Mariana Andros has suffered a lot of loss in her life, from her parents, her sister, and most recently her husband. The only family she has left is her niece Zoe, who's away at college in Cambridge. When Mariana gets a panicked call from Zoe late one night, Mariana rushes to her side. When Mariana arrives at Cambridge, she finds police investigating the body of a young girl, who turns out to be Zoe's best friend, found with multiple stab wounds. Being back at Cambridge stirs up a lot of memories for Mariana, who was a student here when she met her late husband. She knows she has to be strong for her niece, so she's intent to push all her emotions to the side, but she can't help feeling as if something sinister is lurking on campus.

The more Mariana learns of the investigation, the more she can't help but believing that the culprit is Edward Fosca, a popular professor of Greek tragedy. Handsome and charismatic, Professor Fosca is beloved by the staff and all his students, particularly a group of girls referred to as the Maidens that he tutors. Mariana can't explain why, but she feels an uneasiness toward Fosca, especially after watching him give a lecture on the rites of Persephone, the goddess of the Underworld. After another body turns up, Mariana becomes determined to prove Fosca's guilt, but her obsession soon spirals out of control and threatens not only her credibility but her relationships with those closest to her. But are the lengths Mariana is willing to go to catch a killer worth her life?

This was the first book I've read by this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I ended up enjoying it. I knew there was a lot of hype surrounding this and it was well deserved. I was engaged and intrigued right from the start. A lot of that had to do with the bits of Greek mythology that were woven in which were very interesting. Mariana was a compelling character to follow but most of the things she did would never fly in an actual investigation, so there are times you have to suspend your disbelief. What I always look for in thrillers is an element of surprise, and this had that in spades. There were so many characters that had a motive and you could visualize as the killer, but I was completely blindsided by the actual murderer. I was a bit shocked because it felt like it came out of left-field which had me second-guessing every interaction between them and Mariana desperate to see what I was missing. This may have been a slower burn mystery, but well worth it.

Psychotherapist Mariana gets a call from her distraught niece Zoe that Zoe's friend Tara is missing -- Mariana drops everything and heads to Zoe's college to be her support. You see, Zoe is all Mariana has, and Mariana is familiar with the college, as she attended there when she was earning her degree; it is also the place where Mariana met her recently deceased husband Sebastian. The worst turns out to be true -- Tara is found brutally murdered, and more young women soon meet that same fate. Mariana suspects charismatic professor Edward Fosca is behind the murders as the girls were all part of his group of favorites, known as The Maidens. Mariana investigates the murders, and not all is as it seems with a wild ending full of twists and turns that I did not see coming. With the conclusion, I found myself going back to the beginning of the book to see if I missed any clues! I greatly enjoyed this book and desperately raced to finish the book. I liked the tie-ins to The Silent Patient at the end. A great book with an ending I didn't see coming!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon for the eARC and physical ARC and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook.

Pub date 06/15/21

I mostly listened to this book and read a few pages here and there as time permitted. The narrators were excellent.

Unfortunately, I think that this author is just not for me. I read The Silent Patient after I requested The Maidens and there was no way to cancel the pending status.

The main character, Mariana, is a group therapist. When she finds out that her niece’s friend was killed at Cambridge University she decides that she will investigate. Why? I didn’t understand her sudden need to solve the murder, or how she thought she was remotely qualified to do so. Then there are the terrible decisions she repeatedly makes. One example - there has been a pretty brutal murder in the area, the killer is still at large. You know what I wouldn’t do? I wouldn’t go to the pub with someone I met for five minutes on a train, basically a stranger, and then proceed to walk home by myself down a dark and deserted street. Maybe that’s just me.

What I did like was that this was a fast paced read. If you were a fan of The Silent Patient then you will more than likely enjoy this. I loved that there were referenced from The Silent Patient, always fun when an author ties in characters from other books without spoiling the plot so you can read either book first. I did figure out who the killer was early on, but I definitely did not even remotely anticipate the twist so that shock factor was good.

Ahh! I loved the Silent Patient and this was not quite as suspenseful as that, it was definitely close. I LOVED the twist at the end. The characters were incredibly engaging and I definitely felt for them. What a book!

