Alicia Berenson had it all. She was a successful artist, married to a successful fashion photographer. Then, late one night, she shot him five times in the face. And, as the book opens, it’s been six years since that horrific act of violence and Alicia, now inpatient at psychiatric facility, hasn’t said a single word. Enter psychotherapist Theo Faber, who narrates the book, as he seeks to crack the case and get Alicia to start talking again. That’s the set-up for this above average psychological thriller. Michaelides has a brisk prose style that makes reading this book really painless and the plot never really stops unfolding. There are maybe one or two red herrings that could have been cut to tighten things a bit, but, on the whole, I very much enjoyed this book. And I’m going to be honest: I did not see the twist coming. As someone who cut his teeth on Agatha Christie, I’m often able to spot the twist, but this time I didn’t and it even got a small gasp out of me when I realized what had really happened the night of the murder. A twist blindsiding me is pretty remarkable and I have to give the book credit for that. It doesn’t transcend the genre or even just perfectly exemplify it, but it’s the best modern thriller I’ve read in quite a while. 3 stars.
tl;dr – a great premise, brisk prose, fast pace and a genuinely surprising twist; this isn’t great literature, but it’s a darn good psychological thriller. 3 stars.