Thanks to the publisher and author for an advanced ecopy of The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. I went back and forth between the audio and ebook version of the novel. The narrators in the audio version were very good!

So my feelings on the novel, itself are complicated. One must understand that I LOVED The Silent Patient and was blown away by the unique story and unexpected twists and turns that, in general, are often predictable. As is bound to happen, when one book is SO loved, it is inevitable that the next book may not live up to the expectations set by its predecessor. That did happen for me with The Maidens. I felt a bit underwhelmed by it.

However, regardless of it not blowing me away, I want to point out that it DID keep my interest and I read/listened to it very quickly, always wondering what would happen next. It was a good mystery that was affected by my inability to relate to the main character, Mariana. I found her to be annoying and whiny. I have seen others compare the story of The Maidens to perhaps a dumbed down version of Donna Tartt's The Secret History and I do get the comparison. One thing that would have made the two books more similar is if The Maidens had actually spent more time with the girls in The Maidens....but the book spent almost all its time on Mariana, who was not part of the insular "society".

The Maidens is a good mystery that will likely hold anyone's interest who goes into it without the expectations I went in with. It will be especially interesting to those who love novels that incorporate Greek Mythology into the plot, which I also enjoy. Overall, The Maidens is a winning summer mystery that, like a summer romance, won't be that memorable come Fall.

Lots of hype surrounding this book! And why not? The Silent Patient was such an awesome book. But not everything always lives up to the hype.

The setting (Cambridge University) was very atmospheric and almost becomes a character itself. I loved that aspect. This one was definitely a slow burn, but is very readable and I finished pretty quickly. Michaelides writes so eloquently. I also loved the crossover from The Silent Patient. That was a fun surprise. But here’s the thing: I wanted more Maidens!! The whole secret society of female students played such a small role and we hardly got to see it in action. That bummed me out. Also, the ending was just too far fetched for me.

While I wasn’t blown away by The Maidens, I am definitely going to read whatever Michaelides comes up with next!

Does Alex Michaelides hit the ball out of the park with his sophomore book? That elicits a one-word answer from me. Brilliant! I could simply stop writing and say it again. Brilliant.

Greek mythology and a murder mystery. How do the two pair? Any author, especially one relatively new with just their second book, is going to have mixed reviews. After all, reviews are subjective. But we are here for the benefit of my experience with The Maidens. I think as a reader I have gotten a bit too comfortable with audiobooks and text to speech. Although I did receive an audiobook of this ARC, I received a print copy for review first. I did download the audiobook from NetGalley but have not yet found time to listen to it. Why am I bringing this up? Well, I love Kindle text to speech. Using this format allows me to multitask, so sitting down to read a print ARC is not my first choice.

So I came up with a plan. That was to sit in my recliner and to read a hundred pages a day over the course of a few days. Well, that did not happen. In fact, I opened the book and did not move until I read it from cover to cover. To say I was enthralled is an understatement. This book was truly captivating to me, despite the mixed reviews I have perused briefly. As soon as I submit this review I will stop and read at least a few of them.

What grabbed my attention so much with this book? Well, I read The Silent Patient as an early release back in 2019. So I have been more than eager for Alex Michaelides's next book. Then, the plot itself. That captured my attention. A small secret society and the murder of one of the students at Cambridge University.

Our primary protagonist is Mariana, a group therapist who works out of her home. This brings her problems that she much contend with, but before she can sort some of those difficulties out, she receives a phone call from her niece Zoe, who tells her that a classmate has been murdered, and begs Mariana's help. Zoe at first tells her that she thinks her professor Edward Fosca has murdered her friend. What is more is that she alludes to a exclusive group of young women referred to as The Maidens.

Mariana sees those women with her own eyes as she attends the funeral. She sees them walking down the aisles during the funeral in their flowing robes. As she begins to see how these women are connected to Fosca, she becomes worried for Zoe, especially when one of them is soon found murdered.

