Newmag presents the thriller of the year: Alex Michaelides’s “The Silent Patient” (trailer in Armenian)

“The Silent Patient” is the first published book of the author. Book critics believe that Michaelides created an original, tempting psychological mystery, so twisted, so unique that it has become a separate genre. A beautiful language, a delicately thought-out plot, a story that absorbs until you reach the end, which is shocking and at the same time logical.

The 44-year-old British writer is also a scriptwriter. He has graduated from Cambridge University. “The Silent Patient” became the debut novel for Michaelides. In the first week of publication, it appeared at the top of the New York Times best-selling feature bestsellers. "The Silent Patient" also won the Goodreads Award for Best Mystery Thriller of 2019.

The story of the novel revolves around a famous painter named Alicia Berenson. Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. She is married to an in-demand fashion photographer, lives in a beautiful house in one of London’s most desirable places. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face. After that incident, she never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into a mystery that captures the public imagination. Alicia, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids at a forensic unit. A criminal psychotherapist Theo Faber wants to unravel the mystery. He has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. 

The novel is distinguished by its flexible language and accurate descriptions.  “Unable to come to terms with the incident, Alicia broke down and stopped to work like a broken car. I wanted to help Alicia tell her story, get treatment and recover. I wanted to "repair" her. I may seem bragging, but I considered myself an exceptionally qualified professional capable of helping Alicia Berenson. I am a criminal psychotherapist and have often worked with the most vulnerable members of society. There was something really interesting about her story. I sincerely sympathized with her from the beginning.”

As the author notes, the writer shouldn’t change the story or tell lies. Let the cases unfold gradually, step by step and carefully. It is on this principle that Alex Michaelides reveals to the reader the main character, keeping the dose of tension, not losing interest throughout the novel. The "Silent Patient" is not silent at all, instead, it announces the entry of a talented writer in the genre of the psychological thriller.

“The Silent Patient” has been translated into more than 45 languages. On February 15, Newmag will present the thriller of the year. You will have a plot with complicated psychological solutions, you will read it in one breath, but you will hardly put the book aside. This is a book that absorbs the reader from the first page to the last word of the last page.