Do you love a good murder mystery and an elite academic setting? I know I do - and this thriller was packed with classical literary references, an elite society, and a sexy villainous professor. It was so great! This is a book that lives up to the hype. It has short chapters that keeps you turning pages, and I was desperate to find out what happened next.

I’m not sure how I feel about the ending, but I can certainly say I didn’t see it coming. If you liked this author’s book, The Silent Patient, you will like this one too. And without giving anything away, there’s a little Easter egg in there for you.

This is a great summer read. It’s perfect for by the pool or beach.

The Maidens started off a bit slow for me, but it really picked up at the halfway point. I thought Mariana was a strong narrator and I appreciated her thought process and determination to figure out what is going on to help Zoe. I had my suspicions of what was going on, but Michaelides did a wonderful job of making me doubt myself at every turn. There were plenty of suspects and I didn't fully figure out who the killer was until the big reveal, which is always a plus for me.

My only real issue with the book was I didn't feel like the killers narrations (letters?) made sense given, who it was. But maybe I missed something. I also didn't feel that the Greek mythology connection was there for me, but that didn't detract from the book for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Maidens. I think I would have liked it a little more in a physical format despite normally enjoying thrillers via audio. I loved that it was so different than The Silent Patient and I can’t wait to read more from the author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review.

Audiobook quality was great. The story itself was really interesting in the beginning but by the end of it I was just meh. It's about a college professor who's under the suspicion of killing a student and an aunt to the student's friend, who is trying to solve this case.

I think overall this just isn't my type of thriller. I'm not one for cultish things and mythology, so I was hoping the thriller part would carry it--but it just didn't for me. I can see though how people enjoy the plot and the twists but I sort of figured out the twist before the halfway mark. I think also a certain trope in this story has been done so many times that I'm just bored with it.

I did enjoy the reveals and mystery behind the protagonist's husband though. I was more interested in those little parts than the current deaths that were happening. Again, I think this book is good but just not for me. I still would recommend this to people who enjoy aspects of thrilling cults, detective work and being in the mind of a grieving traumatized character.

3/5

Devastated over the death of her husband, Sebastian, Mariana is dead set on protecting her only remaining family, her niece Zoe. When Zoe calls from Cambridge University to tell Mariana that her best friend has been murdered she drops her life and her patients and takes off for her alma matter, the place where her and Sebastian fell in love.

Mariana is convinced that Edward Fosca is the murdered. Professor Fosca is a beloved Greek Tragedy professor and the leader of a secret society, The Maidens. When the murders seemed tied to The Maidens Mariana cannot let go. I think this obsessive, single-mindedness was a bit over-done in the book and made the book feel as though it went on a bit long in the build-up.

The easter eggs of the crossover character from The Silent Patient was fabulous and kind of felt like a famous person sighting within the book :) Unfortunately I think the Silent Patient still remains solidly above this sophomore novel from Michaelides and while I will read the next book he puts out this one didn't quite live up to his debut.

If you want to check this book out I do definitely recommend the narration by Louise Brealey and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.

I was excited to receive the ARC of this audiobook after previously listening to The Silent Patient. Knowing that the talented Louise Brealey would also be one of the narrators in this book added to my eager anticipation for the book. Both Ms. Brealey and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith did an excellent job adding to the suspense of the novel. I have listened to Ms. Brealey in other books before The Silent Patient and she never disappoints. Her ability to add emotion and engage the reader in the characters keeps the listener totally engaged in the story.

The story did not disappoint either. I found that the incorporation of Greek Tragedy and the setting of Cambridge added to the suspense and atmosphere of the story. I was kept guessing the entire time as to who was doing the murders and although at times, I think I suspected almost everyone, the reveal of the murderer and reasons behind them came as a complete surprise, but also made complete sense. I also loved the mention of the character from The Silent Patient. If you have read that book, it will make your smile how it is incorporated in the story. This was an enjoyable read for me. I am sure that the book would also be an engaging read, but I highly recommend listening to the audiobook by these very talented narrators.

I listened to the audiobook of the Maidens. It was only the second audiobook that I have listened to but it was enjoyable. This is a book of psychological suspense. It wove Greek mythology into this tale of murder and obsession. Mariana is a group therapist who has been though a lot of trauma in her life. Her parents are both dead and then her sister and brother-in-law were killed in a car accident so she is caring for her niece. She had a getaway with her boyfriend and he drowned after going swimming alone.

