I found this softcover in this Little Free Library in Lyndeborough NH while dropping off some books of my own, and nabbed it for another release copy.

It's a twisty thriller centered on the narrator's attempts to help a woman who's been in a high-security mental institution for six years following the murder of her husband - and who has been silent the entire time. The narrator, Theo, is a psychotherapist who is fascinated by her case; why would she, a talented artist whose works have drawn crowds, murder her husband - with whom she was supposedly in a devoted, loving relationship - and then simply stop talking entirely?

The novel includes excerpts from Alicia's diary (one that, apparently, she managed to smuggle into the mental hospital without its ever being seen by the detectives investigating her case - I had to do a little mental hand-waving about that bit), though they're scattered through the narrative and only in the later parts of the story provide clear information. Theo himself reveals bits about his personal life, marital problems, and troubled youth - which led to his getting help from a psychotherapist and eventually becoming one himself. And his escalating attempts to talk with the people who knew Alicia and her late husband cross the line of acceptable professional behavior pretty early on, so it's clear that he's obsessed and that there are a LOT of secrets surrounding Alicia's life and marriage.

While the story kept me interested, I found the various revelations increasingly disturbing - and not just in a "wow, didn't expect that twist" way, though there was some of that as well. And I did find a few more plotholes that bugged me. Still, the story has some memorable elements.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the novel, with some interesting tidbits.]

I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]