Mystery

The Murder

The Silent Patient is a dark psychological suspense that follows a famous painter named Alicia Berenson who is happily married to her husband, Gabriel. But in the opening scene of the book, we learn that Alicia’s husband has been murdered. Alicia is standing covered in blood next to the body of her dead husband, who is still tied to a chair. He had been shot in the face five times, and as it turns out, Alicia’s fingerprints were on the gun that was lying on the floor. The obvious conclusion is that Alicia murdered him.

Did She or Didn’t She?

But did she? Well, the reader had to come up with his or her own conclusion because after the murder, Alicia never spoke another word. Nothing. She refused to talk and gave no explanation or justification for what she did — no defense, no denial, no commentary. Totally silent. Alicia was taken to a psychiatric facility called The Grove, and we wonder whether she will ever speak again to let the world know what really went down that night.

Theo to the Rescue

Fast forward six years where we then, we meet Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. The novel is actually narrated by Theo who tells us Alicia’s story. This is always a trope that I enjoy; that is, when the story is told from the perspective of a psychiatrist. This could be because my undergrad degree is in Psychology, but regardless, I find the exploration and analysis of a patient’s psyche absolutely riveting and it certainly was in this case.

Theo’s Investigation Begins

He is determined to help her find her voice and solve of the mystery of why she shot her husband, with only one main clue at his disposal: an unsettling self-portrait that she painted after the murder and which she titled ‘Alcestis,’ which is the name of a Greek Tragedy.

Though Theo’s conversations with others, we learn more about Alicia, especially how others viewed her, their assumptions about her and their theories about what led up to the murder. As he dug deeper into her past, I began to create certain theories and assumptions of my own. But I’m happy to say that I did not figure it out. Because I hate that. I will also say that the author doesn’t try to lead the reader down the wrong path by peppering the story with erroneous clues. Truth be told, I had no idea how it was all going to play out until the final shocking pages.

A Dark and Disturbing Path

So as Theo begins interviewing others, diving deeper into Alicia’s psyche through therapy and studying entries in Alicia’s diary – the diary she was keeping before her husband’s murder — he ends up going down quite a dark and twisty path, especially once he begins to get a clearer image of who she was, her history and of the events that preceded the murder. Naturally, not all is as it seems. But all through the story, I had one nagging questions: Why has Alicia remained silent. What is shock or fear or guilt? Or something else entirely?

Given that the story is told from Theo’s point of view, we also get a peek into his life and his thoughts, and eventually learn why he is so determined to learn the truth about what happened that night.

Oh — That Ending!

But the highlight of this story is the completely insane and unexpected twist that comes at the end. It was nothing short of amazing, and I did not see it coming at all. It snuck up on me without warning. I was shocked, I tell you, shocked. This ending is definitely a favorite.

Verdict

All in all, The Silent Patient was a meticulously well-crafted, captivating and clever psychological thriller that kept my eyes glued to the page with a plethora of twists, turns, and surprises. I have to say that I found Alicia to be one of the MOST compelling, enigmatic and complex characters I have ever read about. This is a well-written, engaging, and suspenseful novel that drew me right in from the beginning and then totally blew me away at the end. It was a complete whirlwind of a story — dark and intense — and I loved it.

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Spells and Scones by is another cozy mystery that I heard about on my library’s podcast, and it sounded like fun.

It takes place in Savannah and follows magical baker Katie Lightfoot who is catering a book signing by a famous self-help author at the bookstore next door to her bakery. A huge crowd gathers for the event, and as the author, Dr. Dana arrives, a few people loudly protest and heckle this self-help Guru, primarily because of her “Radical Trust” philosophy which has proven detrimental to many relationships and something that I found quite creepy. Some of the people there to protest were very, very angry, as some of their marriages were ruined due to Dr. Dana’s advice.

After the reading, the author is ushered to the back of the store to sign some books. Not long afterward, she is found laying on the floor, dead with a scent of almonds in the air. Murder by cyanide, as it turns out. A woman, who was standing over the body when it was discovered, becomes the prime suspect.

As it turns out, the woman accused of the murder is a former witch named Angie Kissel who had stopped practicing magic. She was also divorced after having followed the relationship advice of Dr. Dana. Quinn, the detective assigned to the case, considers it and he is confident that Angie did it.

But Katie’s canine familiar, a little dog named Mungo who once belonged to Angie, convinces Katie that Angie is innocent and urges her to investigate. Deciding to help the woman, Katie delves into the mystery and as she does so, discovers that there are several possible suspects.

Spells and Scones was a light, fun, witchy cozy mystery and, as it turns out, book 6 in the Magical Bakery series. Though it wasn’t an overly complex or twisty mystery, it was a satisfying read with whimsical characters and I may read more books in this series in the future. There are also some delicious-sounding recipes at the end of the book.

