the least. I got a deep look into the furthers recesses of the two main characters minds and psyches and I loved feeling and seeing what they were feeling and seeing as it was happening. We got to be able to spend time with the characters one on one, with them and their minds and souls. Such a complete picture was painted of them that it's hard to comprehend that these aren't real, living people and that they don't exist in real life. Also, I was able to relate to them on so many levels, I can't even express how relatable they were, regardless of whether they were what is considered “good” or “bad”. Brilliant!

Lastly, the writing is seriously my absolutely favorite. What a beautifully crafted masterpiece, through and through. The writing just made the story that much more memorable and it touched me to my very core. I felt one with this novel as I was reading it and the pages turned almost by themselves as I couldn't put the novel down. It was brilliant and sophisticated without being too complicated and taking away from the whole reading experience and the memorable plot.

In conclusion, this book is one that has deserved all the hype that it has gotten. I would recommend it to anyone who loves thrillers or suspense of just wants an amazing read that will stay with them for a long time after. I have been dying to get my hands on and read this novel for a really long time and I am so glad that I finally did! I will definitely be comparing all my future thrillers to this one because that's just how absolutely incredible it really was! No doubt about it- this book is a must read!