Genre : Mystery, Thriller
Pages : 336
Published : Feb 5, 2019
Goodreads rating : 4.1
Trigger warning : Murder, self-harm, abusive parents, suicide, sexual assault, racism, bodyshaming
My personal rating : 4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My favourite quote from the book : "We often mistake love for fireworks - for drama and dysfunction. But real love is very quiet, very still. It's boring, if seen from the perspective of high drama. Love is deep and calm - and constant."
Description :
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.
Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him...
NON-SPOILER SECTION
This book is definitely a page turner. I decided to read it because I love psychological thrillers and the idea behind this book really intrigued me. It's so original. I was hooked from the start and couldn't put it down because I wanted to know what happened to Alicia and why she killed her husband.
I love it when books are narrated from a psychotherapist's point of view because almost every thing they think is worth noting. "We’re all crazy, I believe, just in different ways." is one of my favourite quotes from the main character Theo.
There's not much more I can say without spoiling it, so check it out if you're interested. Get ready for a mind blowing twist at the end!
SPOILER SECTION
This book would've been underwhelming if it wasn't for that last twist where we find out he was the man we read about in her diary entries all along. I knew something was up because I was wondering why the side story of his girlfriend was needed. I started to feel like it was a past event, and I was right. But I could never have guessed she killed her husband because of him. Reading that part gave me chills.
But somehow I couldn't help but still root for him. I might be the only one lol. I was actually shipping them.
Also, it felt like Max Benenson was like added as a filler for the book. Same goes for Jean Felix but I'm glad they're in the book because it keeps you wondering if they had something to do with the murder.
Also, I never trusted Gabriel because he was obviously not a good husband. With him staying out late and everything he was just really suspicious. And she literally woke him up in the middle of the night because she was scared someone was outside and he got annoyed and went to sleep in another room. WTH. Well he paid the price.
That whole greek story thing and his therapist Ruth were among the things I was glad the author added to the book.
Another thing that really took me by surprise is when Alicia started talking. I didn't think it'd be that easy to get her to talk. I was also suprised that Christian knew Alicia.
But anyway I enjoyed this book a lot. I gave it 4 stars but it doesn't mean I didn't love it. I just felt like the characters lacked depth and more stuff should've happened before it came to an end.
That end tho, after I read that twist all I wanted to do was go back and re read it so I can interpret his every word carefully and try to figure out if he's been subtly hinting at it throughout the whole book.