Anything that’s comped even remotely to The Secret History is an auto-read in my books, but since I really enjoyed The Silent Patient last year, I decided I had to prioritize time to read Alex Michaelides’ new book, The Maidens. Ultimately, it was a solid 4.4 star read for me. A good thriller, a semi-satisfying ending, but several things thrown in that made it a bit…much, at times.

Mariana is a Greek-born group therapist, but of course, she has inherited money, so she doesn’t really HAVE to work. That boons well for her, because she ends up hurrying off to Cambridge a few chapters into the novel to console her niece, Zoe. To back up for a moment, Mariana is still recovering from the grief of losing her husband, Sebastian, on a vacation in Greece, both of her parents are dead, and she has no children, so she is of course eager to hurry and help Zoe, the daughter of her sister who died, along with her husband, in a car crash some years before. Zoe’s friend, Tara, has been brutally murdered and found just off campus–stabbed through, almost ritualistically. Zoe tells Mariana that the night Tara was murdered, she told Zoe she was afraid of a well-known, enigmatic, American professor on campus–Edward Fosca. And so begins Mariana’s entanglement in the case, and as more girls die, Mariana becomes more and more entrenched in campus life–seeing colleagues at crime scenes, trying to conduct group therapy with Edward Fosca’s special group of students, and even making friends, and enemies, with others on campus. Ultimately, of course, Mariana’s own life becomes endangered, and the ending is exactly the kind of bonkers twist, that somehow clicks, you’d expect of this author.

The reason this gets comp’d to Secret History is because of the ouevre of Cambridge, an enigmatic professor, Fosca, and his “small group” of female student known as The Maidens who study Greek tragedy together, show up to funerals in all white, etc. But Mariana, as our narrator, is an outsider of the Maidens, so it’s not as Secret History-esque as you might hope. It’s much more in the vein of The Silent Patient, with a college setting. Mariana’s a therapist with her own problems, there’s dead people lurking in the shadows, a few red herrings about who the culprit might be, and the ultimately the BIG reveal, and the visit to the psych ward at the end that leaves the reader wandering what will happen next.

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To touch, briefly on what didn’t work for me about this–it was Fred, the entire existence of him. I get the use of him as a red herring, but Mariana randomly wondering if she’s in love with him? Him declaring marriage? I’m confused. TBH, I was sure he was a figment of Mariana’s imagination until he got stabbed.

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Anyway, a 4.4 star read from me–fans of The Silent Patient will love this one too!

Mariana, a Cambridge alumni, millionaire, group therapist and recent widow, receives a panicked call from her niece, Zoe, who’s best friend has just been murdered at Cambridge University. Zoe asks Mariana to come to Cambridge to be with her. When Mariana gets there not only does she have to face her bereavement as Cambridge is where she met her husband, she meets Cambridge Professor Edward Fosca. Professor Fosca is widely loved by the student body due to his charismatic ways, and even has an exclusive club for female students called the Maidens, and after one meeting, Mariana is certain he is the one who killed Zoe’s best friend.

This was a so-so read for me. Not as good as I’d hoped it would be, but it could’ve been worse. It was predictable, mildly irritating but it definitely enveloped me into the story to be a page turner.

I saw part of the big killer reveal coming, which, I honestly think more readers than not will find predictable too. However, I didn’t see part of the twist coming, and was quite gobsmacked and blindsided by what transpired.

Mariana was what can only be described as an interesting protagonist - for better and worse. On one hand I enjoyed reading her perspective because she’s a group therapist trying to help people who need someone to help them navigate their traumas, all the while experiencing her own grief, bereavement and trauma due to the sudden death of her husband.
But as Mariana grew increasingly obsessed with getting to the bottom of what was happening at the campus, it was hard not to be completely bewildered by this. Why is a group therapist self appointing herself the heroic detective role, when it’s not her job and the police are investigating? For justice for her niece’s friend? That strange narrative is never satisfyingly justified enough by the end. Especially when she constantly did what she knew to either be wrong or she thought wouldn’t be appropriate.

Moreover it became increasingly difficult to see this woman as professional or even educated considering how oblivious she was to clear facts and how she had a serious lack of intuition the average person would possess, so naturally, that frustrated me to no end.

