The Silent Patient

Alex Michaelides

Feb 2019 · Macmillan Audio · Narrated by Jack Hawkins and Louise Brealey

About this audiobook

"The perfect binge listen." — Yahoo Lifestyle

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller.

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

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....

More praise for The Silent Patient:

“Absolutely brilliant... I read it in a state of intense, breathless excitement.” — Stephen Fry

“Smart, sophisticated storytelling freighted with real suspense - a very fine novel by any standard.” — Lee Child

“The Silent Patient sneaks up on you like a slash of intimidating shadow on a badly lit street. Michaelides has crafted a totally original, spellbinding psychological mystery so quirky, so unique that it should have its own genre.” — David Baldacci

Ratings and reviews

good listen, wanted to keep going. characters were real and seemingly lifelike. I liked the details and how Theo Faber worked his way through obstacles and setbacks. The story was well planned and read well. My only problem was the plotline of Theo finding Cathy's indiscrestion and exactly when it took place wasn't clear and lead to a misunderstanding. perhaps it was intentional. Overall I'd give the book 4 stars.

Pretty good listen. Felt something was lacking toward the end of book not sure what it was but... Maybe a lack of a climax to the story.. considering the story already happened and it felt as thought they just sitting there slowly unraveling the story. Kinda like reading a story inside a story. Delivery could've made this a lot more interesting. Though it was good.

The narrator just dronned on and on with nothing really happening. blah blah blah... nothing progresses. it takes what seems like entire chapters just to describe small events. The description of Cathy, the reading of Cathy's emails.. I had to stop listening.

About the author

Alex Michaelides was born in Cyprus in 1977 to a Greek-Cypriot father and an English mother. He studied English literature at Cambridge University and got his MA in screenwriting at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient is his first novel.