Having read, and loved, The Silent Patient, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Alex Michaelides’ newest novel— and I was not disappointed! The Maidens was fantastic. The setting was atmospheric and wonderfully described, and the twists and turns of the plot left me guessing until the very last page.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Rating: 4 stars

Summary: A psychologist who runs a private group therapists is asked by her niece to come to Cambridge to help her with a murdered student she knew. Once she arrives she finds a group of maidens attached to a professor who are suspect of misdeeds.

Comments: A tightly page turner novel of suspense. If you enjoyed his first novel The Silent Patient he follows a similar formula of pealing the onion. He makes a few nice references to his first novel

What a tremendous weekend read. I loved THE SILENT PATIENT, and was thrilled to see a new novel. This one is a fine successor and really thrilling, and I never saw the end coming. The book keeps you on your toes and twists you in every direction. What a marvelous and exciting summer read. Bravo!

I'd like to thank Netgalley for an ARC of this book. This is in exchange for my honest review. Please note, this review is riddled with spoilers.

This book is like purchasing a beautiful hand thrown bowl only to find that it is full of leaks and is only good for decorative purposes. The premise is intriguing - I'm always drawn to mysteries that happen in secluded areas (particularly schools) and involves something cultish. Given the allusions to Greek mythology, I was hoping for something unsettling and engrossing. Unfortunately, this book did not deliver.

I think part of what this book suffers from is that it's too rushed. Normally, if I have a problem with a book's length, it's because it could have used tighter editing. In this case, I think this book needed to be fleshed out. Our main character, Mariana, is defined by two things : her grief for her deceased husband and her job - a psychologist who only works with groups. (Also, she is not a very good psychologist from what I can tell.) She was incredibly flat, and she could have used more depth to make her relatable. She was mostly a vehicle to convey the reader so that the story could happen. I feel like there was nothing intrinsically interesting about her that made the story her own.

There were also storylines and plot points that needed more fleshing out. The references to Greek mythology were superficial, without the scholarly details that I crave. I am usually all about having a good google to see images or find out more about works referenced in a book, but not in this case. I just didn't care, they barely seemed relevant except hint that hey, maybe this is kind of a cult.

Another storyline that bothered me was the one involving Henry. It was totally unnecessary.I assume he was meant as a red herring, but he was referred to always briefly, just to remind us that he's a threat. There's no real reason that he should be because his story is flat. So, when he shows up randomly in the middle with a knife it makes no sense. It's just there. If this was supposed to be a way to mislead the reader, it failed because this moment happened at a point that made no sense. It was early and just...random. I think the book could have totally gone without. Like, her career is so irrelevant to this story because she's just so bad at her job. Why remind us of it?

Fred is another unbelievable character with a flimsy storyline. I don't think I can recall what his job is, or how he always manages to show up at the right time or always be available to hang out with Mariana. I guess because he's in love with her after seeing her on the train because she's so ~beautiful~ but, of course, she doesn't know it. Does he know anything about her to feel this strongly for her? No. I mean, I don't either thanks to the lack of characterization.

The final nail in the coffin for me came at the very end with the main reveal of who the killer is. Mariana finds a letter to Zoe from her lover, and she assumes it is from one of her professors, who she has pegged as the killer right along. The letter is from her recently deceased husband, and I find it hard to believe she somehow didn't recognize the handwriting. Instead, she just went along to her almost death because....???

Overall, this book was underwhelming and a huge disappointment. At least it was quick.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I’m pretentious enough to admit that I did a Summer at Cambridge and I’ve studied the classics and I still couldn’t make heads or tails of much of this book. The narrator suffers from tragic TSTL endemic in female protagonists of thrillers written by men, and every male character was super creepy including the dead husband and while I think he was going for Gothic it just landed on Bizarre. Three silly, over bloated stars

Mariana gets a call from her niece Zoe, her best friend Tara has been found murdered! Marianna strongly believes it was Edward Fosca, the handsome greek tragedy teacher at Cambridge University. Who has a secret society called the Maidens of which Tara was a member. Marianna is determined to prove that Edward is the murderer. even if it destroys her credibility as a group therapist and her relationship with Zoe!

The Maidens was one of the most anticipated reads for 2021 after reading the silent patient and enjoying Alexs writing so much and the way he keeps his end plots well and truly hidden right till the end. I couldn't wait to see what plot twist his new book would have and he didn't disapoint. Once again i did not see the ending coming! the book was well written and flowed well i

Although I felt this book was a little slow to start it kept me guessing all the way through everyone was a suspect! the last 30% of the book I couldn't put down, I needed to know who did it!!

overall if you loved the silent patient I'm sure this one will also be a big hit! Maybe not quite a big WTF moment but still a shocker!
I look forward to future books from Alex Michaelides!!

