Five times in the face, is the action of a sane woman? Alicia won’t tell us, she has become mute since the shooting. And, then, one night, Alicia shoots him in the face. She started keeping a diary to express something that would help her husband understand she was okay. I’d recommend it for those that enjoy this genre, and those that enjoy being part of the buzzed-about-books experience.Īlicia Berenson tells us in the prologue, that she was depressed. It’s not a fast-paced tale in terms of really big happenings or scary moments but for me, the short chapters went quickly and I was intrigued throughout because I wanted to know what happened and I liked the author’s writing style. There’s an intentional murkiness (reminiscent of a movie like Memento) as the psychotheʀᴀᴘιsт, Theo, embarks on a journey to find out why Alicia doesn’t speak, if she really killed her husband, if she’s insane, and/or the motive IF she did indeed kill Gabriel. At some point I feel like I want to read the story again to truly put the rubik’s cube in order.Īt the end of the day, I think this novel has the potential to be one that is widely discussed, and may even become a motion picture. Instead, I found myself trying to retrace steps and get oriented. When I got to the end, I wasn’t knocked off my chair surprised because I read a LOT of books in this genre, but I also can’t say that I completely saw it coming either. All I’ll say is that I had several theories, varying in their levels of crazy. I won’t mention anything that could spoil what happens.

The timeline of the story was a bit hazy at points because the main character, Theo, talks in the past tense, but about a more recent past and a time that seems undefined. For me, the author’s words painted a vivid picture (again, no pun intended). So I entered this story in the dark, curious to find what I would discover. When I know there’s a twist, or if I see hints of something, I usually figure out what’s going on. I didn’t read any reviews because I didn’t want to see something that would give me any clues, either intentionally or unintentionally. I decided to go into this novel with a clean slate, a blank canvas (no pun intended).

The silent patient review