4.5 Stars
This was a great follow up to the Silent Patient. I enjoyed just as much and dare I say a little bit more. I was completely surprised by the ending. I thought I had it figured out but I was so wrong!! Theo Faber the psychotherapist from the Silent Patient makes an appearance which made it even more enjoyable. The majority of the story takes place at Cambridge University which is steeped in history and traditions. Michaelides does a great job not only setting the scene but develops the characters very well. Mariana is a group therapist that is coping with the loss of her beloved husband. Her niece, Zoe is attending Cambridge and is like a daughter to Mariana. When Zoe's best friend is murdered Mariana hops on the first train to support Zoe. She decides to stay after she notices strange behavior from Zoe's Greek Tragedy professor, Edward Fosca. Mariana finds herself investigating the murder, putting herself in danger. This was a roller coaster ride that I thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the plot and theme of this book. The setting immediately drew me in and I adore everything about Greek mythology and Greek tragedy so having that play a part in this psychological thriller really was so intriguing to me. While i thoroughly enjoyed this book, I have mixed feelings about the ending. I'm still letting it settle with me to see how I truly feel after the big reveal. Michaelides has earned a big fan in me however.

THE MAIDENS By Alex Michaelides
Suspense thriller
352 pages.

In Alex Michaelides new novel a string of murders draw Mariana to her nieces college. Mariana meets a professor who has a weird following of female students who call themselves the Maidens. One by one the members of this club start getting killed and Mariana feels compelled to help solve these murders to help save her niece from the same fate.


Wow I totally had this killer all wrong!!!!!!! I had suspicions but hadn't pinpointed it down to the killer it turned out to be Alex Michaelides is definitely becoming an amazing thriller author!!!!! I am definitely a fan for life of his twisty suspenseful books. I highly recommend this book

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but I really disliked The Maidens. This book was all over the place. The first half of the book consisted of Mariana eating meals at restaurants with the other characters. It was strange, as though Michaelides didn’t know what to do with her. Psychological thrillers aren’t known for thoughtful character development but these were really flat and/or strange. One characters in particular (and his friendship with Mariana) made zero sense to me. The final gotcha was a surprise, but I hardly cared. The whole thing seemed a little overwrought. I’d love to hear if others loved it and why!

When it comes to Alex Michaelides’ The Maidens, I am conflicted. The short chapters caused the story to be a fast-paced read and yet, I still found the plot lacking. The big reveal did blindside me, but the twist did not feel authentic to the story’s characters. This may be because I missed the foreshadowing earlier in the story. At the same time, though, I am wondering if the twist was done purely for shock value. If that is the case, then Michaelides is successful.

Many thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley, Celadon Books and Alex Michaelides.
This novel from the very beginning kept my interested, I loved the short chapters.
Some of the chapters appeared to be the point of view of the killer.
Mariana, group therapist received a frantic call from her niece and ward advising Mariana her friend is missing.
Mariana right away goes to Zoe to help her in her search.
Now we start with Mariana past, how she met her husband, her relationship with her parents.
And....... the Maidens are introduced
This novel has twists and turns I did not expect and the last few chapters leave you shocked.
I really enjoyed this novel and recommend
4 stars

there’s always a fair amount of pressure on a sophomore novel, but I think THE MAIDENS has an extraordinary amount of hype to live up to as one of the most anticipated reads of the year! this book weaves together Greek mythology and a secret society on a college campus in this psychological thriller/murder mystery. the pacing was great and I flew through the story. there were a couple pieces of the story/characters that fell a little flat for me, but the ending was unexpected, which totally makes or breaks a thriller. you’ll definitely want to read this one if you love thrillers or want to be in the know on what everyone else is reading. a great book for summer reading! 3.5/5⭐️—it was good

The Maidens from the cover to the first page to the very last had my full attention and I could not put the book down.

I followed the clues carefully, changed my mind several times as to who was murdering all these girls.

I was so wrong.

I love an ending that takes me completely by surprise and The Maidens does this.

Alex Michaelides has written another page turning thriller that is so descriptive I felt that I was right there with Mariana.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an amazing read.

