The Silent Patient/The Maidens

By Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides was one of my favorite reads of 2022. Theo starts a new job at The Grove Mental Center, to get one of the patients to talk, because she won't talk to ANYONE. Alicia Berenson is a famous artist who's husband is found murdered, she shot him 5 times. Alicia is put away for it, but why did she do it? Theo's job is to find out what really happened.

Since she wont talk, we hear Alicia's point of view from the pages in her diary, which was different for me, but I love the way Michaelides writes. He kept me wanting more, and I finished this book in about 3 days. The twist in the end is one that I would not have been able to guess, and in the end I was questioning if I needed to go back and read the beginning again. I loved the twist, and it definitely changed my mind about a few characters that I liked in the start.

The Maidens is Alex Michaelides second novel, and while I liked The Silent Patient a little more, this one was also a great read. When Mariana, a psychologist, visits her niece at Cambridge because her friend is murdered, Mariana goes down a rabbit hole to figure out what happened. As a former student of the University, she spirals out of control to prove that a professor at the college is responsible, with his group of girls they call "The Maidens".

For lovers of The Silent Patient, you will enjoy the little easter egg to the novel in The Maidens. I would recommend both novels to someone who enjoys a fast read thriller from a new writer. I enjoyed both novels and I hope Alex Michaelides write another novel soon.

Comparing both of the novels, I liked the Silent Patient more. Although both books have their own great things about them, as a psychology student I think Silent Patient pulled my curiosity more. You really start to like the main character, only to be pulled in a different direction in the end with an amazing twist.