The Patient is written in the form of a series of blog posts by an overconfident, bright young psychiatrist called Parker H. He takes his first job at a state mental hospital in New England and really wants to make a difference. He is assigned a mysterious, dangerous, uncategorizable mental patient called Joe who has lived in the hospital for decades, since he was a young boy. Doctors, nurses or other staff who interact with or treat this patient often go insane or commit suicide. I will not reveal the twists and turns or the end, which I did not guess. It is fast moving, relatively short and I consider it to be both horror and a psychological thriller. It was well-written, creepy, and dark. The blog post format made it even more terrifying. Keep the lights on while reading this one. Recommended for fans of Stephen King.

A well-done horror story written in a low-key style guaranteed to build up the terror using the first-person narrative by the principal character. A newly graduated psychiatrist Parker H takes his first job at a mental institution in the state of Connecticut. He is determined to help the patients assigned to him to the best of his ability. On the first day at his new job Parker becomes aware of Joe, a 40 year old patient, that has been there since he was 6 years of age. There is no working diagnosis for the man and several previous doctors have come to grief in vain efforts to cure him. Parker sees a challenge in effecting a treatment for Joe and manages to work himself into the position of handling his treatment. During his first session with the patient Parker comes to the conclusion that Joe is apparently normal and suspects that he is being held at the hospital because his parents continue to pay for his care. Acting on his own conclusion Parker confronts the medical staff at the institution questioning the years of poor diagnosis. He also visits the home of Joe's parents and with the help of the mother completes an inspection of the house, and particularly the boy's bedroom. Parker's findings provide an answer for the reason Joe has been diagnosed as mentally ill. Mr. DeWitt's description of the cause introduces a unique answer that certainly delves deeply into a nightmare world and makes the ending as gripping as can be. A short book but certainly one that presents the author as a literary force to be reckoned with causing the reader to certainly look for succeeding novels by him.

I do have to admit that the author almost nailed the structure and the narrative of this story. The first two acts of the book are adequately created in order to raise tension and build up suspense and mystery, keeping hooked and in a trance the reader. As the momentum keeps increasing, becoming harder and mustier as the pages turn, you expect to discover a few mysteries and horrible secrets hidden between the characters that populate the pages. This acts of mysticism and malevolence become more anticipated and sought after, giving an air of speed and volatility to the action. You search and search for an answer, for a release that might soothe the mind. And this is where the author tripped into his own trap. He crushed his ending, brutally and almost inorganically. After such a build-up, after puppeteering his characters into total submission, after rendering words of chaos and evil into a spell that mesmerised everyone, he dropped the pen on paper and flew. Just like his heroes...into the void, into thin logic and no reason. Into a third act of completion, one that mimics a false entity. With no mind and no soul. However dark we would have expected them. Or enjoyed them...For the book prepared us for the inconceivable, yet the author couldn't or wouldn't sketch it black on white. Such a pity, such a waste...a demon that could have been pinned down into the collective imagination of the readers...yet it dissipated into thin air...