WoW! I seriously can't thank NetGalley, Celadon Books and Author for this crazy wild ebook!

The Maidens was an absolute amazing psychological thriller! I waited long enough to read this baby!
Because I knew I was going to enjoy it so much I didn't want it to end! So I waited and waited before I started it! Crazy I know! Its just what I do!

The setting at the University was so vivid and descriptive it was crazy!
While reading TM I found myself holding my breath like alot!
I promise you won't see this ending coming! At all!
This engaging, compelling, tense, fast moving book with have you wanting more!
I didn't want it to end!
This book simply blew me away and I can't thank y'all enough for providing me with a copy!

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I want to say that I am not really a thriller reader -- I often find them contrived and don't really enjoy the relatively wild twists that I find new releases using to keep themselves interesting. I read "The Silent Patient" only this year because I was afraid I would not like it. I did -- and so I was willing to try this one. However, I don't think it worked fo me. I think, as a fan of other sinister plots involving collegiate snobs, this felt like a poor replica that was trying its best to be compelling but failed due to poor pacing, strange narration, and a twist that felt the wrong side of unpredictable.

Mariana, a widowed therapist, is really going through it, as is evident from her narration at the start. It's a little all over the place and I was like, well, maybe I don't want her as MY therapist, that's for sure. She goes to her old university, Cambridge, to comfort her niece, Zoe, when a classmate is horrifically murdered. Things shake out like this: Mariana develops an obsession with a professor who is involved with the girls who keep getting murdered, so she stays because she thinks she can convince the police he's guilty. Oh, also, one of her patients is stalking her, a random university student is in love with her, and she sees the ghost of her dead husband everywhere.

There was just too much going on but too little at the same time -- I felt like the plot wasn't progressing in any meaningful way until the reveal. That being said, I was into it enough to keep reading to get to the reveal, so that's why I'm going with 3 stars here.

The Maidens wasn’t the right fit for me, but I encourage others to give it a try because some elements will appeal to everyone.

I’m a proponent of not comparing an author’s books to their other works, but I questioned whether the same author wrote this as The Silent Patient. I would have enjoyed the group of Maidens had they been more multi-layered because I was expecting some sinister happenings with them that didn’t happen. Then we get to the ending, and we’re handed this poorly wrapped package of “here you go, isn’t it all wrapped up nicely.” Lastly, it’s unbelievable that someone who is hurt superficially would be too weak and unable to talk.

I liked the historical elements, the introduction of Greek tragedy, and English literature. It’s clear Michaelides did a lot of research for this book. But unfortunately, it wasn’t right for me. I’m not a fan of long-winded descriptions of locations, especially in a story that doesn’t depend on those descriptions. I enjoyed the little nod to his previous work. Thank you, Celadon Books, for sending this along.

Already being among the minority that didn’t love The Silent Patient, I didn’t go into The Maidens with sky high hopes. That said, it still didn’t meet expectations.

The stories do connect which makes comparing the two all too on the nose. While the first excels by keeping character information at arms length, I felt The Maidens fell super flat in character development. I was invested in no one throughout the story and lost track of who characters were and why I cared.

The twist was good in theory but the misdirection surrounding it was too convoluted. You have to have the feeling it was right under your nose in order to truly feel that jaw drop moment.

The potentially unreliable female narrator has been overdone in my opinion and this was so scattered in still not sure if that was even the goal.

I’d still pick up another Michaelades book because there’s a lot of creativity there, but this didn’t hit the spot for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Despite liking this author’s first novel, this one didn’t quite measure up. The writing seemed very simplistic in many places, not the caliber I expected. And red herrings? Oh my goodness! Way too many and too obvious for some. I did like the premise and the setting was awesome.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC to read and review.