Admittedly I know nothing of Greek mythology. And the only thing I know about the Greek language are words that I have read in an Interlinear version of the Bible. This story was rich with both, the mythology and language. However, I was not lost. Not once. I love that including both things made this book stand out from The Silent Patient. The author no doubt comfortably used his Cyprus background and smoothly inserted it into this novel. To me, as a reader who always wants to learn, this came highly appreciated. This thrilling story took on a major plot twist, and I simply was not expecting it. In fact, there was even a surprising tie-in to The Silent Patient!

I loved The Maidens and have become a diehard fan of Alex Michaelides. This book has landed in my 2021 list of top reads and no doubt this book will end up in my re-read pile. I cannot wait for his next book and would love to see what direction he takes to see if he writes another thriller of this caliber.

Many thanks to Celadon Books and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

As a fan of The Silent Patient, I knew to expect a compelling and engaging novel, and The Maidens did not disappoint. While I would have enjoyed even more ties to mythology and history, I was deeply engrossed in the story from start to finish and the ending took me completely by surprise. This is definitely a book I'll be recommending to our library patrons!

Mariana Andros knows Edward Fosca is a murderer. Fosca, a handsome and charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University is adored by staff and students alike - particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens. Mariana is a brilliant, but haunted group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered at Cambridge. Despite Fosca having a rock solid alibi Mariana becomes convinced he is guilty of murder. When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control.

I absolutely loved Alex Michaelides’ debut novel, THE SILENT PATIENT, and was thrilled to see he had a new title coming out this year. Books set in academic settings are some of my favorites to pick up, so after hearing the premise for THE MAIDENS I knew I needed to make this a must read. Michaelides does a phenomenal job of bringing Cambridge to life on the pages of this story and setting an at times claustrophobic location that is steeped in secrets.

Despite having a setting that lends itself to tension and creep factor, ultimately THE MAIDENS felt underwhelming to me. I never bonded with the main character of Mariana throughout the entirety of the story. Her backstory felt disjointed and for someone who is labeled as being a gifted therapist, I didn’t see that play out. In addition to not loving the main character, I found the pacing to be slow with little action to hold my attention. Perhaps I’m biased because I was expecting the same thrill ride that THE SILENT PATIENT delivered, but I didn’t find myself sucked into this story until over halfway through.

Overall, I liked THE MAIDENS, but I would have loved to see a bolder and more intense story.

I was lucky enough to also receive and audiobook copy of this - I believe without listening to this I probably wouldn’t have finished the book. I found it very boring and dry at times and to have some character stories that don’t make sense for the book. I couldn’t figure out the whodunit until the ending which is the only part that worked in this book for me. The nod to the Silent Patient in here was a fun surprise.