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 An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena follows a group of people who head out to Mitchells Inn located deep in the Catskills for a quiet weekend in the country. It’s a perfect place to do some skiing, work on a novel or simply relax.

So being in the middle of winter, the weather takes an abrupt turn for the worse, cutting off power and phone service. The guests remain in good spirits and make the best of it, settling in until the roads are cleared. The quiet serenity of the hotel’s paradise-like atmosphere is suddenly broken, however, when one of the guests turns up dead at the bottom of the steps.

It looks like an accident – an unfortunate tumble down the stairs. But one of the guests believes that the evidence indicates that this was not an accident. But when a second guest shows us dead — this one clearly murdered — the tension is instantly ratcheted up, and panic ensues.

Fear rises and tensions escalate as everyone is left to wonder: are one of the guests – one of them — the murderer? If so, which one? Or is there someone else hiding in the hotel, waiting to pick them off, one by one?

More murder follows and tensions — and tempers — rise even further as nobody is above suspicion, especially once secrets begin to emerge. Nobody can sleep. Nobody can trust anyone as they all wonder: Which if any of them will survive the weekend?

This was an excellent Whodunit in Agatha Cristie style. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters along with the backstory as I tried to guess the identity of the murderer, paying attention to all the clues along the way. This alone made the book difficult to put down and drew me right into the story.

I loved that fact that the story was told from the point of view of each guest, which added to the richness of the story. Each character had a distinct personality and backstory that didn’t make POV switches at all confusing. Each character is fully fleshed out, and we end up knowing each of their secrets, thoughts, desires, and hopes. But we don’t learn everything.

In fact, the author reveals just enough information about each character to make you wonder about their true motivations and their reasons for coming to the lodge. The story was, however, an eerie, tension-filled and suspenseful story that was fully immersive as we put ourselves in the shoes of the hotel’s guests. It wasn’t at all graphic or gory though — just a fun though unsetting whodunit.

So I absolutely loved this book. It was a clever, atmospheric and fun Whodunit with vivid, engaging and relatable characters all in a realistic setting. I mean, how can you not love a murder mystery that takes place in the woods in the midst of a storm?

I’m so glad that I went into this knowing nothing at all about it and there were plenty of twists and surprises to keep me turning the page. The author does an excellent job at throwing you off track, and I was unable to correctly guess who the killer was. Which is good — I hate when I guess the ending when I’m only part way through a story.

And even once everything is neatly tied up at the end, the story continues further on for a few extra pages, revealing an extra squeal-worthy twist that I did not seem coming at all and that I loved.

Shari Lapena is a new author for me, and I look forward to reading more by her.

My thanks to the Viking Press for an advanced readers copy of this book.

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I’ve been wanting to read Louise Penny for a while now as the people in my book club rave about her books. So I picked up the first one in the Gamache series called Still Life.

The story opens when Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called to the scene of a suspicious death in the rural village of Three Pines, south of Montreal. Jane Neal, an elderly woman and beloved longtime resident of Three Pines has been found dead in the woods. The locals are positive it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache doesn’t necessarily agree and is soon convinced that Jane Neal death was not an accident. She was murdered.

This book has a fantastic cast of eccentric, complex and likable characters, each with more than their share of faults. There were numerous red herrings peppered throughout the story, and as Gamache deepens his investigation, possible suspects began to emerge. By the end of the book, we’ve pretty much gotten to know everyone, along with their faults and their foibles, in the small town of Three Pines — including the murderer. And everyone has layers upon layers of secrets.

Now even though many people refer to this as a cozy mystery, I’m not entirely sure that I agree. While it did take place in a quaint little artsy town, there was a darker feel to it then you see with a lot of cozies. There was long-standing hatred, fear, homophobia, revenge and, as it turns out, multiple murders. Though it certainly wasn’t gloomy, it doesn’t have that light, almost playful atmosphere you see in the cozy mystery genre.

As is the case with mysteries, one cannot say too much without spilling the beans as it were. Let me just say that this was an enjoyable mystery that kept me guessing until the end. This one I did not figure out.

The only niggle that I had with the book was the depiction of the gay couple. The author relied on stereotypical representations in which they ran a B & B and collected antiques. And then there’s the scene where they were singing “It’s Raining Men” in the kitchen, which caused me to roll my eyes so hard that I saw my brain.

If it hadn’t been for this insulting stereotyping, I probably would have given this book five stars. That being said, this is a solid 4-star read for me, and I hope to continue with the series and see what other kinds of trouble our Chief Inspector gets himself into.

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