There is a very specific feeling you get when you finish The Silent Patient. You close it, stare at the wall for a while, then turn straight back to the beginning to see how you missed it. After that, most thrillers feel a little bit obvious, which is annoying for everybody, including the thrillers.
These ten come closest to that feeling. I have said exactly what each one shares with The Silent Patient, so you can pick the one that matches the part you loved. Spoiler-free, including for The Silent Patient itself, in case you are reading this first. Good for you.
10 books like The Silent Patient
The Maidens
Alex Michaelides · 2021
A group therapist goes to Cambridge to support her niece after a student is murdered, and becomes convinced that a charismatic professor is responsible. Same author, same dark academic atmosphere, and one or two familiar faces if you look closely.
Side effects: reading Greek tragedies for fun, against your better judgement.
Read it if: you want more Michaelides first.
Find The Maidens on AmazonBehind Her Eyes
Sarah Pinborough · 2017
A single mum falls for her married boss and then, by accident, befriends his wife. A marriage you cannot read from the outside, and one of the most argued-about endings of the last decade.
Side effects: deep distrust of anybody whose marriage looks perfect on Instagram.
Read it if: you loved the final reveal most of all.
Find Behind Her Eyes on AmazonSometimes I Lie
Alice Feeney · 2017
A woman lies in a hospital bed, unable to move or speak, piecing together how she ended up there. A silent heroine and a narrator who openly admits you shouldn’t trust her.
Side effects: paying very close attention to what people don’t say.
Read it if: you loved Alicia’s silence.
Find Sometimes I Lie on AmazonThe Push
Ashley Audrain · 2021
Blythe is sure there is something wrong with her daughter. Nobody believes her. A quietly terrifying book about motherhood, guilt and what gets passed down through families.
Side effects: looking at the family photos in the hallway for slightly too long.
Read it if: you want something that gets right under your skin.
Find The Push on AmazonVerity
Colleen Hoover · 2018
A writer hired to finish a famous author’s books finds a manuscript full of confessions she was never meant to read. Dark, obsessive and very hard to put down. Here are more books like Verity if it gets you.
Side effects: never again leaving your notes app unlocked.
Read it if: you loved reading Alicia’s private diary.
Find Verity on Amazon
An opening line to keep you up tonight
“I cut my hair off for Frankie Driscoll on a Tuesday night, with my mother’s dressmaking scissors, while he ate liver and onions and watched me do it.”
Before I Go to Sleep
S. J. Watson · 2011
Christine wakes every day with no memory and a husband she doesn’t recognise. She keeps a secret journal to try to piece her life back together, and it starts telling her things that don’t add up.
Side effects: sudden enthusiasm for keeping a diary, and hiding it well.
Read it if: you liked the diary chapters.
Find Before I Go to Sleep on AmazonThe Woman in the Window
A. J. Finn · 2018
Anna, a former child psychologist, hasn’t left her house in months. From her window she watches the family across the street, until she sees something she can’t unsee.
Side effects: closing the curtains a little earlier in the evenings.
Read it if: you liked having a psychologist at the centre of the story.
Find The Woman in the Window on AmazonRock Paper Scissors
Alice Feeney · 2021
A couple on the rocks win a weekend away at a remote converted chapel in Scotland. The letters she has written him on every anniversary tell you a little more about the marriage each time. Twisty to the very last page.
Side effects: rereading old birthday cards with a critical eye.
Read it if: you want a marriage full of secrets.
Find Rock Paper Scissors on AmazonThe Housemaid
Freida McFadden · 2022
Millie takes a live-in job with a rich family and moves into a tiny attic room. The door locks from the outside. Fast, addictive and very twisty. There is a whole list of books like Freida McFadden if you catch the bug.
Side effects: cancelling your plans for the rest of the day.
Read it if: you want something you can finish in one sitting.
Find The Housemaid on AmazonThe Silent Wife
A. S. A. Harrison · 2013
A marriage told from both sides: the wife who keeps the peace and the husband who keeps secrets. A slow, chilling study of how far a quiet person can be pushed, and how quietly she can push back.
Side effects: appreciating the people in your life who say what they mean.
Read it if: you liked the slow burn of a marriage coming apart.
Find The Silent Wife on Amazon
A quick detour
Which of my thrillers is your next Silent Patient?
Not sure what to read next? Take the 60-second quiz.
Is there a sequel to The Silent Patient?
No. The Silent Patient is a standalone novel. Alex Michaelides has since written The Maidens and The Fury, which share the same tone, and a character from The Silent Patient makes an appearance in The Maidens. For more endings like it, see my list of thrillers with plot twists you won’t see coming.
Your questions answered
What should I read after The Silent Patient?
Read The Maidens by Alex Michaelides next for the same author and atmosphere, or Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough if the ending was your favourite part.
What books are similar to The Silent Patient?
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney, The Push by Ashley Audrain, Verity by Colleen Hoover, Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson and The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn.
Is there a book like The Silent Patient with a therapist?
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides follows a group therapist, and Don’t Lie Back by Kadie Vellis is set in a therapist’s room in Islington.
Is The Silent Patient a series?
No, it is a standalone. Alex Michaelides’ other thrillers are The Maidens and The Fury.
Which book should I read next?
If you can’t choose, take the 60-second quiz.
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