My favourite element of this book was its setting and atmosphere. I loved the academic setting, the secret society atmosphere and combined with Greek mythology, it was clever, extremely beguiling and definitely made it feel like dark academia. The idea of vengeful gods, the furies, sacrifices and rituals, somehow playing a part in grisly murders made me need to know what was happening.

I also liked the tie in to The Silent Patient, and despite finding that Michaelides story extremely predictable too, being reunited with Theo’s character wasn’t dull. He isn’t a central character in this story, he just pops up as an opinion consultant.

The pace was quick and each chapter ends with a tug to keep reading on and on, so it was a real challenge to put the book down. I definitely think The Maidens is worth a read if you liked Michaelides other book, and you’re particularly into cult/mythological inspired mysteries. It was enjoyable but it definitely lacked something.

Thank you kindly to the publishers and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, a huge thanks to Celadon Books for this ARC! Like everyone else, I was a huge fan of Alex Michaelides’ The Silent Patient. If you are too, I highly recommend picking this one up!

It even has a slight bit of crossover which has me wondering if there may be a third book with a more intertwined plot??

The Maidens started out SO strong. I blew through this novel. I LOVED the mythological context and academic setting. As the plot progressed I continued to feel more uneasy (the perfect thriller build up.) The end was good and of course unpredictable in classic Alex Michaelides fashion, but I felt like it had a few lose ends and was maybe too unpredictable? I like to be shocked but at least able to go back and reflect on some foreshadowing I may have missed.

Definitely an intense and engaging read. If you liked The Silent Patient, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

After the mega success of his excellent debut novel "The Silent Patient", it's fair to say that are some big expectations for Alex Michaelides' follow-up. And without a doubt, he does not disappoint! A chilling mystery with some great surprises, "The Maidens" is sure to be on many Best of 2021 lists!

A good murder mystery that kept my attention and kept me guessing until the end. I wasn't a fan of the main character, and the story dragged a bit in the middle, but definitely worth the read!

The Maidens was my most anticipated release of 2021, and ultimately I feel like it’s ~almost~ as good as The Silent Patient. I loved this book until the very end, when the “big twist” was revealed. To me, it’s one of those twists that was completely wild (like The Silent Patient), but I’m not sure was fully earned (unlike The Silent Patient).

I loved basically everything else about this book: the writing, the characters, the atmosphere, and the pacing were done so well. If I had had the time to read this all in one sitting, I definitely would have. One aspect of the book that I found so to be so creative was it’s structural nods to Greek tragedy (which is a large part of the plot). Michaelides set up the narrative into separate parts that were no-so-subtle nods to the various acts in a Greek tragedy. I also found the way the ending was super dramatic and almost had this “going off the rails” nature to be so reminiscent of the last act of a Greek tragedy. He pulled this off so well!

No spoilers, but there is a connection to The Silent Patient in this story that was awesome! I hope he continues to connect his future characters like he did in this one.

Overall, I’d rate this slightly below The Silent Patient because I liked this ending less. However, I really enjoyed reading The Maidens and will definitely be reading whatever Michaelides publishes next!

My rating: 4 stars.

Thank you to Celadon Books for gifting me a physical and electronic ARC of this book and to Netgalley!

I might be one of the few people that hasn’t yet read Michaelides’ previous bestseller, The Silent Patient, but knowing how much readers loved that book and reading the premise of The Maidens was enough to make me want to pick this one up. Michaelides transports the reader to storied Cambridge University and makes you feel like you are walking the campus with Mariana Andros, our group therapist protagonist. Mariana is drawn back to Cambridge after a friend of her niece Zoe is found murdered. Mariana is confident the killer is Edward Fosca, a charismatic Greek Tragedy professor, who has a cult-like following of female students called The Maidens. As the body count grows, Mariana is determined to prove Edward’s guilt, while both her safety and sanity hang in the balance.

I read the final 60% of this book in one afternoon because I couldn’t put it down! In a genre where many endings are predictable, this one was a very solid surprise. I recommend this book whether you are already a Michaelides fan or are just looking for a thriller that will keep you guessing right up until the end. Thank you to Celadon Books and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

Another psychological thriller by Alex Michaelides !! It was one of those books that I could not put down. Just when you think you know he goes puts a twist and turn into ir and the ending 😳.

