Fabulous Fiction Firsts #698

Sun, 02/17/2019 - 6:17pm by muffy

Chosen to launch a new MacMillan imprint, Celadon Books, The Silent Patient is an “edgy, intricately plotted“ (Publishers Weekly) psychological thriller, and marks screenwriter Alex Michaelides’ fiction debut.

Six years after shooting her husband Gabriel in the face, the once “dazzling, fascinate and full of life” artist Alicia Berenson is at The Grove, a "secure forensic unit" in North London, heavily sedated.  She still has not spoken a word since that fatal night - her only communication being a provocative self-portrait entitled Alcestis, a character in an Athenian tragedy.

Newly appointed criminal psychotherapist Theo Faber has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. Obsessed with getting Alicia to talk and to uncovering her motive for murdering her prominent fashion photographer husband, Theo secretly conducts his own investigation into Alicia’s past, looking for clues and connections. But when Alicia finally opens up to Theo, the truth might just consume them both.

“The Silent Patient is unputdownable, emotionally chilling, and intense, with a twist that will make even the most seasoned suspense reader break out in a cold sweat.” (Booklist)