I really enjoyed the audiobook of The Maidens. The narrator does an excellent job giving life to the characters and helping to develop the plot of this dark and twisty thriller.

As a storyline - Alex Michaelides did an excellent job. I absolutely loved The Silent Patient, so wasn't sure what to expect with the newest novel. I liked the brief cameo of overlapping characters and the story development and depth of characters was once again excellently done.

Highly recommend if you enjoyed The Silent Patient!

I listened to the audiobook of The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. It had all the elements I had hoped it would have. The narrators, Louise Brealey and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith gave brilliant performances adding just enough intrigue and suspense as the novel was read. It was fast paced and well plotted with short chapters. The characters were well developed and complex. I liked how Alex Michaelides flawlessly managed to reintroduce characters from Silent Patient into this book. The Maidens was dark, suspenseful and gripping. It combined Greek mythology with murder and took on an obsession to convict. There were many clever twists, tense moments and several red herrings. I, for one, did not see the ending coming. It was quite unexpected.

Mariana Andros was a grieving widow and well respected group therapist. She had a brilliant mind but the loss of her beloved husband, Sebastian had left her sad, angry and at a loss of purpose in her life. Then one day, Mariana received a phone call from her niece, Zoe, who was studying at St. Christopher’s college, part of Cambridge University. One of Zoe’s friends, Tara, had disappeared. Zoe feared the worst had happened to Tara and was having a hard time coping with that aspect. Mariana and Sebastian had brought Zoe up together after her mother, Mariana’s sister, and her husband had died in a tragic car accident. There was nothing that Mariana wouldn’t do for Zoe so of course she told Zoe that she would come to the college to try and help Zoe find out what happened to Tara. Perhaps this was just the purpose Mariana was seeking.

It was soon revealed that Tara had been murdered. At her funeral, a group of female students, known as The Maidens, attended the funeral, dressed in all white. Zoe informed Mariana that the girls were part of The Maidens. It was a secret society of all female students led by Edward Fosca, professor of Greek tragedy. Edward Fosca was highly regarded by his colleagues and well liked by the students. Mariana slowly began to suspect Edward Fosca as Tara’s killer, and then even more so when more of the members of The Maidens started to strangely disappear and were later found murdered. In Mariana’s opinion, all evidence pointed to Edward Fosca as the murderer. Mariana was convinced she was right and started to become obsessed with her conviction. The only question Mariana could not justify in her mind was why would a professor want to murder his own students? Could Mariana prove her point before someone else, possibly her niece, Zoe, fell by his hand and Mariana spiraled more out of control with her obsession?

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Celadon Books for allowing me to listen to this audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I highly recommend this book.

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: A dark engrossing psychological thriller with a surprising climax.

BRIEF REVIEW: Mariana Andros is a group therapist in London who is still mourning the loss of her husband Sebastian the prior year. She also has a patient who has been stalking her. One day she receives a panic call from her niece Zoe who attends the university in Cambridge. Zoe's friend Tara has been brutally murdered . Mariana is Zoe's guardian and wants to be with her so she drops everything and takes a train to be with her niece.

The murder of Tara is reminiscent of a Greek tragedy and Mariana learns that Tara was a member of a secret campus group called "The Maidens." It's a select group of beautiful, confident young women led by the popular and handsome Professor of Mythology, Edward Fosca who soon becomes a prime suspect. Mariana begins to snoop around and then another girl is dead, murdered in the same brutal fashion. Mariana is sure Professor Fosca is involved somehow. The local police are getting annoyed by Mariana and tell her to stay out of their business but, she's not giving up that fast. Then one day she receives the same type of postcard with a Greek tragedy quote as the other dead girls had received and, things heat up from there leading up to a surprising and satisfying ending.

There were several things I loved about this book. It had several suspicious characters, and number of red herrings to throw the reader off track. It also had a couple of familiar characters from The Silent Patient as well, but, this could certainly be read as a stand alone novel. The audio book was fantastic with dual narrators, a female for Mariana's third person POV and a male voice of a deeply disturbed, possibly psychotic (unknown) man with troublesome childhood memories. Although this one took a bit to get going, a slow-burn, it quickly escalated into high gear. I was blown away with the final reveal.

I loved this author's last novel The Silent Patient so I couldn't wait to try this one. If it hadn't been for the graphic events involving sheep and then a family dog, this would have been a perfect read for me. Why do authors need to spoil a good book by introducing a shock factor involving animals? I felt I had to take off a star because of this.

