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This was enjoyable light reading, but a few amateurish tells from Michaelides' writing really held back what was otherwise a gripping, twisting plot.

Michaelides makes a fair attempt at a diverse, interesting cast. Unfortunately, with the possible exception of our protagonist Theodore Faber, everyone is merely a caricature, including the much-doted upon Alicia Benson. Alicia is harped upon ad nausea - she's a beautiful redhead, a talented artist, a tortured soul resigned to stoic silence despite her deep trauma. Michaelides tries so hard to span her character across multiple heroic archtypes that she fails to fulfill any, and is just this nebulous, weak-kneed ideal (Oh, by the way, everyone is in love with her, of course). He never gives a satisfying reason for her silence, which is disappointing, given it's the title of the whole book, so I just had to consign it to dramatic effect and plot necessity as we're dragged through the details of her life. The cast at the psychiatric ward is also a little disappointing - I literally rolled my eyes at Diomedes, who keeps a small ensemble of instruments in his office, the epitome of a Renaissance man. While I suppose thrillers aren't known for their realistic characters - I guess I still expected something beyond an amateurish sketch.

Combine these characters with the fact that Michaelides has almost no concept of setting - the several chapters consisting of 90% dialogue might as well happened in Mars, for all the context given - makes for a bland read. I'm not a fan of verbose descriptions of every blade of grass in every field, but there was such a narrow sketch of time and place it hampered the hyperrealistic experience I expect from a thriller.

The plot is Michaelides most obvious strong point. I saw the careful structure of a writer well versed in the tenets of a good plot. The concept of a silent psychotic patient is intriguing at least, and though I'm mostly frustrated with the amount of time spent on belaboring the details of Alicia's past, there are a few details that sparkle with innovation. Unfortunately, there were some obvious loose strands at about the 75% mark. Without giving spoilers, I got the sense the Theo, who has been on an unstoppable quest to unearth Alicia's mysterious past, had put together a few key pieces and was finally putting a plan in motion. He visits a few suspects, and I got the sense he was ready for something big. This build of tension and waste of my attention was disappointing, in the least, because they amount to basically nothing as Michaelides flings out a huge twist at the penultimate chapter. And though the main plot behind his beloved Alicia is finally resolved, all of the details we've gathered about everyone else just seems to dissipate as if we weren't just dragged through hundreds of pages describing them.

Still, despite some obvious and repeated flaws that mar the hyperrealistic experience and at least attempted depth from characters I expect from a thriller, Michaelides surprised me repeatedly throughout the book. I marveled halfway through how unexpected each turn came, how suddenly they sprung when the buildup was there for so long. That is the ultimate promise of a thriller - to be surprised and shocked - and is the best reason to keep reading. With a little sharpening around the edges of his characters and a few touches of good details, Michaelides could very well be an excellent author. I'll certainly keep an eye on him for the future.