“We're all crazy, I believe, just in different ways” (Michaelides 43). These are the words of Theo, the main character of Alex Michaelides’ The Silent Patient, after landing a job at a rundown psychiatric hospital in North London. Here, Theo works with Alicia Berenson, a woman charged with the murder of her husband. Six years ago, Alicia shot her husband five times in the forehead and hasn’t spoken a single word since.  This novel tells a gripping story following Theo as he tries to ‘crack’ Alycia’s case and answer one not-so-simple question-- Why stay silent? 

When I read a novel, I am looking for a couple of things in the plot- a fast pace, an intriguing storyline that continues to unfold, and a satisfying ending. The Silent Patient checks all these boxes. Although this is a relatively short novel with just under 350 pages, Michaelides managed to pack in a very eventful storyline. The plot was fast-moving and drew me in; from the first paragraph of the first page, I wanted to know more about Alicia and her story. Right from the beginning, the author introduces a question with a mystery behind it. The main character doesn’t know the answer and neither does the reader, which makes the story captivating and compelled me to keep flipping pages. The only slight criticism I have on this novel is about the end of the story, where the author includes a ‘major’ plot twist, which I didn’t think was as unexpected as I assume it was meant to be. Although I wasn’t extremely shocked or mindblown by the plot twist at the end of the story, I still really enjoyed the ending, where everything fell into place and every question was answered in a very satisfying but realistic way. 

I really enjoyed the way this book was put together; there were multiple time jumps to tell stories from both Theo and Alicia’s childhood, but the chapters were well organized and it was easy to follow along. The perspective also switched between Alicia and Theo’s narration but again, everything flowed smoothly. In fact, the shifting point-of-views made the story more interesting because it added a mysterious layer-- two different versions of the same story are being told and the reader is trying to grasp exactly what is true. The characters are realistic, and I appreciated how the author kept adding details about each person; he continued to develop and shape the readers’ view of each character. 

Lastly, one element of this book that I admired was that the author incorporated some Greek mythology references into the storyline. It was nothing major, and you definitely don’t need to be an expert on Greek folklore to enjoy this book, but a few allusions to prominent figures such as Alcestis and Medusa strengthened the story and added an extra layer and some cleverness to the novel. 

Overall, The Silent Patient is worth reading no matter what your favorite genre is. Its plotline is enthralling and draws you in, and although it discusses a couple intense topics (death, mental health, violence), I would not describe it as an extremely heavy or dismal read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a thrilling novel.