Thanks go to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to download this audiobook at no cost in exchange for my unbiased review.

RATING: 4/5

https://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2021/06/95-2021-maidens-alex-michaelides.html

The audiobook is fantastic and I greatly enjoyed the narrator. The story is haunting and chilling. Greatly executed with the writing, the pace of the story, and it was very cozy to listen to.

After reading The Silent Patient, I thought I was prepared for another Michaelides twisty, head-turning thriller. I thought I would have him ALL figured out.

Boy, was I wrong!

I kept a journal entry going throughout my reading, noting suspects and clues, to track my thinking. I analyzed and over-analyzed. It didn't matter. He still fooled me!

I liked this novel better than The Silent Patient. And that's saying something.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Macmillan Audio for an early copy to listen and review.

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Group Therapist Mariana, still reeling and grieving from the sudden, tragic death of her husband, is thrust into even more trauma when her niece Zoe calls from Cambridge University. Her best friend has been viciously murdered and she suspects her professor, Edward Fosca, is the culprit. She is terrified.

In a game of cat and mouse, Zoe and Mariana begin investigating the murder on their own. When more victims turn up, the clues consistently point straight to the handsome, charming Fosca, but he always has an alibi provided by the Maidens. This group of female students form a protective barrier around their mentor, shielding him from questions - and outsiders. The cult-like atmosphere doesn't sit well with Mariana, and she suspects more goes on during this small group study sessions.

Mariana is on a mission to bring Fosca to justice, and save the lives of his future victim. But will it cost her her own?

I received this audiobook thanks to @NetGalley and Macmillian Audio.

I was so excited to get to read this one, but it just didn't live up to my expectations like I thought it would. I read The Silent Patient and really enjoyed that one, but something was missing for me in this book. This was definitely a slow burn with a seemingly obvious murderer. It wasn't until I was about 70% of the way through that I actually was wanting to listen to the book-the rest of the time, I had to force myself to get through it. The twist at the end wasn't all that twisty to me; I can't say I saw it coming, but it didn't have the shock factor that I was hoping to receive. I appreciated the crossover worlds of The Silent Patient and The Maidens, something I wasn't expecting but was fun.

I may have enjoyed this novel better had I read it instead of listened to it-I wasn't the biggest fan of the narrator. Her voice tended to tire me out quickly, something that I believe contributed to me not wanting to listen to this audiobook for more than 10-15 minutes at a time at first. The man's voice reading certain chapters of the book was a welcome change, and his voice fit his role perfectly.

All in all, this book was okay, but it wasn't what I was hoping it would be. Give it a try, maybe it's for you.

If you liked Alex Michaelides' previous book The Silent Patient you will enjoy The Maidens too. It's twisty, suspenseful, and sure to leave you guessing right up until the end. Centered around Greek tragedy, and specifically the story of Persephone and Demeter this book brings history into a modern day setting. The London college setting is creepy and atmospheric at times, and comforting at others. The characters are fleshed out enough to give true emotions when reading about them - some provoking sympathy, some exasperation, and others give you a creepy, slimy feeling. I especially appreciated the link to The Silent Patient, but don't worry if you haven't read that one it will not impact your understanding of this story at all. It was simply a nice Easter egg for those who had read the author's previous work.

The audiobook narrators did a great job in telling the story, and the use of two distinct voices really added to the telling. Having a gruff male voice to offset the practiced therapeutic female truly enhanced the listening.

Ultimately if you're looking for a thrilling read to get lost in this is one you should consider picking up.

As a HUGE fan of Silent Patient, I might've gone into this one with too high of expectations -- which in my experience, is never a great idea. The Maidens was a page-turning thriller that you will not be able to put down. The way that the book was written made you continually question the characters and what was happening in the plot. It truly was well-written, but in my opinion the plot fell flat during the last 25% of the book. Without giving too much detail, I wish that the book would've gone in a different direction or that there was more character development. I would recommend this book to those who like mysteries/thrillers, however, it doesn't rank high up on my list like Silent Patient.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this free ALC. I really enjoyed The Silent Patient and loved the twist at the end. I was very much looking forward to The Maidens but had heard mixed reviews. I enjoyed the story although I am not really familiar with the Greek myths. That didn't throw me off too much. I enjoyed the twist in this, but would have liked a little more closure in the end. Also had heard there was a tie-in to The Silent Patient, and I was worried that I would miss it since it's been a minute since I've read it. I did catch it so that made me happy! I will definitely read more Michaelides. The narrators were great and really enjoyed them both.

