Against a thematic background of Greek Tragedy serving as a template to a series of Cambridge murders, what the victims have in common is membership in the clandestine group, The Maidens. When professor Edward Fosca invites Marianne, a Cambridge alumni and aunt of one of the students, for an intimate dinner in his rooms, Mariana is reluctant, but also convinced that Fosca is the murderer. In the interest of investigation, she accepts his invitation and finds disturbing evidence to support her convictions. Not knowing whom to trust with her findings, Mariana calls Fred and the two put their minds together in unravelling the murder-mystery.

Tangled threads and uncanny alliances are woven throughout this off-kilter story. Interspersed throughout are confessions from a troubled, unknown narrator, on whom the lens of possibility shifts from one character to the next.

The Maidens is an intricately plotted, mystery-thriller for the discerning reader. It’s an atmospheric story set on Cambridge University’s campus merging cliff-hanging twists with artful suspense.

I found this title to be unfortunately slow moving and did not finish it. I will not be sharing this review.

Excellent. Was able to grab the book as well! Thank you to Netgalley and the pub for my copy. All thoughts are my own.

An incredibly thrilling and well-paced start to the much awaited Michaelides sophomore novel. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for more.

Based on chapter sampler

First few chapters couldn't hold my attention.
I was forcing myself to read each chapter.
Mystery seems to be developing but not unputdownable.

I didn't really enjoy the book. But there's one thing I truly appreciate.

Alex Michaelides makes it fun to read his work.

You have to read a lot of "fancy," well-loved books that are such a drag to get through before you can really start to appreciate a book like this. I tend to abandon books quite easily if it's hard to get through. Not once did I consider abandoning this.

So what didn't I like?

There are many plot points that feel incredibly contrived. I still to date don't get Henry's arc. I get what the author was attempting with this book. But a lot of the plot points feel painfully suspenseful. It's so obvious some of them are coming. He writes himself into a corner and then digs the characters out of that corner very shoddily. I doubt you would be impressed with any of the plot twists. When I pick a thriller, I either expect hard-core suspense or really layered characters. The former is really hard to write, but I did expect the latter with this. The Silent Patient by the same author had a bit of both. I definitely enjoyed that one more. Even the greek legends interwoven into the story felt very contrived in this one.

Still, a fun read.

As someone who considers "Dark Academia" to be their aesthetic,I absolutely adored this book. Recommended to fans of thrillers and mythology.

This review will be based upon the Chapter Sampler.

I have the actual book, so I will wait until I read the entire thing before I give it a solid review. As far as this Chapter Review goes, I can say that I am a bit hesitant to read the book and get invested. I could not seem to keep my attention on this sampler, and found myself looking at my never-ending pile of TBR in my office. I love "The Silent Patient" and I suppose I assumed this would be the same caliber of a novel, sadly I am disappointed. Again, I will wait to give a solid review after I complete the entire novel, but for right now, I would advise anyone to skip this book and find another.

I was given The Maidens: Chapter Sampler to read from NetGalley . It is challenging to review a book with just a few sample chapters. There is an intriguing start to the book and I would recommend that if you are interested in Greek mythology, this could be a great read for you.

“A nervous, edgy energy was in the air. A monster with a knife was among them, unseen, prowling the streets, apparently able to strike and then melt away invisibly into the darkness … His invisibility made him into something more than human, something supernatural: a creature born from a myth, a phantom.

Except Mariana knew he wasn’t a phantom, or a monster. He was just a man, and he didn’t merit being mythologized; he didn’t deserve it.”

If you loved Alex Michaelides’ breakout debut thriller, The Silent Patient’, as much as I did then you know that the bar was set pretty high for the next book. But I’m delighted to share that ‘The Maidens’, a gripping tale of Grecian mythology, obsession and horror lurking beneath the towers of Cambridge, is even better, if such a thing is possible. I shut out the world for a day while reading, as I found it impossible to tear myself away from this engrossing psychological thriller. The characters’ personal stories will stay with you long after you put it down.

Mariana, a grieving widow and group therapist, cares deeply for her niece, Zoe. So when one of Zoe’s friends is murdered, Mariana travels to Cambridge to support her — and to prove the guilt of Edward Fosca, the enigmatic professor who seems to have captured the admiration of everyone but Mariana. She’s also determined to uncover what’s really going on with his cultish student followers who call themselves The Maidens.

A couple of things set Alex Michaelides’ writing apart from lesser thrillers. There are the twisty, compulsive, page-turner appeal, the cleverly placed red herrings and the ‘what the hell just happened’ moments, but also a wonderful sense of place and a rich depth of character. I cared hugely for our grieving heroine Mariana and her niece Zoe. I was fascinated by the mysterious Maidens and by their enigmatic leader, the byronic Edward Fosca with his sweeping dark cloak and long locks. I came away from reading this feeling richly sated and as though I had had my breath snatched from me by the thrilling roller coaster ride of the plot.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @CeladonBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was a fan of The Silent Patient and have been looking forward to the Author’s follow up. The chapter sampler of this book has me so excited to read the whole thing. I am enjoying the writing and the main character so far, and am super intrigued. I will definitely be picking this one up!

The sampler had me excited to get ahold of the rest of the book. The Maidens had a solid beginning. I had been looking forward to more from Alex Michaelides after his debut, The Silent Patient.

I was disappointed frankly and thought it borrowed a bit much from A Secret History. I do not like to post negative reviews online, so I will not post further. While I only received the sample pages through Netgalley, I did acquire and read the whole book.

Always difficult to compete with a blockbuster former piece no matter what, but this is not comparable in any way. It's just boring. Dark academia gone wrong. Serial killer on the loose at Cambridge. Unlike The Silent Patient, the twists were predictable. Michaelides can indeed paint a wonderful landscape - quite atmospheric, but not up to the glory of his former work of art.

I read this chapter sample and enjoyed it to much I read the whole book. The Maidens lives up to the hype of being a cerebral page turner.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides is a wonderful book. This sampler hold my attention and left me wanting to read more. Thanks Netgalley.

Just these short chapters and I was hooked. Had to get it as soon as it came out!!cant wait to get into it and see how it all pans out.

I listened to the full book on Audible and the narrators did an amazing job! they really reeled me in from the beginning, and it helped that the storyline was fast-paced and compelling enough. the atmosphere was detailed and rich, which i loved. unfortunately i thought the twist wasn't as shocking as the one in The Silent Patient, and it left me wanting more. looking forward to Michaelides' next work!

After reading the first few chapters, I didn't quite get pulled into the story as much as I wanted to. I absolutely loved The Silent Patient with all the suspenseful, crazy twists, so I am definitely willing to give this book a chance. Can't wait to read the entire thing!

I have been loving this sample of The Maidens, and I can't wait to read the full novel! Very compelling so far.