When Theo Faber applies for and accepts the job at The Grove as a psychotherapist he is thrilled. He has been keeping track of Alicia Berenson for some time and wants to work at the failing psychiatric facility specifically to be her therapist. Alicia is locked up for killing her husband and hasn’t spoken a word since the murder and through her arrest, trial or conviction. She’s the ‘silent patient’.

Theo is a happily married man who feels that he can get through to Alicia and help her speak again. When this story started I was curious why Alicia would kill her husband in such a brutal way and why Theo is so consumed with the need to be her therapist. As the book continues the pieces of the puzzle start to come together.

Months before Alicia kills her husband Gabriel, she complained to him and her therapist that she’s being watched by an unknown man. She sees him watching while out for walks and she sees him watching her outside her home. Already having a past of mental instability, no one believes her. They believe she is imagining this man and needs to be put back on her medication. Someone should have believed her…

The story that unravels is a twisted and multi-layered tale about how quickly things can get out of control and how some people take betrayal to a completely new level. The ending had me stunned and surprised at the cause behind the killing and the past between patient and therapist.

If you are interested in purchasing The Silent Patient: