Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

This week I picked up one of the most hyped thrillers of the last few years — The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.

It’s one of those books that everyone seems to have read, loved, and screamed about the twist. So of course, I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Well. I have thoughts.

Spoiler: they’re not kind ones.

Spoiler-Free Thoughts

Puh. This one’s going to be controversial.

I went into The Silent Patient expecting a dark psychological thriller about trauma, silence, and therapy.

What I got instead was a therapist who never actually does therapy, a whole parade of gender stereotypes, and a lot of unexamined misogyny dressed up as “mystery.”

Let me explain.

I don’t mind books that explore sexism or gender dynamics — when they actually critique them. But here, misogyny just exists, unchallenged and unexamined. Every female character is hysterical, unstable, manipulative, or “crazy.” Meanwhile, all the men are talented, intelligent, and “deeply misunderstood.”

Then there’s the actual premise.

The book promises a story about a therapist and his silent patient — sounds fascinating, right? Except there’s almost no therapy in this book. Theo, the therapist, spends most of his time playing detective in his own life, and Alicia (the actual silent patient) is barely present.

It’s slow without substance, psychological without psychology, and full of men diagnosing women they don’t understand.

⚠️ Spoilers Ahead — You’ve Been Warned

I started hating this book in chapter two.

Theo’s entire “I became a therapist because of my own trauma” vibe immediately screamed 🚩, and the deeper the story went, the worse it got.

Then there’s the “big twist.” It hinges on dual timelines — which, fine, I love when done well — but here it was painfully obvious. I spotted it early and hoped I was wrong, because it was too easy. I wasn’t wrong.

And now, let’s talk about the gender stuff again, because this book simply wouldn’t let it go.

Every single male character calls Alicia unstable, hysterical, eccentric, or crazy.

We get a character literally named Barbie, who’s dismissed as unreliable because she’s beautiful, drinks wine, and has money.

Alicia’s aunt? Evil and fat, because apparently that’s shorthand for “villain.”

The rapist brother? Barely even labeled as such — just vaguely alluded to.

Alicia herself? Disbelieved, silenced, and written off as mentally unstable.

It’s a parade of tired stereotypes. Men get complexity. Women get chaos.

And I know, I know — it’s fiction. But when every single female character is written this way, it stops feeling like storytelling and starts feeling like reinforcement.

The Bottom Line

🩸 Psychological thriller? Barely.

💭 Character depth? Missing.

👩‍⚕️ Actual therapy? None.

🔥 Misogyny? Abundant.

I get why so many people love this book — it’s fast-paced, twisty, and marketed as clever. But if you’ve read more than two thrillers in your life, or if you’re simply tired of women being portrayed as “crazy” while men are “brilliantly damaged,” this one might drive you up the wall.

It’s memorable, yes.

Just not in the way Alex Michaelides probably intended.

Would I recommend it?

No.

Would I happily rant about it again?

Absolutely.

And honestly, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Riley Sager — whose female main characters I also side-eye — feels like a feminist icon compared to this dumpster fire.

⭐ 

My Rating:

 1/5

Would not recommend. Would absolutely rant again.

Have you read The Silent Patient?

Did you love it or hate it — or are you somewhere in between?

Tell me in the comments — I’m genuinely curious if I’m the only one who found this book so frustrating.

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