If you asked me a year ago—hell, if you ask me a mere few months ago, I would have told you that The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides was not only one of my favorite thrillers, but one of my favorite books at all time. And I wasn’t lying—at the time it really was my favorite books. I like to attribute that to the fact that I hadn’t read much thrillers—or all that many books at the time—so what I would now deem an okay, flawed book, seemed, a year ago, to be the best book of all time.
I look back at it now, and I no longer think that the book that I once adored is nearly as good as I had once imagined. I think that some of my newer feelings regarding this thriller may have stemmed from after I finished Michaelides’ newer release, The Maidens. Now, obviously, this isn’t a review of The Maidens, but I think that some of what occurred during that book, may have made me reconsider my original feelings toward The Silent Patient. I didn’t particularly love The Maidens, and I think that I am starting to notice a pattern in Michaelides’ writing.
Renowned thrillers are usually known for their big, gotcha, twist and I’m a sucker for those myself, but unless they are really well done, I’m starting to find that I prefer a few smaller twists in my thriller. I think that whilst a huge plot twist at the end can be invigorating, it can also simultaneously harm the narrative of the story as well––sometimes, in order to pull off a big, shocking, twist, certain elements of the novel have to be sacrificed. The real question is, then, is it worth sacrificing these elements?
The Silent Patient, is known for its big gotcha twist at the end, and I agree that it is a brilliant twist. However, the lead up towards that twist is average at best––the plot meandered at times, the subplots were flimsy and hardly believable, and the red herrings were not all that subtle. I think that perhaps Michaelides was so focused on delivering this big twist at the end, that he lost sight of everything else, in terms of character depth, narrative telling, and just simple suspense.
If you don’t venture into the realm of thrillers, The Silent Patient, is worth a read, because it is by no means, a bad book; there was a time when I genuinely loved it, and listed it as my one of my favorite books of all time. Whilst I still think it is a good book, worthy of a potential read, it just isn’t the perfect thriller I once believed it was, and its flaws are too deep for me to ignore.
Rating ➳ 3/5 stars
(tw: murder, abusive parents, suicide/attempted suicide, self-harm, domestic abuse, sexual assault, racism, fatphobia and body shaming)
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