This thriller is told from the point of view of a criminal psychotherapist who switches jobs so he can try to help this infamous “silent patient”. Alicia Berenson is a famous painter that was convicted of shooting her husband Gabriel in the face 6 years ago and hasn’t spoken since. She was found at the scene with the gun in her hand, covered in blood because she had slit her wrists in an attempt to kill herself. The prosecution never presented any motive for Alicia killing her husband, but her silence was taken as an admission of guilt.
Theo Faber is the psychotherapist that has recently been assigned to Alicia’s case. Theo tries unsuccessfully to get Alicia to talk. Growing more obsessed with her case, Theo talks to her friends and family and begins to conduct his own investigation in an effort to find out really happened that night.
Theo’s own life isn’t perfect and he’s dealing with the stress of a cheating wife. Theo’s tactics and investigation tactics become more aggressive as he tries continues to get Alicia to speak. Is Theo the white night he appears?
I read this book in one sitting on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Life interviened though before I could write my review and now I have a slightly different opinion of the book. My initial though was “wow, i love this book and can’t wait to read it again!”.
Then over the next few days I started to think about those pesky plot holes and false leads that went know where. There were also the issues of the murky timeline and the inconsistent use of past/present tenses. We also only get a sense of Alicia through her diary and the desciptions of others so her character seems shallow.
The pacing of the story was good and there is a good plot twist toward the end of the book. Overall I still think this was a good book that could’ve been great.
