Setting us in England where Marianna Andros is a group therapist. One of her patients Henry, has a problem with boundaries and watches her from outside her home and constantly calls to say how much he needs her. She realizes she needs to nip this obsession but has been dealing with the stages grieving the loss of her Sebastian. She sees the love she and Sebastian shared wherever she turns in her home. When Marianna gets a call from her niece Zoe who says her friend has been murdered Marianna leaves right away to Cambridge University where Zoe attends school. Marianna ends up finding out that Zoe is messed up in a secret society called The Maidens and Marianna feels a professor named Edward Fosca is the murderer in which she ends up risking everything to try and prove it ....... then Mariannas world turns upside down.

What an enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

Ultimately I was very let down by this book. I'm sure the intention was to lead the reader in one direction while having the real solution be completely opposite, but the entire experience ended up feeling like a waste of time to me. I really enjoyed The Silent Patient so I was REALLY excited to read this, but it just fell short for me.

Midway through I figured out who the killer was - although I will say the intentions I thought were wrong and That did catch me off guard. I just felt like I was so invested in one story, for it all to go to waste was a bit frustrating for me as a reader.

The book was still beautifully written and Alex Michaelides is a wonderful story teller. If you liked The Silent Patent I would give this a try - everyone likes different books! This may just be a miss for me personally.

Three years since this author’s debut but this second book was no less thrilling. I love it when the author can really keep you guessing until the last pages! The audio was absolutely stunning!

What did I like? As far as the audio goes, loved the reader! Read in a lovely lilting English voice that was utterly perfect. The male voice held a malevolence that definitely added to the story! Both worked really well!

The author though ....has come up with such a psychological twisted story that it just gave me shivers. Mariana felt lost due to the death of her spouse and pretty much her entire family. Barely living she goes to Camden to help her niece and gets caught up in a murder investigation. A thrilling tale!

Would I recommend or buy? I loved listening to this in audio, and would recommend to anyone who loved his first book or loves unguessable thrillers. I would definitely read this author again! Five huge stars!

Thanks Macmillan Audio for an advance listen copy and I voluntarily left this review!

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides is an enjoyable, solid murder mystery that will keep your interest until the end. The setting of Cambridge is dreamy, I found the book's parallels with greek tragedies interesting and the narrator was fantastic - I adored her accent ! A suspenseful story with a twist that I didn't expect.

A master at the ending twist, Michaelides weaves together a story around Greek Tragedy and Cambridge. A riveting psychological suspense that has the reader thinking they know exactly what’s happening all the way through ... until they don’t! Well done! I really enjoyed the voices on the audio and felt like they brought the story to life.

The Maidens has a lot going for it: an intriguing story line, an assorted cast of characters, atmosphere and a murder mystery of young university students shrouded in blood and Greek mythology. Sounds great! So, what happened?

While I love descriptive text and atmospheric reads - hence my fondness for Nordic Noir - The Maidens may have overreached. At times I caught myself second guessing the genre - thriller, psychological suspense or literary fiction, tropes I all enjoy and that fill my bookshelf. If this is your cup of tea then you will likely enjoy The Maidens.

Unfortunately, I found this book reaching and narrowly missing, the threads of Nordic Noir fused with psychological thriller. While I sussed out the culprit pretty early on, that is neither here nor there. I enjoy the profile and dimensionality (not word but is now!) of characters. I am intrigued to learn about the why's and how's of character's and how they reconciled their actions, the story behind the main headline. Personally, I found the overly descriptive narration about the minutia of each scene took away from the story being told and something was lost in the details. But that's just me.

Regardless, there will be oodles of people who will love this book, as they may have also enjoyed The Silent Patient. My "3" may be your "5" and vice versa.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of The Maidens.

