Alex Michaelides’ debut, The Silent Patient, was subject to auctions and pre-empts in a world-record breaking number of territories, and has gone on to the be the world's bestselling debut in 2019. It went straight into no.1 on the NYT bestseller list, and has remained in the top 10 for over a year. It has been a top 10 hit in many countries all over the world. It has been shortlisted for the Best Crime and Thriller at the 2020 British Book Awards. His next book - The Maidens - will be published in 2021. 

THE SILENT PATIENT was the bestselling US HB debut of the 2019. It was a Sunday Times top 10  bestseller for seven weeks and no.1 New York Times bestseller, and Amazon no.1 bestseller. It has so far spent over a year in the NYT bestseller chart. It’s a UK record breaker - no UK debut has ever gone straight into no.1 in the US or spent so long in the US charts. It was the biggest HB debut thriller of the year in the UK and it has become a true global bestseller, going top ten in Norway, Poland, Greece, Israel, Finland, Russia, Italy, Romania, Australia, India, Ireland, South Africa, Brazil…

It was a Richard and Judy pick and a Times Book of the Month. It was voted Goodreads Best Crime and Thriller of the Year. An Amazon.com top 10 book of the year and their no.1 thriller of the year. Shortlisted for a Barry for best debut and Barnes and Noble Book of the Year. Bookbub top 10 thrillers of the decade.

Alex studied psychotherapy for three years, and worked for two years at a secure unit for young adults – all of which provided material and inspiration for the book. He is also a screenwriter.

Books in order of publication:

The Silent Patient (2019)

The Maidens (2021)

The Fury (2023)

Praise for The Silent Patient:

‘One of the most spellbinding psychological thrillers we’ve read in years. Beautifully written, exquisitely plotted, the story relentlessly pulls you in and doesn’t let you go until the last shocking (and yet brutally logical) twist. This is an absolutely fantastic and extraordinary read.’ Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, authors of the #1 bestselling Pendergast series

‘Smart, sophisticated storytelling freighted with real suspense – a very fine novel by any standard.’ Lee Child, author of the bestselling Jack Reacher series

‘That rarest of beasts: the perfect thriller. This extraordinary novel set my blood fizzing — I quite literally couldn’t put it down.  I told myself I’d just dip in; eleven hours later — it’s now 5.47 AM — I’ve finished it, absolutely dazzled.’ AJ Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

‘An excellent, slow-burning psychological thriller; sharp, clever and with a whammy that genuinely took me by surprise (it takes a lot to do this). Kudos to the author. More, please.’ Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

‘Just one more chapter. Just one more. Then I’ll stop.’ Once you pick up The Silent Patient, this will be what you’ll say to yourself, until you give in and keep reading until the blindsiding and brilliantly clever conclusion – no matter how good a sleuth you are, you aren’t going to see it coming.’ Emily Koch, author of If I Die Before I Wake

‘Michaelides has crafted a totally original, spellbinding psychological mystery so quirky, so unique that it should have its own genre. I read it in two nights and savored every luscious word, every grim encounter, every startling twist. The pages will burn with the friction from your hands turning them.’ David Baldacci, author of End Game

One of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. Masterfully plotted and brilliantly paced by a writer at the top of his game.’ Cara Hunter, author of Close to Home

‘I was kicking myself black and blue that I did not see *that* moment coming. I have never been so happily wrong-footed. A very clever book – highly recommended. ’ C.J. TUDOR, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Chalk Man

‘Genuinely chilling and with a real sucker punch of a twist’ Sharon Bolton, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Craftsman

‘Absolutely brilliant’ Stephen Fry

‘The Silent Patient is intelligent, imaginative and a terrific read.’ The Times

‘Comes with a killer twist’  The Sunday Times

‘A neatly woven, intelligently written story that lifts the curtain on the complexities of trauma and the human psyche’ Ali Land, Sunday Times bestselling author of Good Me, Bad Me

‘A very impressive debut…an original take on the psychoanalyst tale.  I’m excited to see what Alex does next. This guy has a voice. That’s very rare. He’s a real talent.’ Steve Cavanagh, author of Thirteen

‘[The Silent Patient] establishes Michaelides as a major player in the field.’ Publishers Weekly

‘A dark thriller with a startling twist’ Good Housekeeping

 ‘The Silent Patient may be a first novel, but it has the pace and finesse of a master.’ BBC Culture

‘With more foreign deals than I’ve had hot dinners and film rights already snapped up, The Silent Patient is the thriller everyone’s going to be talking about this year…I know all thrillers are meant to have explosive twists, but The Silent Patient really will have your jaw on the floor when it reaches its shocking climax.’ Red Magazine 

‘An ending worthy of a classic Agatha Christie mystery’ WSJ

‘Masterly plotting, Hitchcockian suspense and an absolute jaw dropper of an ending. Read this book!’ Lucy Foley, author of The Book of Lost and Found

‘The plot is satisfyingly twisty with a gobsmacking conclusion’ Irish Daily Mail

‘A brilliant, all-consuming page-turner with one of the best twists I’ve ever read.’ The Sun 

‘This impressive, immersive debut establishes Michaelides as a writer to watch’ People

'Pick up this novel if you’re after a bookish thriller with stunning backdrops' New York Times

Praise for The Maidens:

"Alex Michaelides’s long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." The New York Times

"Fans of The Secret History will fall hard for The Maidens, Michaelides’ dazzling chaser to 2019’s bestselling The Silent Patient, a challenging act to follow...Layered in dreamlike references to Greek mythology and ancient ritualized murders, this clever literary page-turner firmly establishes Michaelides as an unstoppable force in the thriller space." - Esquire

"There’s definitely a flavour of The Secret History to Alex Michaelides’s second novel … The Maidens is a compelling read, and delivers its Hellenic thrills in style." Sunday Telegraph