From the best selling author of the Silent Patient comes a gripping and intense thriller that is difficult to put down.  Brilliant writing and atmospheric storytelling that culminates in a jaw dropping conclusion.  Plenty of engaging twists and turns with rich, dimensional characters.  The incorporation of dark academic and Greek mythology set this story apart from any other psychological thriller I’ve read thus far

Absolutely loved this book! Could not put it down once I started reading it. This author did not disappoint with this second book and also loved the connections made to the first book. Will always read this author for the thrillers he writes!

I was a huge fan of The Silent Patient so when I heard that the author was releasing another novel, I could NOT wait to get my hands on it. The Maidens was a quick, engaging read. I was hooked from the first line. It too had a psychologist as one of the lead characters (like in Silent Patient). I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out the ending and thought the main character was related. I will definitely be recommending this book to my followers on social media, as well as my friends and families.

Thank you for the free advanced copy to read!

Alex Michaelides has done it again! The Maidens is an awesome story. Michaelides brings readers compelling characters within a gripping story. I am thrilled to be able to say Michaelides is the real deal! The Maidens is a unique and impeccably written story. Michaelides brings the twist and turns readers crave, and keeps us on our literary toes…all the while reminding us of our love for tales of the Greek Gods! Move over Hitch!

Does The Maidens give a nod to The Silent Patient? I’ll never tell!!

Oh my goodness. Why a great second novel. I loved this one like I loved The Silent Patient. Every time I thought I had it figured out my attention was diverted to another character. Cannot wait for him to write another.

While I read The Silent Patient and thought it was ok a bit too slow for me, I did like his style of writing so I was excited about his new book. I requested it as soon as it hit Netgalley and was stunned when I was approved and dropped my other book to start this one. I must say I was disappointed immediately and I DNF at 37% and I got that far by pushing myself to read. OMG is it so boring by 37% nothing had happened and I had no interest in continuing.
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC of The Maidens in exchange for my honest review.

Oh, Alex Michaelides. I have such inner conflict about your books! Perhaps I need a therapy session to figure it all out.

First let it be said that Michaelides is a very gifted writer. His descriptions, plotting, and thoughtfulness are all wonderful additions to a story that jumps off the page. Writing is clearly what he’s meant to be doing. I really enjoy the way he puts the words on the page. I particularly enjoyed the very beginning of the book.

Where I have some trouble are with some of this author’s female characters. The first big cringe in this book for me came from Mariana, the therapist and heroine, musing over how the female murder victim might have “provoked” the male killer. Eek. Not only an old fashioned view of women and violence but a very outdated approach to therapy, as well. Attitudes like this peppered throughout gave the book an old-fashioned feel that went beyond the Greek mythology, and to me it constantly felt like a story told by a male Freudian therapist rather than a modern woman. Yes, I understand that the book is meant to comment on how little Mariana really knows as a therapist (or perhaps even a human), but for me, being primarily inside Mariana’s head was just basically a frustrating experience. The book is also pretty slow-moving, like Mariana’s thought process itself,

The second thing that bothered me about the book was the heavy “borrowing” from Donna Tartt’s “Secret History.” He even gives two of the characters the same names of those in Secret History, Julian and Henry. As a big fan of Donna Tartt’s, this made it all the more difficult for me to avoid comparisons to that much better book about Ancient Greek philosophy, even though the stories are different.

But, hey. I’m clearly in the minority here, as this book has been getting rave reviews all over the place. So try it out for yourself. I still really do like Michaelides’ writing, and have some hope that in his next book his female characters will be a little more interesting to me, because he’s always so sharp and thoughtful on the page.

Thanks to Celadon Books, the author, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved The Silent Patient and loved the little crossover between that book and this one.

This book had a fairly slow start. It took me a while to get into it;maybe to around 15-20%. However, once the murders start happening it starts to move quickly. I loved the short chapters, I always feel like I am able to read those books much faster. This book definitely had some twists and turns and kept me guessing just like the author's first.

However, the symbolic language went a little overboard. Almost everything felt like something else or looked like or symbolized something. I also am not very well-versed in all the Greek tragedies so I had to take a few rabbit trails to familiarize myself.

All in all, I thought this was a good, solid psychological thriller that could keep you guessing, even if it did move a little slower in some parts.

I would rate it between 3.5 and 4 stars