First of all, I am a big fan of this author and how he weaves the story with literature and educates me in things that I never knew I wanted to learn. In this story, the author weaves in Greek tragedy, specifically the tale of Persephone and her Maidens. The main characters in the story are: Professor Edward Fosca, a renowned expert and teacher of Greek tragedy at Cambridge University; Mariana Andros, a group therapist who graduated from Cambridge and has some issues to resolve from her years there; and Zoe, Mariana’s beloved niece and only remaining relative who is currently attending Cambridge. With the introduction of these characters, the stage was set for what was a well-written and totally absorbing mystery of who is killing the young girls at the university and what does it have to do with the professor. The short chapters helped me to stay engaged with the story because I must admit that all of the Greek mythology references boggled my mind at times and became somewhat overwhelming. The plot was dark and absorbing, with puzzles built into like a labyrinth that winds around and around a central theme of death. The surprising twist at the end was almost a disappointment to me at first because it was so unexpected and I thought that I was finding my way out of the maze just fine, having in mind the person whom I had guessed to be the culprit. Like all masters of the thriller and suspense genre, the author led me down the wrong path and then revealed a murderer whom I never suspected at all. Masterful and powerful book with all the twists and macabre atmosphere that I expected from a book with so many references to Persephone. Fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy this book, but I must warn in advance that it is a slow burn. Just wait for it because the wait is well worth it!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celadon via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive book. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Author Alex Michaelides incorporates mythological characters from ancient Greece creating a gothic feel to his psychological thrillers. His first was The Silent Patient, a wildly popular book which, if you haven’t read it yet, you should. It has made The Maidens a highly anticipated book for its many fans. The heroine of his latest book is Mariana Andros, a group therapist in London. She is trying to recover from the recent loss of her husband Sebastian. The couple met when they were both students at Cambridge, where her niece Zoe now attends. Mariana drops everything and rushes to Cambridge when Zoe calls and tells her that Tara, a close friend, has been brutally murdered. From the beginning, Mariana is convinced that Greek Tragedy professor Edward Fosca is the murderer. Edward is a charismatic man who spends a lot of time working with a devoted, bordering on obsessed, group of female students, all wealthy and beautiful, called The Maidens, which Tara was a member. (The Greek mythological relevance is well explained.) Mariana is very protective of Zoe and wants to help prove that Edward is their man – or figure out who is. The police want nothing to do with her so she decides to work behind the scenes to figure out what is going on.

Mariana is presented as a smart, educated women who nevertheless makes some ill-advised decisions in her quest for answers. But her love and devotion to her niece explains some of her foolishness. Overall, I enjoyed the story and how it all came together. The parallel to Greek tragedy was well done. There was a good dose of creepiness which I felt was effective and chilling.

What made Michaelides’ first book so popular was the ending, which I don’t like to discuss in reviews. But if you plan to read books by this author, it has to be mentioned. This book is filled with lots of red herrings and you’ll keep wondering if you’ll be truly shocked at the end. I’ll just say that it was a satisfying ending. After I was done, I thought back to some of the characters from The Silent Patient who were either mentioned or had a cameo appearance in this book. Then, a big smile came to my face and it made me like the book even more. The Maidens works as a standalone but what a terrific wink to the readers of The Silent Patient.

In "The Maidens," by Alex Michaelides, thirty-six-year-old Mariana Andros is a therapist who grew up in Greece, but now lives in London. She prides herself on her listening skills and insight into human nature. However, she has not been herself since the tragic death of her husband, Sebastian, approximately a year earlier. One evening, Mariana receives a telephone call from her distraught adopted daughter, Zoe, informing Mariana that Tara Hampton, Zoe's close friend, is missing. This is worrisome, because the police are looking into the murder of a woman whom Zoe fears could be Tara.

This book's illogical and far-fetched plot is its undoing. Instead of comforting Zoe or temporarily taking her out of school to regain her composure, Mariana—with the help of a young man she barely knows—turns amateur sleuth. When additional students are attacked, Mariana focuses on proving that the culprit is Edward Fosca, a handsome and charismatic classics professor. He has a cadre of worshipful female students, known as "the maidens," who are besotted with their mesmerizing teacher.

There are some lovely passages that celebrate the beauty and historical significance of Cambridge, but it is too bad that there are so many clichés, coincidences, and passages of overwrought descriptive writing. Here, for example, is a painful simile: Michaelides depicts Mariana's love for Sebastian as "messy: leaking, spilling, tumbling out of her, like stuffing falling out of an old rag doll…." Moreover, the story features a standard-issue psychopath who, throughout the book, reveals sordid details about his dysfunctional parents and abusive upbringing. Numerous red herrings distract us from what is really going on until, in the final chapter, Michaelides wraps things up with a wildly implausible conclusion. Not only is Mariana a bland heroine who foolishly places herself in danger, but this disappointing thriller lacks the intensity and unnerving atmosphere of the author's earlier and far more powerful tale of psychological suspense, "The Silent Patient."

I thought it was okay. It took a while for me to get into the storyline since a lot is thrown at you right away. Overall, I found it a little boring and kind of predictable. I had no difficulty guessing who the murderer was and it feel a little flat.