"A tense, original story" The Daily Mail

“Infused with Victorian-era British poetry and Greek mythology, Maidens turns the highbrow into the highly readable” Entertainment Weekly

"Combining Greek mythology with propulsive suspense, this gripping, twisty tale is the perfect way to start off your summer reading with a bang" Book Riot

"Nothing short of genius." Woman & Home

"Elegant, sinister, stylish and thrilling. The Maidens answers the weighty question, how do you go about following one of the biggest thrillers of the past decade? You write something even better" - Chris Whitaker, New York Tines bestselling author of We Begin at the End

"Stunning... The intelligent, cerebral plot finds contemporary parallels in Euripides's tragedies, Jacobean dramas such as The Duchess of Malfi, and Tennyson's poetry. Michaelides is on a roll" Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Stylishly written with a great sense of place, bestselling author Michaelides’s second novel is a compelling and complex psychological thriller of the highest order." Irish Independent

"Gripping scenes" Time Magazine

"Michaelides’ stage-setting skills are as masterful here, as they were in The Silent Patient; another tense, cleverly twisted winner." Booklist, starred review

'his writing, especially his characterisation, possesses a unique sparkle and more promise than most other writers.’ Daily Mail

"Destined for the bestseller list." Newsweek

"Page-turner." Time

“What a thrilling, heart in throat ride. A great triumph.” Stephen Fry

‘He’s achieved the almost impossible and surpassed The Silent Patient in this compelling literary thriller, which grips from intriguing start to horrifying finish. It takes a rare talent to take inspiration from Tennyson, Homer and Euripides and weave them into such a contemporary and compelling story, and he has more than achieved this. A brilliant achievement.’ Harriet Tyce

'A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly compulsive read — with a twist that blew my mind.  I loved this even more than I loved The Silent Patient and that’s saying something.' Lucy Foley

"Alex Michaelides hits a home run in his sophomore effort. The Maidens is a page-turner of the first order." David Baldacci

"The greatest campus novel since The Secret History by Donna Tartt." Tony Parsons

Praise for The Fury

'Gloriously atmospheric and utterly riveting, this is my favourite Alex Michaelides yet…. the undisputed master of the twist.' Lucy Foley

'A very sophisticated book which takes the format of a classic murder mystery and elevates it to something very devious and clever indeed.' Harriet Tyce

'Alex Michaelides hits the trifecta with his third novel, The Fury. The highly original story structure presents the reader with the king of all unreliable narrators, enough twists and turns to power two novels, and a host of characters that bleed right on the page. For fans of erudite, locked room mysteries told with style and theatrical panache, The Fury will deliver, on all counts.' David Baldacci

'The Fury by Alex Michaelides is a proper, grown-up thriller that exudes class from every page. So much more than a murder mystery, every twist and turn is simultaneously a total surprise and completely inevitable. The writing is perfectly sparse, yet cloaks a narrative of rare complexity. So many contradictions, yet all unite in a devastating whole. The Fury is a very special book and highly recommended' Janice Hallett

'Audacious, twisty, compelling, and full of the joyous verve that one only finds in the very best storytelling, this is the best novel yet from Alex Michaelides' Sophie Hannah

'A classic, twisting, brilliant murder mystery. A wonderfully drawn cast of characters with a motive to kill for, in a location to die for, keep you guessing until the shocking finale. Clever, and fiendishly fun' Chris Whitaker

“The Fury, like its beguiling narrator, is endlessly evolving, wildly entertaining, and like the very best fiction, impossible to pin down. Just when you think you have it cornered, it moves, impossibly and with stunning flourish, toward a devastating finale. The Talented Mr. Ripley for our time.” Blake Crouch

‘Mesmerising – a beguiling labyrinth of twists and surprises, even better than THE SILENT PATIENT. THE FURY is THE MAGUS meets THE SECRET HISTORY on a Greek island paradise where nothing is as it seems, and Alex Michaelides is a master magician, skilfully misdirecting the reader at every turn’ – JP Delaney

"This is a masterclass in suspense. A unique and captivating narrator takes you on a journey filled with twists and finely drawn characters you will treasure. This is probably his best book. Not to be missed." Steve Cavanagh

"One of those rare books where really nothing is as it seems. As usual, Alex Michaelides does not disappoint." Ragnar Jonasson

"From the author of The Silent Patient comes another perfectly-paced thriller that will have you looking at your friends with a hint of suspicion. This classic locked-room mystery follows a former movie star trapped on a private Greek island with her best friends and a murderer, not to mention plenty of simmering grievances and thirst for revenge. It unfolds so satisfyingly well, you just might want to block off a weekend to read it all in one." Good Housekeeping

‘Shades of Agatha Christie and Sunset Boulevard color this outstanding psychological thriller…  Michaelides keeps readers on deliciously unsteady ground throughout, ratcheting up the tension until he arrives at the final series of reveals. The result is a character-driven, atmospheric delight.’ Publishers Weekly

'Michaelides deliciously twisty and fiendishly clever third novel takes the classic locked-room mystery and delivers a fresh spin on the genre' The Observer

‘Think Patricia Highsmith meets Noël Coward’ Mail on Sunday

'Another blockbuster…Infinitely thrilling, and delicately crafted, the plot keeps everyone guessing until the very end, With an unscrupulous villain to underline just how good it is. Do not miss.' Daily Mail

'Breathtakingly twisty… On the island, nothing is as it seems – and the same can be said for the novel itself, which takes
the classic murder mystery format and twists it into something devious and enthralling and consistently surprising.' The i 

'The Fury is surely set to follow suit of Michaelides first book The Silent Patient and become a bestseller.' Press Association 

‘Ingeniously plotted, and leads to one fabulously theatrical conclusion’ Crime Time