Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

About: A therapist tries to get through to his patient, Alicia Berenson, an inmate at a secure mental health facility who hasn't spoken since she shot and killed her husband six years earlier.

Verdict: Michaelides deftly weaves three strands into an exquisitely readable story—first-person accounts of his home life and his attempts to help Alicia, and excerpts from Alicia's diary, which focus on the last few months of her marriage. There are twists, there are turns, and there's a reason this is a New York Times bestseller.

Publication: 2019 · 368 pages
Rating: 5 stars