prettylittlewriter

This psychological thriller keeps you guessing right until the very end. 

‘When Alicia Berenson commits the ultimate crime by shooting her husband in the head five times, she vows to be forever silent. Psychotherapist Theo Faber decides he is the one that can break her silence, so he takes a job at the mental health facility where she is located, and commits to getting a breakthrough.

Theo’s search for the truth threatens to consume him, and his true intentions become questionable.’

I was hooked on this book.

I have seen so many mixed reviews on this novel, so when I picked this up, I was nervous about how much I would enjoy it.

Theo is a likeable character, although his dedication to Alicia’s truth is quite strange to begin with, it seems he only has good intentions, and really does want to get Alicia talking again. You also feel incredibly sorry for him when you find out his wife is cheating on him, as it sends him spiralling further.

As we do not hear from Alicia herself until later in the novel, mainly through her diary entries, it is difficult to really gauge what kind of person she is, and whether she really did kill her husband.

I liked the aspect of the Greek tragedy play within it, Alcestis. It really adds to the narrative, and is a very clever way of eventually explaining why Alicia is staying silent.

Throughout the novel, there are other characters that you are thrown as a potential suspect in the murder of Alicia’s husband, Gabriel, or at least, one of the reasons for Alicia herself refusing to talk. You begin to wonder whether she did murder her husband, or if she is covering for someone else.

I thought it was very well written (ignoring the few spelling mistakes within), and had a clever plot, with an absolutely brilliant twist at the end!

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a shocking ending, and fans of psychological slow-burners.

4/5 stars