DNF at 20%. I found it dull and didn't care about the story, plus there were lots of characters to keep track of. The audiobook narration was decent, it didn't cause me to quit or compelled me to keep going. Fans of the author's previous novel may want to give this one a try. I didn't love that one either (Although I did finish it on audio.)

I absolutely loved The Silent Patient, and was curious if Alex Michaelides would be able to pull off another amazing novel. He did not disappoint!

This cat and mouse storyline mixed with Greek mythology had me engaged by the first page. Much like The Silent Patient I was on the edge of my seat and I did not see the ending coming.

In my opinion, Alex Michaelides has proven that he is not a one trick pony. I plan on reading anything he writes!

If I could have given more then 5 stars… I would have.

Thank you to @netgalley, @celadonbooks, and @macmillan.audio for this advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Amidst the eerie backdrop of Cambridge, Mariana finds herself attempting to solve the murder of her niece's friend. Mariana is determined to catch the killer and Edward Fosca is Mariana's top suspect. An arrogant, yet brilliant Greek Tragedy professor, Fosca has wooed his female students with his charm and begun a secret society of intellectuals called the Maidens. A group of individuals who just happen to be all female. A group of individuals who just happen to keep showing up murdered...⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I really enjoyed The Maidens. There were pieces that didn't feel well executed IMO, but honestly it's hard to read thrillers that surprise and shock, while also maintaining a believability in every piece of info. So I'm not overly upset about some of the pitfalls in this read. I don't want to say too much, just that there were some detail reveals that weren't super satisfying.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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After seeing a bunch of “meh” reviews about this one, I was a bit nervous about what I was getting myself into, but I felt engaged and curious throughout this whole book. It doesn't have the same shock factor as The Silent Patient, but I enjoyed the entirety of this read even a bit more. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The setting was awesome, which definitely helped! I'm very into the creepy academia, but make it historic, vibe that I've been seeing in books lately. The characters weren't my favorite, but honestly characters in thrillers never are for me because they all end up being suspicious and creepy so that you doubt them throughout the story 😂 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Overall, some of the shock factor was a let down, but the plot engaged me, I kept guessing what would come next, and the setting added to the spookiness of the story! I liked this one.

I'll start off this review by saying that I enjoyed Michaelides' Silent Patient, even though I figured it out still having half of the book left. I also listened to the audio of that one. I listened to The Maidens in just a day and a half, I always listen at 1.25x speed or 1.50x speed. I was very excited for this book and also very let down.
The book felt meandering. Looking back now, I wish the blurb did not tease a secret society. We did not really get one, not really. I was bored with the Fosca character, as well as the increasing paranoia of Mariana. I think more background and information on the big twist at the end would be much more interesting than a paranoid woman (who works in psychiatry and should know better!!) jumping to conclusions with next to no information.

Alex Michaelides crafts an atmospheric thriller like few others, and that skill is used to terrific effect here. He sets this story in Cambridge, behind locked gates, in apartments and crowded pubs, and in standing room only lecture halls. Even the air feels oppressive at times, either dank or so thick with mist that you can bite it.

Still grieving the death of her husband a year ago, Mariana, a group therapist in London, leaves her patients to hurry to Cambridge to be with her niece Zoe, the only family member she has left. Zoe's best friend at school has been murdered, and Zoe is distraught. Before too long, Mariana becomes convinced that a mesmerizing and brilliant American professor, Edward Fosca, is the killer. She believes the detectives are pursuing the wrong suspects, so she begins her own investigation.

Michaelides populates his book with red herrings galore. Will you be shocked by the perpetrator? As with most crimes, it isn't necessarily the who so much as the why. The why shocked me. I listened to the audiobook first (narrator Kobna Holbrook-Smith does a fantastic job bringing Mariana and the other characters to life) and then read the ebook, needing to go back to find the clues I missed. I had suspected the culprit but couldn't parse why their motive.

All along, Michaelides drew me in with his descriptions of Cambridge. Some of the characters are a little too straight out of Central Casting, and the motive for our murderer was a HUGE bombshell that I'm not quite sure works, if only because you have to buy into something critical about another character (or two).

What I did like, though, was how Michaelides plays with the idea of memory and how our memories affect what we see now. When we use our past experiences--what we remember of them--as the lens through which we view and experience our present, how accurate are our assumptions? How accurate are our new experiences?

What did you think of this book? Hit up the comments and let me know.

4.5 🌟

I loved The Silent Patient, so I had high expectations for this one. Luckily it lived up to the hype!