I love a story that includes real life and mythology. This novel does a fascinating job of creating those two worlds together. This is set mostly at the University of Cambridge. I've never been, but the writing created a sense of being there- illuminating pieces of an historic campus with details about the landscape, the weather and of course, the buildings. All good thrillers have red herrings, but this novel did a great job of keeping the guessing game going. While the ending isn't as mind-bending as The Silent Patient, I was so fascinated with this book, I blew through it. I'm sure there will be a third, and I can't wait to read it. Also, for the audiobook, please keep this man as a narrator. His voice is so powerful.

I enjoyed The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. I did not see the ending coming. This book is well written and Michaelides does not disappoint.

This review is based on the audio production of "The Maidens." Main narrator Louise Brealey also voiced "The Silent Patient" (which I loved) and she does a brilliant job of bringing nuance and emotion to "The Maidens." "The Maidens" doesn't have the suspense and thrill of "The Silent Patient." Instead, it's more of a slow burn psychological mystery, dark with Greek mythological imagery. The main character is a therapist, and there are callbacks to characters from "The Silent Patient," but the setting and focus of "The Maidens" don't carry the same creepy intrigue and shocking turns. Red herrings abound, and the "Maidens" of the story warrant their own series separate from this book.

The description of this book was so exciting and I was really looking forward to getting through the actual book. Unfortunately, I am at 40% through the book and I am so bored that I have no idea as to what is even happening in the story. For me, the characters are bland, the storyline is bland and it peaks no interest for me.

With "The Maidens", Alex Michaelides has written another page-turning thriller that lives up to all the hype created by the success of his first book, "The Silent Patient".

"The Maidens" follows Mariana, a group therapist, who returns to Cambridge when she receives a call from her niece Zoe who is worried about her missing friend. Zoe's friend is soon found murdered, and Mariana finds herself caught up in the mystery of what happened to her. First in her list of suspects is the charismatic Greek Tragedy professor, Edward Fosca. Fosca organizes a study group of loyal girls called The Maidens, of whom Zoe's murdered friend was a member. Soon Mariana finds her own life in danger as she gets closer to the truth of what happened to the murdered girl.

This was an entertaining and well-plotted mystery that kept me guessing until the end. I predict that "The Maidens" will be THE big summer hit this year! I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good mystery/thriller with plenty of twists to keep you guessing.

A bit of a slower burn than Michaelides' first book (the Silent Patient; which I loved).

The whole premise rests on the fact that our main character knows who the killer is, and is working to prove it, however I didn't once think her suspicions were correct (so, the commitment to this idea being held through so much of the story felt frustrating at times).

Thankfully, the alternating chapters between our main character and the killer were a great way to keep things interesting. The killer's chapters were particularly entertaining in the times when the main narrative felt slow or grating.

I'll also give the author bonus points for the connection to the Silent Patient, which was so exciting and completely knocked me off my feet!

The biggest frustration for me was that I didn't really care for the revelation of the killer's identity. It was a little too farfetched, and the story didn't do enough to justify its conclusion.

Probably a 3.5 star read.

Grateful for the advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review

This book kept me engaged from the start. Leading you weaving through character development in pursuit of solving the underlying mystery.
Plenty of red herrings throughout the story to fool me more times than I can count. It’s laughable now that I thought I had it figured out

I listened to the audiobook for this and it was really well done. They utilized many readers to help differentiate between characters, further enhancing the story and the mystery and making it much easier to follow along in audio format

The addition of Greek mythology also added a fascinating element to the story. This one is a yes for me!

The Maidens is one of my most anticipated books of 2021 after reading and loving The Silent Patient! After all the hype for this book, I was ECSTAIC to receive the audiobook through @NetGalley (thank you also to @celadonbooks and @macillan.audio) and I started listening right away.

Dark academia, Greek Mythology and a secret society combine in this slow burn thriller. Mariana is a group therapist who receives a call that her niece Zoe's roommate has been murdered at her university, which is also Mariana's Alma Mater. Mariana inserts herself into the investigation of the campus serial killer as more female students are found murdered. She deliberately puts herself in harm's way because she is sure that the beloved Greek Tragedy professor, Edward Fosca, is behind the murders of his secret "girls, The Maidens. He is adored by these students but why are they turning up dead?