This was a very good thriller. Several times I changed my prediction about who the culprit was and even though I figured out part of the ending, half of it was still a surprise. I loved the Greek mythology interspersed. Overall. The Maidens was a page turner that kept me guessing and held my interest to the very end. I read an e-book version and I listened to the audio version. Both were great and the audio was very well narrated.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set against the backdrop of ivy-covered English halls of academia, "The Maidens" opens on Mariana, a grieving group psychologist with a tragic past, who receives a phone call from her niece Zoe informing her that Zoe's friend is missing and the police have found a young woman's body brutally stabbed to death. Mariana leaves her group therapy patients to join her niece at her alma mater for moral support, but has no idea she is about to be pulled into a dark academic underworld of Greek myth-inspired ritual, manipulative male professors, seedy domestic workers, dangerously obsessive graduate students, and a secretive sorority of women who call themselves "The Maidens." Greek tragedy is brilliantly mirrored in this sophomore work by Alex Michaelides, and it will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Lovers of thrillers, murder mysteries, and the darkness of Greek tragedy will thoroughly enjoy.

Hmmm, I’m so undecided if I think this was a cleverly written book that I thoroughly enjoyed or if it missed the mark for me? I think I’m going to have to ponder this one a little bit more and maybe wait until the authors next release to see if I actually LOVED it!!

I quite enjoyed the first half but the book lost a little steam for me in the last half. I felt that the story changed direction a little bit but I’m wondering if all the red herrings were actually meant to deflect us from what was actually going on here?

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Celadon Books and Alex Michaelides for my review copy.

On paper, The Maidens should have been a runaway win for me. I love mythology, dark academia, mysteries, anything cult-like and Michaelides's writing style.

The book is focused on recently widowed therapist Mariana as she gets pulled into a series of murders at Cambridge where her niece Zoe attends school. Back at her alma mater, Mariana is haunted by memories of her husband and becomes fixated on the charismatic professor Edward Fosca and his secret society The Maidens, all young female students of course, and is convinced that he is involved in the crimes.

But ultimately the pieces didn't come together for me. I wanted more. More Fosca (a fascinating and underused character), more Maidens (oh so underused ), more secret society and less Mariana, less Henry and definitely less Fred.

The writing as always is strong and I loved The Silent Patient throwback. I was engaged and read the book in a day. I know this was a total win for many so definitely encourage readers to check out different perspectives!

Thank you to Celadon Books and Netgalley for the gifted e-copy.

The end is maddening but, I suspect, is supposed to be. A solid sophomore title from Michaelides that will be definitely be popular with fans of The Silent Patient.

Mystery - 3.5*

Suspect everyone!

Not really being able to guess "whodunnit" was my favorite part of this mystery. There are many, many curve balls thrown our way that from one chapter to the next, so I changed my mind several times throughout. There is also a superb twist of an ending that redeemed this book for me. Until that point, though, I was strictly middle of the road with my thoughts on this novel.

Mariana is a therapist. Her ward's best friend is murdered at Cambridge and Mariana travels there to make sure Zoe is ok. Her husband died several months earlier and she has been at loose ends. They met at Cambridge so being back there brings up lots of memories for her. Since she doesn't feel connected to much, she decides to stay in Cambridge for awhile. She starts poking into the murder case and becomes interested in a professor as a possible suspect. He has a coterie of women surrounding him called The Maidens. It seems suspect. The more she looks into the case, the more trouble that occurs for her and more women die.

It's a solid premise for a mystery and we get several chapters that seem to be from the killer's POV, which added background and increased the "whodunnit" guessing. Most of my issues with the novel revolve around Mariana. She has men falling all over themselves for her after barely speaking to her and it got super annoying. I also felt that the way Mariana gets involved in the case is clunky.

This book is getting lots of buzz and will be one of the big books of summer. My recommendation is not to go into it with high expectations. It was a solid mystery story, but if you have high expectations you may be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

For this being one of my most anticipated books for the year I am very disappointed! I didn't dislike this book by any means most that I feel indifferent. It felt slow and draw out but somehow also super rushed... I'm not quite sure how to explain it. There was no character development or depth. Everything was very surface level and I was expecting something dark similar to The Secret History with a cultish group of friends and all I got was a vague mention of a secret group of girls. This book overall was fine but I had absolutely no feelings while reading it not thrilled or held in suspense.