The Silent Patient: The First Three Chapters

by Alex Michaelides

This is a three-chapter sampler.

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....

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Mystery, Book Club, Crime, Psychological Thriller

27 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 11, 2018

About the author

Alex Michaelides was born and raised in Cyprus. He has an M.A. in English literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and an M.A. in screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient was his first novel and was the biggest-selling debut in the world in 2019. It spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list and sold in a record-breaking forty-nine countries. Alex lives in London.

Reviews

[Shea Breier · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ this book is phenomenal. That fact that this is #alexmichaelides first novel is mind blowing to me. This book has plot twists galore and is told from multiple points of view. Every time I thought “I know!” Nope, wrong. #thesilentpatient Is an amazing #psychologicalthriller woven with love, betrayal, and mental health at its finest! Out 2•5•19! Thanks #celadonbooks for letting me read if first

[Nancyann · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a promising start to the book, why would our heroine shoot her husband in the face five times then become mute? Enter Theo the psychotherapist to the rescue. Except Theo is dealing with his own issues and a bit of a pill. Renegade that Theo is, he breaks the rules of the psychiatric hospital in an attempt to save mute Alicia. Enter a cast of flat characters who are all interconnected and speak in sentences that could have been written by a talented 6th grader. The further I got into the book the more I disliked everyone in the story. The Silent Patient wasn't much of a thriller it was purported to be. There were no true cliffhangers and you could see the ending a mile away.

[Fahmida · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think I'd read this book but these 3 chapters has me intrigued.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a teaser and what a book this promises to be !!
I devoured this sampler and was lucky enough have also received the full book also so its straight on to that as it totally compulsive reading just reading the first few chapters and I can't wait.

[Sabrina Pfeiffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! I loved the plot twists! Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next BOOM, Alex Michalides "flipped the script" . I truly did not except the ending to turn out the way it did mlm Highly recommend this book if you love a great on the edge of your seat, page turning psychological thriller! I can't wait for more from this author!

[Stella Eu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best plot twist I've ever read. The secret meanings behind all the amazing literacy still leaves me in shock, the characters are unique, and the author is truly grand in how he could think of such a way of writing a plot. The plot is interesting, intriguing, intimidating yet exciting, and it never fails to make you bored when reading. The whole story will surely leave you at a jaw-dropping end!

[Andrea Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was entertained through and through.

[Nicole Bettis · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Entertaining but shallow writing. The twist felt a little cheap. As if the first half of the book was written by one person who had an initial idea of what they wanted from the story, they explained it to another person quickly in passing, and then THAT second person actually finished writing the book. It had a few plot holes and rushed scenes, and ultimately I felt manipulated by the author, but not in a good way. I don’t think I’d recommend this one.

[Natasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a hard time keeping interested in this book and kept waiting for it to get better.....which for me it didn’t. There wasn’t a clear ending that tied everything together for me, and the ending was frustrating. I heard great things about this book and I really want med to like it but I just didn’t.

[Laura Brockman ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down, read it in a day. Definitely a mystery with many interesting turns.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sneak Peek

I did not realise this was a sneak peak of a novel until I began reading. I want to read the entire story, so I will be looking to purchase or borrow the book in its entirety.

[Erin Hennig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! Slay plot twist but kind of a slow burn at parts

[H · Rating 2 out of 5]

what In the hippa violation is going on?

[Victoria Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

If you’re reading this with the lens of a mental health professional and are not able to remove that while reading you will CRINGE reading every page of this book. Ethically and professionally there are SO MANY glaring concerns. BUTTTT if you are able to shed the desire for and ethical practice this book will hold your attention through the whole way making it hard to put it down. Michaelides does a great job of making you suspicious and curious through the whole book wondering what the whole story is without making the ending obvious. Alicia and Theo’s stories are intertwined eloquently.

Listened to of audiobook.

[Ujjwal Srivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot twist was really unexpected, a nice read. Decently written altho ending could have been more satisfactory.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was everything the reviews said it would be!
The plot twist was crazy, and the ending was in my opinion was one of the best parts! Suspenseful and entertaining!

[Michelle Rikman · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. I was kept on the edge of my seat the entire book. An amazing read, definitely a page turner; the ending has me feeling both love and hate. A psychological mind-fuck the entire time. You HAVE to indulge in this book.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had so much hype, and I was thinking of it as the "It" book of the summer. My place on the library list was 146. It seemed so contrived, and while it had it merits, I found it very disappointing.

[Rose Haggart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this very quickly today. I wanted to know what happened, what the mystery was.. It was a clever twist but somewhat unsatisfying for some reason. I think I felt manipulated by the author and not in a good way :)

[Yolanda Garcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish Goodreads would allow a zero stars rating because that's what this book deserves. A book full of ridiculous cliches and poor imagination. None of the characters were in any way believable and I couldn't care less about any of them. A waste of a book.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! This was SO Good, a page turner - cant put the book down & the twist!! Highly recommend!

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insufferable male lead who only give a crap about himself

[Samantha Ketchum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4/5 ⭐️

Umm let me first start out by saying… umm wtf!! When I say I did not see the end plot twist coming it really took me by surprise. Like the dude, Theo, that was Alicia’s therapist this whole time pretty framed her!!! Umm… what!!! I am so like in shock.

But besides all that this is hands down one of the best suspenseful thriller I have read in a long long time. Took a little longer for me to read then what I though. But still was extremely good.

[Kerry Washington · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read the first 3 and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m tired or what but this is one hell of a slow burn and a little mind numbing to keep track off I will continue to read but I’m over 100 pages in and it’s not really moving a whole lot and it’s kinda infuriating so I have high hopes for better days but I think as of now I am reading out of stubborn irritation but we shall see

[Chris Modglin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!!

[Judith Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book. Thought I had it solved but was totally wrong. Read in 1 day. Not normal but was traveling and it held my attention!

[Lisbeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó.

[Lisarlaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love when I cover my mouth at the end and say “what, really!?” Great book!

[Sally Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book had a lot of twists that really kept my interest! Very good book!