A friend of her niece Zoe is murdered in Cambridge. Mariana was once a student at the Cambridge University so she is familiar with the campus. Mariana is convinced that Edward Fosca, a handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor is the murderer. He selects a small group of female students to join his secret society known as The Maidens. The murdered girl was a member of The Maidens. Mariana is convinced that something sinister is going on at the beautiful ancient school. When a second student that is a member of the Maidens dies, she is determined to prove that Fosca is guilty. This book has a number of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley, author Alex Michaelides, and Celadon Books publishing for giving me a free audio arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
4 stars
Ale Michaelides follows up his success of "The Silent Patient," with the dark story draw from the Greek Mythology and tragedies, set in the city of Cambridge. Ritualic killings start to take place at the fictional St Christopher's College with its ancient buildings, rituals and traditions. Mariana Andros, a group therapist, receives a phone call from her niece, Zoe that her friend, Tara is missing, and believes she might have been murdered. Mariana goes to Cambridge, in order to provide support and comfort to her niece. When Tara's body is found, Mariana who is still reeling from the death of her husband, becomes convinced that Edward Fosca, the Greek Tragedy professor is responsible. But as Mariana starts to investigate the professor, he seems to be untouchable. He is one of the most popular professors of the College as well as his "select" group of female students called "the maidens" provide the professor with an alibi at the time of the murder. But as more bodies begin to appear, Mariana is more and more convinced professor Edward Fosca is the killer. What is driving Mariana to find the killer, grief or a desire for the truth?
Just like "The Silent Patient," the author immediately draws the reader in by the characters, setting, and story line. I was drawn to the Greek mythology that was interwoven throughout the story. It was not overwhelming, but served a purpose towards moving the plot and story. There was a lot of build up and red herrings put forth that kept me guessing who the really killer was until the very end. None of the characters were overly developed and were some what predictable in their actions and purpose within the story. The book started out a little slow, but gradually picked up as events started to unravel. The ending made a lot of sense and wrapped up the story line nicely. I would recommend this book to those who love a great murder/mystery wrapped up in Greek mythology. I look forward to another book by this author in the future.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: An utterly binge-worthy read pulling from Greek mythology and bending it to the sinister actions of a killer.

THE MAIDENS is a slow-burning thriller that pulls you in as each page flips by. I was completely addicted to the way Michaelides’ writing effortlessly moved the story forward and introduced all the players.

There are so many things I loved about this novel—the writing, the references to mythology, the characters, the misdirections—but the ending had to be my favorite. It takes a lot for me not to see the killer coming and Michaelides did just that. There is a perfect amount of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing and second-guessing who is committing these horrible crimes. Now, I am not going to give any details away, but I was blown away by the reveal.

If I am being honest, I can easily see THE MAIDENS being one of my top 10 books of 2021. This compelling read is packed with tension, manipulation, and duplicity. What more can you want?

This book wasn't what I was expecting. I found the story move very slowly and at times I was bored. The characters felt lackluster to me. However, I enjoyed the ending. It was not what I was expecting.

From the author of the Silent Patient, Michaelides brings a new thriller set on a university campus.

Mariana is a group therapist. She recently lost her beloved husband and her niece Zoe who she raised is at university. When a death occurs of Zoes friend Mariana is thrust into a mystery that attempts a rollercoaster of a story.

Mariana is positive the murderer is Edward Fosca, a professor who runs a secret society of female students. When two more from the group die, Mariana does everything she can to prove Edward Fosca is the one responsible.

This book was ok, but nothing special. I had figured the ending out about a quarter of the way through. There were a few surprises to this story, but overall it was pretty bland overall.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Probably a solid 3.5 stars for me! Not my favorite thrilled, but it was good enough that I wanted to keep listening.

I was very excited about this one because it had so much hype on social media. Maybe too much? I expected so much from it and it fell a little flat for me.

I liked the premise. I listened to the audio version and I think that helped because I could FEEL Mariana's anguish and determination to find the killer.

The problem is, I figured out who the killer was at least by halfway through the book and wanted to nudge her in the right direction. Found myself angry at times that she was so oblivious to it. I did have to keep going to see if she ever figured it out!

I did like the writing style and would give this author another try. I just came out of this one wanting more!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2021 and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the narration and the cult like story was intriguing all through the end.

I gave this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads. The vibe of this novel is what enticed me and captivated me throughout: I absolutely love the Dark Academia feel! The setting lends itself to this feeling, entirely. This book has been receiving so much well deserved buzz on every single platform. It is phenomenally written. The descriptions of the characters, their experiences, and the locations mentioned make the story so much richer. I enjoyed the dual point of view and the mystery itself is well crafted. The characters were all very interesting, plenty of red herrings are presented. The suspect list often expands and contracts throughout the novel.

I also enjoyed the inclusion of Greek Mythology and the role it played. Aren't quite familiar with Greek Myths? That is okay! Everything is very well presented and explained in detail. It is common knowledge that I LOVE a good mystery and pride myself on the ability to pinpoint plot twists before they happen. I was not able to entirely solve the mystery in this one but, in my opinion, that makes it so much better! I never once thought that it was too predictable and I was constantly trying to unravel the mystery and evaluate the characters as the story was unfolding.