Thanks so much to @celadonbooks @netgalley and @librofm for my advanced review copies of THE MAIDENS by Alex Michaelides! This one publishes Tuesday June 15!

After loving The Silent Patient, I was so happy to hear if the next book from this author! The twist in TSP was so good!! This one unfortunately fell flat for me, and I’m pretty sure it’s just because I chose to listen to the audio instead of reading my e-arc. My mistake. I just couldn’t get into the audio, kept forgetting what was happening and couldn’t keep track of the characters. After finishing, I thought to myself, “why didn’t I just read it in my kindle?!” Ughhhhh.

I still have the e-arc, so I’ll be interested to see if my opinion changes if I read that version of the book, with better focus.

Even tho the audio fell flat for me, I would still recommend this book for thriller lovers who loved this author’s first book!

Reading Between the Wines book review #66/115 for 2021:
Rating: 3.5 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: The Maidens
Author: Alex Michaelides
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASES on June 15, 2021!!! GET YOUR COPY TODAY!!
Recommended to readers who love any type of Greek background with a mystery mixed in.

Sipping thoughts: I couldn’t wait to read this book because I loved Michaelides, The Silent Patient so much. While this one was not as enthralling as TSP and had a slow start, the reveal was just as shocking and a “I did not see that coming.” There were so many red herrings that I was so sure that I had figured out the killer and I was SO wrong. I LOVED the little Easter Egg that was dropped in The Madiens from The Silent Patient. I cannot wait to see what Michaelides will come up with next!
Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley, @alex.michaelides, and @CeladonBooks for an advanced copy of @TheMaidens
#TheMaidens #AlexMichaelides #CeladonBooks #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #generaladultfiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThriller

A gripping if slightly overwrought thriller set in Cambridge England. Group therapist Mariana, still reeling from the sudden death of her husband, is called to Cambridge by her niece Zoe because her best friend has disappeared. When Mariana arrives, the body of Zoe's friend has been found bearing the marks of what looks like a ritualistic killing. Mariana decides to stay in Cambridge to investigate. She quickly becomes convinced that one of Zoe's instructors, the charismatic American Professor Fosca, who has gathered a group of female admires called The Maidens around him, is behind the murders. In regular fashion more murders happen but what makes this book interesting, is the self-examination the situation forces upon Mariana especially of her relationships with her husband and father.

I probably had unrealistically high expectations for this since The Silent Patient is one of my all time favorite thrillers, plus the fact that it’s revolved around an exclusive collegiate ‘cult’ which is a recent favorite trope of mine.
I think I’m sitting on a solid 4 stars for this one - It took me a minute to get into the story as we’re introduced to a lot of characters at once. But overall I did really enjoy the story although it definitely doesn’t have the same amount of huge twists and turns as his previous book.

WOW!!! It is not often that a second novel will be as good as the first. And I did enjoy The Silent Patient more, but I felt this story was also very well written and really good.

I am a big fan of The Silent Patient and Michaelides’ writing style so I was dying (pun intended) to read his sophomore novel, The Maidens.

Well …. this was such a let down 😔

Likes 👍
🔗 - Is Michaelides creating a psychotherapist universe??? I loved the Theo (lead character from Silent Patient) cameos and the way the book ends. Will we see these two novels collide in his third novel????
📖 - This is a compulsive read with its short chapters and fast paced plot. Michaelides balances his backstories with the active narrative well so you are never too ancy to get back to the action.
🇬🇷 - I love that Michaelides incorporates Greek tragedies into his writing. It adds another deep literary layer creating sophisticated thrillers.

