“The Silent Patient” - Alex Michaelides

🖼️ This is my second novel by Michaelides. The man can write riveting psychological thrillers; that is for certain! 

🖼️ Alicia Berenson is in a psychiatric facility after having killed her husband; she has not uttered a single word since that day. TSP is told from the POV of forensic psychoanalyst Theo Faber, and alternates with excerpts from Alicia’s diary in the days before Gabriel’s death.

🖼️I read “The Maidens” first, but it didn’t make a big impact on understanding the plot here. Characters are very much connected between the novels, but the plots are independent. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these characters crop up in “The Fury”.

🖼️ Here’s a recap of how the characters between “The Maidens” (Mariana’s story) and TSP (Theo’s story) are connected.

☑️ Theo appears in “The Maidens” - he trained with Mariana, and Zoe was one of his first patients.

☑️ Mariana encourages Theo to take the job at The Grove - perhaps he could score the coveted breakthrough with Alicia?

☑️ Ruth was Theo and Mariana’s therapist; she encourages Mariana to speak with Theo.

☑️ Lazarus Diomedes runs The Grove - his testimony results in Alicia landing in a secure psych facility rather than in prison. He’s also Mariana’s former college professor.