As I said before, I listened to this as an audiobook. The audiobook was so good! The narrators preformed the story and added something to it that I wouldn't have gotten through simply reading the book. I have not been fully converted into being an audiobook person, but this is a good option for those who are wanting to get into listening to audiobooks. It kept my interest and was presented well! I do knock off one star because I felt that the ending left a little more to be desired but I have a feeling that the author may utilize the ending to set up a future novel. Though the ending could have been different, I still really enjoyed this book.

I would recommend this book for ages 18+. This is a thriller and the primary plot-line is based upon a serial murderer on a college campus. If this is something that you are uncomfortable with, this may not be the book for you. Readers discretion is advised.

Overall, this was a really great book! This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint. I get nervous when certain books receive so much hype leading up to their release, but I think that this one did really live up to all of the buzz that it has received. If you like a more twisted psychological thriller I recommend that you check out "The Silent Patient", which is the debut novel from Alex Michaelides!

Let me start by saying the narrators of the audiobook are perfect. Louise Brealey carries most of the weight and her voice was easy to listen to. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith deserves kudos for maintaining a level of creepiness that is rarely heard without over-selling. The storyline, though, had me constantly wondering why Mariana was so obsessed and why the police or the university didn’t shut her down from the start.

Mariana is still dealing with the death of her beloved husband when a friend of her niece is found murdered at Cambridge, the same university Mariana and her husband had attended. The couple had been caring for Zoe (the niece) since the death of her parents some years ago. So there is trauma upon trauma, all the while Mariana has been continuing her career as a group therapist.

There’s a secret group of female students who meet with an especially popular professor, so of course Mariana has her eye on him as suspect #1. Or maybe the women in the group. Or the handyman (or whatever it is he did). Or maybe the odd PhD candidate who seems to be lurking/stalking. And then another woman is murdered while the police’s suspect is in jail, so now what?

As with The Silent Patient, the Agatha Christie vibes are strong. So many suspects, and only Mariana seems capable of putting all the clues together. I wish I could have liked this more, but the issue of her being so involved in the first place kept niggling at my brain throughout the book, and that means I wasn’t immersed in the story like I wanted to be.

My thanks to MacMillan audio and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sure I'm in the minority here but this was 2.5 stars for me.

I was expecting a lot more from this based on the reviews and hype. Just didn't do it for me. Great writing but I didn't enjoy the story line at all. Felt like a lot happened but still had many questions on how it ended the way it did. Just meh for me.

Narration was good and enjoyed the audiobook.

Alex Michaelides is a genius of a writer. He has taken a book centered around a Greek woman who has experienced a lifetime of tragedy in thirty years, and a college professor of Greek tragedy, and his female students He has then thrown in murder, and turned the whole thing into a Greek tragedy of its own. I loved it. The narration was wonderfully done.

A good narration of an interesting story. I enjoyed the unexpected twists of the story as it kept me on my toes. I loved the end - it was unexpected. This novel did not disappoint and I would highly recommend the audio.

As a fan of Michaelides’ first book, The Silent Patient, I was very excited to read his newest book, The Maidens.

The book centers Mariana, still heartbroken over the death of her husband, who returns to her alma mater to help solve a murder involving a close friend of her niece, Zoe. The plot relies heavily on mythology and because of that, I found it a bit hard to get into. There was also a lot of info-dumping about certain characters that made it drag at times.

As the story progressed I kept coming up with ideas on whodunnit and I was able to guess correctly before the big reveal.

I enjoy thrillers on audio because the narrator is usually great. That was the case here, including the use of a mystery POV and narrator. I likely would not have enjoyed the physical read as much.

Also, if you’ve read The Silent Patient, you’ll get a little tie-in with this storyline.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the ALC. The Maidens is out now!

(2.5 bumped up to 3) I just don't think this book worked for me. I think that for me it felt like too much going on at once. There were certain aspects of this book that I found very unsettling (I know this is normal to a certain point when it comes to thrillers) but for me the grooming aspect was a bit hard to accept. Beyond that, I found the antagonist to be a bit confusing. I just thought that a lot of the plot seemed to be instances that seemed forced rather than instances that made sense. I do appreciate the red herrings thrown in, but it did get to a certain point where it became so obvious that new characters were being introduced or accused just for the purpose to try to trick or distract from the person who is actually guilty. I thought the mythological and maiden aspect was compelling but I was disappointed by the small role these themes actually played, and also the way they didn't really seem to fit in in the story and flow. The relationships in this novel were a bit forced and honestly didn't really make sense to me either. I guess I just had a hard time understanding how an adult therapist became so deeply involved in something so far away from her professional setting. I do think that this just wasn't the book for me by this author, and I do already have another book of his that I do plan on reading and have high hopes for. I also like the fact that there was a tie to this book in Maidens. Overall I guess I just was a little disappointed that I didn't like this book more, but I think its subjective and not necessarily just the book's fault.