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“ I don’t know why I’m writing this.” Begins the prologue to The Silent Patient, and do you know what, that is pretty much how I feel typing up this review. For there are no real words, other than “Go and beg, borrow or buy a copy” that you need to know.

The book tells the story of silent patient Alice Berenson, who is under the care of psychotherapist Theo Faber, following her conviction for the brutal murder of her husband Gabriel. Alice hasn’t spoken since the day of the murder, but Theo feels he can find a way through the silence to get to the truth of what really happened that day. And this is what drew me into the book, the desire to know what the truth was. Told through the voice of Theo, we’re drawn into his both his professional life at The Grove, and his personal life with wife Kathy. And it is primarily through his sessions that we become familiar with Alice. There are intermittent diary entries from Alice throughout that transform her from the silent patient into a more rounded, likeable and animated character.

The characters are written in a controlled way that meant that I had complete faith in Michaelides’ words, and was more than happy to just relax into the story and enjoy it. And what a story it was; nothing was rushed, it felt like a naturally opening bud rather than forced scenes that shatter when you think about them too much. As usual, I will give nothing away, but I do just have to say that the ending did not disappoint - it’s blooming marvellous, really great. Please do put this on your to-read list you’ll love it.

''The Silent Patient is published by Orion Books on 7th February 2019''