How long does it take to read The Silent Patient?
Alex Michaelides
At an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, The Silent Patient takes 5 hours 18 minutes to read. The unabridged audiobook runs 8h 33m at 1x, or 5h 42m at 1.5x.
The Silent Patient was Alex Michaelides's first novel, and it's a quick thriller: a little over five hours at an average pace, which many readers manage in a weekend or a couple of long evenings.
Average is about 250 WPM. Measure yours in two minutes and every time on this page recalculates.
How much to read a day
At 250 words a minute, to finish the book:
Have a deadline in mind? The pages-per-day calculator works it out for any date.
How we measured it
Method: audiobook estimate. Estimated from the unabridged audiobook narrated by Jack Hawkins and Louise Brealey (8:33) at 155 words a minute.
Part of our study of the 100 most popular books, last checked November 2026. Reading times assume steady reading; editions, translations and your own pace all move them.
See how long it really takes you
Log it in Parch as you read. It tracks your pages, sessions and streak, so you'll know your real pace, and how long the next one will take.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read The Silent Patient?
About 5h 18m at an average reading speed of 250 words a minute: 6h 38m at 200 and 4h 25m at 300.
How many words are in The Silent Patient?
About 79,515 words. That's estimated from the unabridged audiobook at a narration pace of 155 words a minute, so treat it as close, not exact.
How long is the audiobook?
8 hours 33 minutes unabridged at 1x: 5h 42m at 1.5x and 4h 17m at 2x.
How many pages a day to finish The Silent Patient in a month?
About 10 pages a day, or 11m of reading a day at an average pace. That assumes about 289 pages at 275 words a page; real page counts vary by edition.
Can you read The Silent Patient in one day?
Many readers do. It's about 5 hours 18 minutes at 250 words a minute, and under four and a half hours at 300.
Is The Silent Patient longer than Verity?
Slightly: about 80,000 words against 76,000, by the same audiobook estimate. That's around 15 minutes more reading.