A new and unforgettable thriller. A combination of Hitchcockian tension, Agatha Christie-like plot structure and Greek tragedy. – Entertainment Weekly Alicia Branson's life seems perfect. She is a famous painter who is married to a sought-after fashion photographer and lives in a large house with large windows overlooking a park in one of the most desirable areas of London. One evening her husband returns late from work, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and from that moment on she does not utter a word. Her refusal to speak, or to provide any explanation in fact, turns the family tragedy into something much bigger, an affair that ignites the public's imagination and makes Alicia a notorious figure. The prices of her paintings skyrocket, and she, the "silent patient", is hidden from the eyes of the public and the tabloids in a psychiatric hospital in North London. Theo Faber is a forensic psychologist who has been waiting a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. He is determined to make her talk and reveal the reason why she shot her husband, and this determination leads him on a winding journey to investigate his own motives - and to search for the truth that threatens to consume him. Alex Michaelides was born in 1977 in Cyprus to a Greek father and an English mother. He studied English literature at Cambridge University and did a master's degree in screenwriting at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Michaelides wrote the screenplay for "The Devil You Know" and participated in writing the screenplay for "The English Are Coming" (2018). The Silent Patient, his first novel, made him a literary star overnight after it was sold to 40 countries and became a global bestseller. "An impressive novel... The Silent Patient is an intelligent book, stimulates the imagination and provides a wonderful reading experience." – The Times (London), Book of the Month "An impressive novel... with an ending that does not fall short of Agatha Christie's." – The Wall Street Journal "Writing a novel in which the main heroine remains mute is no easy task, but this impressive and engrossing novel – for which Brad Pitt's production company bought the film rights – establishes Michaelides as an author worth following." – People, Book of the Week "The rarest of beasts: the perfect thriller. This extraordinary novel made my blood boil—I couldn't put it down. I told myself I would just taste it. 11 hours later, at 5:47 a.m., I finished it and I absolutely giddy." - AJ Finn, author of the bestseller "The Woman in the Window" "The silent patient creeps up on you like a menacing piece of shadow on a poorly lit street. Alex Michaelides wrote a psychological thriller so original, fascinating and unusual that it deserves to be invented its own genre. I read it over the course of two nights and savored every sensual word, every brutal encounter, every amazing plot twist in it. The pages will burn from the friction of your hands turning them." – David Baldacci "A smart, sophisticated and really suspenseful story. An excellent novel." - Lee Child "A scary, powerful novel that is hard to put down, with a plot twist that will make even seasoned thriller readers break out in a cold sweat." - Booklist
