4. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
In The Silent Patient, Alicia Berenson shoots her husband five times after he comes home late from a photo shoot – and then goes mute, refusing to say a single word to anyone. A criminal psychotherapist is determined to solve the case – but how can he get her to talk? Alex Michaelides is the fourth debut novelist on our list, but his relative newness didn’t affect his book’s glowing reviews: “The Silent Patient may be a first novel, but it has the pace and finesse of a master,” praises the BBC.
