I love listening to crime fiction on Audible. Some of my favorites include Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Jo Nesbø’s The Leopard. Once I click into the drama of the story, I'm hooked. I can listen while taking my evening walk for two or even three hours at a time. Alex Michaelides's The Silent Patient was right up there with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Leopard. However, there is something I must add regarding Michaelides's novel.
The Silent Patient is composed of five parts. The first four parts, spanning 300 pages, were positively riveting, propelling me to listen further and further, deep into the night. Michaelides has it all going here, building psychological suspense chapter by chapter, scene by scene, detail by detail. But then, after a certain twist near the end leading to Part Five (the final 26 pages of the novel), the mystery is no longer a mystery. For me, this was a huge letdown.
I understand Alex Michaelides was inspired by Agatha Christie but following the traditional mystery formula in this case did not work for me at all. It would have been much more satisfying if the novel were written in a way that allowed the mystery to remain a mystery.
I appreciate that our liking or not liking an ending is, in large measure, a matter of individual taste. I simply wanted to express my taste regarding The Silent Patient. To conclude on a positive note, Michaelides is an extraordinary storyteller. I look forward to listening to his next novel, The Maidens.
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