I loved the dark academia vibe of The Maidens. Alex Michaelides did a fantastic job of painting the picture for this novel. I was drawn in from the start. The twists well-written and there were many red herrings that kept me guessing. The Easter eggs from The Silent Patient were an awesome addition to The Maidens as well. I also really enjoyed the Greek mythology throughout. The audiobook was a great way to consume this thriller, I highly recommend!

Alex set a high standard with The Silent Patient and I was curious to see what he will come up with after that. Frankly, he did not disappoint, but somehow it felt the story needed more.

Recently widowed Marianna Andros has lost everybody she has ever loved - everybody but her niece, Zoe, a student at Cambridge. When Zoe's friend Tara is savagely murdered on campus, psychotherapist Marianna is convinced the police nabbed the wrong guy. She becomes more and more involved, and more and more convinced the murderer is charismatic professor of Greek Classics, Edward Fosca. The first victim is one of "the Maidens" - a group of Fosca's favorite students, all pretty young girls. So is the second, and the third...

The novel is interspersed with the diary entries from an unnamed man, which really drives up the creepy factor. We know early on that someone is involved here who is really damaged and deranged. As Marianna becomes closer and closer to the truth - and more obsessed - she puts herself in more and more dangerous situations that had me very frustrated with her, but also very tense and unable to stop reading.

The novel is very atmospheric and suspenseful, and I enjoyed the forays into the psychology and Greek tragedy. Besides being interesting, Michaelides uses them to set up plenty of red herrings and plenty of clues. The effects of trauma and abuse are the main subjects here, and they don't just point us in the direction of the killer, but make us wonder if Marianna is really seeing things clearly.

I actually enjoyed this more than the Silent Patient. Cambridge is a more interesting setting, and even though Marianna is obsessed with Fosca, the focus here isn't just on him. Some characters and places from The Silent Patient make some appearances in the Maidens, which was a cool surprise. I hope the author does that again with Marianna, because I honestly find myself wondering how she manages to go on after the events in the story.

Some reviewers might find the book - and it's big twist - unrealistic. For instance, no college today would allow the kind of relationship Fosca had with his students. The twist was actually something wondered about and then wondered about myself for even thinking it. I was in the mood for a thriller and was totally able to just go with it and enjoy the ride.

I listened to the audio version, and the narration was excellent. Thanks to Macmillan Audio for an advance review copy of The Maidens in exchange for my honest review.

Michaelides has done it again.

I read The Silent Patient back in 2019. It was shocking and engrossing, so I had high expectations for Michaelides’ latest work.

They were most certainly met.

The mix of psychology, murder mystery, and Greek mythology is the perfect blend for a thriller, especially when written with such crisp, vivid prose.

Docking a star because occasionally, I couldn’t suspend my disbelief — I don’t think any police investigation would tolerate a random psychotherapist playing detective. The book was also bit slow at times (but ended with a bang). Short chapters kept it moving most of the time, though.

Very rarely does a book make me gasp out loud — this one did. If you love mysteries and thrillers, this is a must-read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Maidens is the follow-up novel to Alex’s 2019 debut and bestseller, The Silent Patient, another brilliant thriller! I wasn’t sure The Maidens could live up to that one, but it met the high expectations! I also enjoyed that we got a bit of character overlap from The Silent Patient!

Mariana is a group therapist who is still struggling with the loss of her husband a year prior. She gets a startling call from niece Zoe at Cambridge University saying a student and possible friend of hers has been murdered. To support Zoe, Mariana returns to Cambridge, bringing up painful memories from where she and her husband first met.

When another student is found dead, Mariana has no choice but to stay and assist with the investigation. From there, she meets Edward Fosca, a Greek Tragedy professor whom Maria is convinced is guilty. Mariana becomes obsessed with proving his guilt and, in the process, puts herself in danger…

Louise Brealey did most of the narration for the audiobook, and I found her voice so captivating! Also, this book had super short chapters, which are my FAVORITE. Highly recommend this one, a haunting novel, and another great release from Celadon Books. Alex Michaelides is absolutely a must-read author for me now!

Ever since I read The Silent Patient I have been waiting for Alex Michaelides to written another book. The Maidens, his second book, did not live up to the first. Maybe it was a high bar. It was OK. It was not as entrancing and encompassing as his first. I could not like the characters. The Who in The Who Done It was pretty obvious and most of the details seemed an homage to his college. Sure, I liked college, but it was a long time ago. I did like the call back to the first book. I kept hoping for more. Perhaps that is why I was disappointed. The book itself wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t exceptional.