(Shady men, each with motive … dun dun dun.) Theo’s narration about his actress wife, Kathy - who he discovers is cheating on him - is intercut as though concurrent with Alicia’s treatment. (We hear her perspective through diary entries, oddly presented with back-and-forth dialogue, like no journal I have ever seen.) Theo embarks on desperate investigations into Alicia’s life, insisting on meetings with her jealous gallerist Jean-Felix, her spurned brother-in-law Max and her semi-estranged, debt-riddled cousin Paul. Theo, who spent two decades in therapy exploring trauma induced by a cruel father, is hopelessly compelled toward Alicia, who suffered a similar upbringing and is desperate to make her start talking about her crime. After the murder, she stops speaking entirely and is placed in the Grove, a secure psychiatric unit where Theo applies for a job six years later - expressly to meet, and treat, the still-silent Alicia. But, that didn’t change my thought about the book. I did figure out the ultimate mystery before the big reveal. It was difficult to put down, nicely paced, with some interesting twists & turns.
London-based psychotherapist Theo Farber becomes obsessed with Alicia Berenson, a rising-star painter who’s convicted of murdering her fashion-photographer husband Gabriel. The Silent Patient is a solid first effort in the crowded arena of the psychological thriller genre.
THE SILENT PATIENT MOVIE 2021 FULL
Here’s a recap, for those who have read the novel in full - and for anyone else who is a glutton for spoilers.