The book is a psychological thriller novel that debuted in 2019. The story is about a lady named Alice Berenson, a famous painter, who was married to a fashion photographer, Gabriel. They had a perfect life, seemingly so. One day, Gabriel returns home late from a photoshoot, and Alice shoots him in the face five times and then never utters a word, even during the trial; her silence lasts for about six years. She was, therefore, declared insane and admitted to a secure medical facility in North London as a sentence.
After being arrested for the murder, Alicia paints a painting tilted Alcestis, where Alicia is the woman depicted in the painting. The painting represents Alcestis, a drama by Euripides, performed in 438 BCE. The Greek mythology concerns the imminent death of King Admetus, who is advised that he will be allowed to live if he can find someone willing to die in his place. Alcestis, his wife, gives up her life before she recognizes that the fact and manner of her dying will blight his life. Admetus’s old friend Heracles appears just in time to rescue Alcestis from the clutches of death and restore her to her relieved husband. After she is revived, Alcestis remains silent because of hurt and anger.
Alicia watched a production of the play days before the murder, presumably inspiring the painting. The Alcestis painting ends up becoming a centerpiece of the story and is referred to at multiple points within the story.
After a few years, a criminal psychotherapist called Theo Faber applied for an opening at the medical facility, determined to become Alice’s therapist and help her overcome the silence and explain the event that took place on the day of the murder.
The narration is mainly from two points of view: Theo Faber as the main narrator, narrating the present and his past, and the second point of view is Alice’s diary entries.
The story gave me mixed feelings as it involved a big twist toward the end, whereby Theo was involved in the events leading up to the murder. I won’t give away too much in case you would like to read the book. Theo was not aware of Alice’s childhood trauma that eventually made her pull the trigger on the same night, something he wished he knew beforehand.
The plot twists and mind games are pretty interesting. The story contains many psychological complexities broken down from a clinical psychology point of view.
Overall, the book is original, fresh, and captivating. I found it hard to put down and read it in three days. I would definitely recommend it.
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