【阅读报告】The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

The sixteenth book that I’ve finished reading this year is Alex Michaelides’ “The Silent Patient”. Alicia Berenson has remained silent ever since she was found, wrists slit, standing next to her husband, who was shot five times in the face. Why does she refuse to talk? Psychotherapist Theo Faber is determined to find out the truth behind her reticence.

This book toys with the reader’s mind by misleading him/her to form an assumption, which is difficult to avoid as there aren’t any cues. Other than that, the plot seems to be rather lacking in depth, and I feel that there are still some background information left unsaid (e.g. why did Alicia’s mother have her in the car during the suicidal accident?) so some characters are on weak standing. I was also put off by how Theo describes each psychotherapist as a potential patient, and how there are lots of unnecessary vulgar language. On the whole, though there is a plot twist towards the end, it is not that surprising, and I think more depth can be created in character development.