Dislikes 👎
🕵🏻‍♀️ - I don’t understand why Michaelides didn’t make Mariana a forensic psychotherapist like Theo. She’s a group therapist so she has no authority when she heads to the crime scene. She says she is there to support Zoe, but spends most of her time reenacting a Scooby-Doo episode. She is THE worst detective!!! Who goes to have dinner with a suspected murderer alone. Who touches all the supposed evidence and doesn’t turn it into the police or think maybe this has fingerprints on it? Has she never seen a murder show before? Her pathetic sleuthing was annoying to no end.
🔚 - The killer was very obvious to me. As soon as you understand the Greek tragedy reference you know the killer so there was no big reveal unlike The Silent Patient.
🤔 - Motive - WTF was that??? This is my biggest criticism of the book, it is so convoluted and ridiculous. I just don’t buy that the killer would do this. Why do authors over complicate the endings??? I loved the idea of a serial killer following Greek tragedies as a clever motive but Michaelides tried to cram in multiple tragedies to make this work and IMO he was unsuccessful.

Michaelides might have Greek god status in the publishing world, but unfortunately this follow up was definitely a tragedy for me.

Mariana still recovering from the death of her beloved husband runs a therapy group practice. The group has begun to split thanks to one of their owns obsession with Mariana. News of a terrible violent murder on the Cambridge campus, where her niece is brings a break from her practice and a crack in her life as she knew it. Front and foremost among the suspects an enigmatic American professor of Greek studies. Interestingly each of the victims receives a post card written in Greek , with a familiar quote. The professor offers a select group insight into their studies, they are all female, very pretty, and enamored to be included. It is among this group the victims are being chosen. As Marina sees them come to one of the victims memorial service that her attention focused strictly on Dr Fosca. As the coil untangles the real culprit will have you scratching your head. Happy reading

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides is a campus murder mystery full of twists and turns. Mariana is called to the campus where her niece is attending university after her niece's friend is found murdered. Though Mariana is at first there to comfort her niece she soon finds herself drawn into investigating what becomes multiple murders. She's certain she knows who the murderer is but now she has to prove it. Read and enjoy!

I enjoyed the first half of this book, but then I just got annoyed. First of all, I thought The Silent Patient was OKAY - nothing spectacular like almost everyone made it out to be. The Maidens premise sounded interesting, so I thought I would give it a go.

I thought Marianna's journey throughout the beginning part sounded promising - a group therapist, a concerned aunt, a grieving widow - but THEN nothing made sense. The journal/letter inserts, the "investigation" by Marianna, Marianna's relationship with her patient Henry, Marianna's relationship with her niece Zoe, Fred as a character, Morris as a character - so disjointed!

Why was Marianna allowed to become so involved in things? I couldn't understand. Marianna's obsession with Fosca as a murdered was so cringe, as it was so obviously apparent that he was not the murderer.

Unless I missed his mentioning elsewhere in the book - what the heck was up with throwing in Theo Faber towards the end? What the heck?! It seemed like a weird narcissistic author thing to do. HAD Faber been introduced earlier, or it been implied earlier that this was around the same time frame, because then that would mean The Maidens took place 10+ years ago? What?

I had to go back chapters in this book to try to make sense of what was happening, and I don't like doing that.

Mostly what I got out of this is that Marianna is a crap therapist.

I will not be recommending this one. It seemed like a cash out on the popularity of The Silent Patient that the author wrote in too much of a hurry.

Thanks, NetGalley!

I was convinced that after The Silent Patient Alex Michaelides would fall into a sophomore slump. I could not have been more wrong! If I was going to say there was one thing missing from The Silent Patient it would have been a scholarly, gothic setting and Michaelides sets The Maidens in Cambridge and the university there, filling that desire perfectly. His heroine, Mariana is reeling from tragedy and seeking out something to heal herself. What she finds instead is a deep mystery surrounding a charismatic professor, murders, gloomy corridors full of portraits and memories. As she dives head on into the mystery the audience is pulled into a fantastic story, Greek mythology, and enough suspects and red flags to keep any thriller connoisseur happy! The Maidens was so good, I can’t wait for more from Alex Michaelides!