The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides) - Another one bites the dust

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Silent Patient is (as other books that I have recently read) a great premise, an excellent build up, tight writing, the promise of an explosive ending but fizzles out at the end. What starts as an exploration into the dark recesses of the mind and an uncovering of the monster within each of us soon becomes a tale of skeletons tumbling out of everyone's cupboard. And I mean Everyone.

Theo Faber is a psychotherapist who is trying to help himself out of his darkness, while helping his patients battles their demons. He is deeply interested in the case of Alicia Berenson, a somewhat famous and poised-for-greatness artist, who, for reasons no one can still explain, killed her husband Gabriel in cold blood and is now committed to a mental institution called The Grove. After the gruesome murder, Alicia has not spoken a word (whether in her trial or later in the last 6 years) and thus has been placed in The Grove and not given a jail sentence or a harsher punishment, given the state of her mental health. The only self expression from her has been a painting she titled Alcestis (a heroine in Greek Mythology with an interesting story of being betrayed and let down by the man she loves). Theo feels strongly about this case and the patient Alicia, and hence jumps at the job opening in The Grove, where he can get a chance to work with Alicia and uncover the darkness she has wrapped herself in.

The story continues with details about various people in Alicia's life, shows us the difference between what seems and what really is. We are told about the circumstances surrounding Alicia in the run up to the murder and hope that Theo's attempts to bring her to speak and maybe finally reveal what happened that night. To do this, Theo must talk to all the people who can give some insight into Alicia's mental state, her murky past and her current struggles. This includes her cousin she grew up with, a deranged Aunt, her agent and friend, other family members, neighbours etc. What could have been the trigger for Alicia to kill a man she clearly loved to bits? What would drive her to kill Gabriel - shoot him in the face she so dearly loved? In the course of his attempts to work with Alicia, Theo recounts his own mental struggles and his attempts to cope with betrayal and loss and the two stories (his and Alicia's) develop in parallel, with some similar shades.

I cannot disclose more of the plot without giving it away. So please do not read beyond this if you don't want spoilers.

Towards the end, the initial premise starts withering away. Alicia is deeply troubled, so much that she simply loses the power to speak - her trauma is intense. Yet she recognizes Theo, is aware of what his agenda really is and is able to play mental games with him. On the one hand she is unhinged enough to stab another inmate in the eye with little provocation and on the other, is able to write coherent notes in her diary and leave behind crucial evidence in a secure place to be found by the authorities at the right time. She is triggered by childhood trauma and acts violently when something in her present reminds her of it, but on the other hand, seeing someone who destroyed her life doesn't evoke any reaction in her - rather she is cold and calculative in her responses. I found contradictions in the story that destroyed the central premise and the characters so meticulously built and hence for me a potential 5 star read became only a 3 star one.