I'm not particularly interested in Greek mythology but throughout the book it presented in a way that wasn't difficult to understand and worked well with the plot. Short chapters - major WIN! There were so many unlikeable (and possibly guilty) characters, my head was spinning!

While the plot grew interesting, it did take awhile to really grab my full attention and the twist was pretty predictable for me; it's definitely not as twisty as TSP was but still worth the ride. I really loved that characters from TSP were intertwined in The Maidens.

The narrators did a great job executing the story. I especially enjoyed the creepy killer's POV (you know I love a good, creepy killer - haha)!

Make sure you grab this one when it publishes on June 15th!

I gave up on the audio version of this 40% in. I just could not get into the narration and found listening to this one far to slow.

I did switch to the ebook and finished it. I skimmed the majority of the middle. It finally sped up with about 20% to go.

Definitely don't recommend the audio on this one with the slow start.

Audio: 2⭐️
Plot: 3⭐️

If you like a thriller that is a slow burn with great dialogue, then check out The Maidens. It took me awhile to get into the story but once I got into it I felt like I was captivated.

Mariana is a group therapist. Zoe, Mariana's niece, called after the Monday Evening Group. That is how the nightmare began. She instantly went to Zoe’s side. Mariana gut told her that Edward Fosca was a murderer. She just couldn't prove it. Mariana thought Fosca was a monster and didn't want him to get away with it. He convinces the detectives and everyone around of his innocence.

Edward Fosca is a charismatic professor of Greek Tragedy at Cambridge University. Everyone loves him, especially a group of female students called The Maidens. Mariana quickly learns that the victim is one of The Maidens. This can’t be a coincidence.

The book is filled with red herrings and Greek mythology. I thought it was written well. I loved the short chapters. There were plenty of unlikable characters. The ending truly surprised me.

I want to thank @celadonbooks @netgalley and @macillan.audio for an advanced copy of The Maidens by Alex Michaelides in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe I’m asking too much. I absolutely loved ‘The Silent Patient’ (audiobook) and when I heard Michaelides was coming out with another book, I stalked NetGalley and finally managed to snag an ARC (audiobook). Sadly, that’s where my excitement ends.

‘The Maidens’ is about a group therapist who investigates a series of ritualistic murders at her old Alma mater/ her niece’s Uni. Her suspicions lead her one way only to find the truth so much more horrifying.

I wish I could pin-point why I wasn’t thrilled about this book - The Greeks, dark academia, murder, suspense… what more could a girl ask for? And yet, the MC felt hollow & sterile, and as much as I tried, I couldn’t bother to care about her. Now, I’m not sure, but maybe my opinion of the book lies on the shoulders of the narrator (the same narrator as ‘The Silent Patient’, which I loved). Her voice was even and strong, but cold, with minimal character inflections/ distinctions. In the end, I just wanted to speed the book up 3x and be done with it.

I did like the little nod to ‘The Silent Patient’. And the ending was a ride, totally unexpected, but not worth admission.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC

I really really wanted to like this. I thought silent patient was def unique and was hoping for the same here. Unfortunately it was kinda bogged down in I don’t know what for most of the book and as we got to the end felt kinda predictable. I would not say this is an easy read... the Greek and the myths make in a lot and not in a good way.

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.

I've been looking forward to reading this book because I really enjoyed Michaelides previous book, The Silent Patient. So, when I received the ALC I was so thrilled! I love audiobooks but I tend to get easily distracted, so I save them for very specific moments. This didn't happen with The Maidens. I was hooked since the first chapters. I think it was the perfect combination between a flawlessly executed story and a wonderful narration. The story is highly engaging, but the narration I so perfect. The cadence in Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and Louise Brealey's voices is interesting and soothing and they sweeps you away into the thriller's world and makes the story flow naturally.
I really enjoyed this audiobook and would highly recommend it.