I am a big fan of author Alex Michaelides and his debut novel, The Silent Patient, was outstanding. The Maidens has been a highly anticipated new book soon to be released in June, and I have been anxiously waiting for my ARC. But, there were warning signs early in this novel that leans heavily on Greek mythology, and as such, it tends to get a little slow and bogged down in details. The lead protagonist, Mariana, by coincidence, was born in Greece and suffered the loss of her beloved husband while on vacation in Greece. Throughout the book, we meet many people who have been through difficult upbringings/situations in Greece. Among them is her orphaned niece, Zoe, who begs Mariana to come to Cambridge after the murder of her best friend. Mariana meets the charismatic Professor Fosca, who teaches Greek mythology while surrounded by beautiful groupies/maidens. I started to question the odds that everything in the story kept coming back to life and death and Greek mythology for a book set at a prestigious English college. The story gets dicey when Mariana, a therapist, decides to stick around and solve this crime as female bodies start piling up. I couldn’t understand how a young widow who barely controls her emotions suddenly becomes more proactive than the police after these coeds' death. Finally, I was surprised that this therapist constantly surrounds herself with mentally challenged people with whom she could not establish boundaries. Honestly, this review is probably not going to make sense, but this story is unusual, and I will be mentally dissecting the details for a few days. I still believe in this author, and I look forward to his next novel, but I think this story is too convoluted. The murderer was not a surprise and reconfirmed my theory about the likelihood of crazy people running amuck at Cambridge. I thank Celadon for this ARC, but the review and opinions are my own and without bias. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 @celadonbooks @alex.michaelides #theMaidens #death #greece #Greektragedy
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I think the expectations were set too high for this book as it’s practically everyone’s most anticipated 2021 release. I enjoyed the short chapters and #TheSilentPatient reference. I didn’t care for the Greek mythology aspect. While I was able to figure out some of the twists, I was completely blindsided by one of them! This twist didn’t really get addressed enough for me so I wanted a little more from the ending. Overall, I liked this book but didn’t love it.

I have just finished reading The Maidens by Alex Michaelides.

I really like this author, as his writing style is very descriptive, and the stories interesting and gripping. He takes the smallest of visuals and makes it feel like you are there in the moment seeing what he is describing.

This story was very good, however a bit on the dark side. It left me guessing along with some surprizes that I did not expect.

The characters were complex, and not without fault which makes for a good book in my opinion!

Thank you to NetGalley, Author Alex Michaelides and Celadon Books for my advanced copy to read and review.

#TheMaidens #NetGalley

CW: Animal death, death, blood, religion, drugging, drugs, alcohol, abuse, sexual abuse

Alex Michaelides has done it again. He had the best-selling debut in 2019 with The Silent Patient and he’s got another winner with The Maidens.

I love a good mystery/thriller/suspense book. The less predictable the better. Trust me when I say that The Maidens is in no way predictable. The twists just keep coming in this book, you never know what to expect. Just when you think you might have something figured out, a twist comes up and leaves you with your mouth hanging open. I literally got chills from a couple of the twists.

My favorite character in this story, to be honest, was Fred. He was a bit obnoxious, but you could tell he was sincere. Fred is one of those characters that seem to be just some side character who will have no real role in the story. Then you find out you’re wrong.

Mariana was a character that was likable enough. She can be annoying sometimes as well, but she’s an interesting enough character. Although I have to say - for a psychotherapist she’s a bit out of touch with herself.

The rest of the characters, for me, functioned exactly as they should. They did what they were supposed to do, took whatever was thrown at them, and held up the way they needed to - or didn’t.

One thing I will say - you’ll get a pleasant surprise during one of the chapters - but you won’t understand unless you’ve already read The Silent Patient. And no, you absolutely don’t need to read that first to read The Maidens. They’re two separate stories.

If you liked The Silent Patient, you’ll love The Maidens. I recommend this for fans of psychological thrillers.

For people who have read The Silent Patient this one is definitely a step down from that one. It just wasn’t as engaging and interesting as his other novel. That being said I will still likely read his next one in the hopes that we meet the level The Silent Patient had. The whole premise of The Silent Patient and the mysterious characters, mind manipulating games, hidden agendas had me loving his first book. This one just didn’t reach that level. We still have the mysterious characters. We have this creepy guy who basically stocks Mariana the whole book (I hope this comes around for the third book! Fingers crossed!), we have Mariana with the tragic backstory, and we have the weird group of college students called the Maidens.

It still has this author's known for elements of weaving Greek mythology and tragedy with some form of psychologist. I personally really like having the main characters are in the psychology field. For me, it adds a lot to the book and just sets up the story really nicely.

I do have to say just like with his other novel, he is very good at fast conclusions that throw you for a loop. I thought for sure I knew who had done it. I could even see little clues that led to this person, but now I am thinking this was purposely added in to throw us off because I didn’t expect the ending at all. This ending came like a flash and was over quicker than that. The whole book was slow but then once the climax happened the book basically ended and I was left hanging. I don’t say this because there was a cliffhanger. After all, there wasn’t, but I do see how the ending could lead to his next novel. I say this because the book ended so quickly after the big reveal. I just wish the whole book was this fast-paced. The truth wasn’t as surprising as his first novel but I definitely didn’t see it coming. At some point in the novel it crossed my mind this could be the person, just like it did for basically every other character, but the why is what I didn’t expect.

Another thing that bugged me was how naive the main character was in this book. She was so stuck in her thinking that literally until the last possible moment she was blind to the truth. She could have been told the truth flat out and would have heard something different. I realized the truth way before her and continued to read as she was still stuck in the shadows.

The books had a lot of little things that took you on completely different paths throughout the book. I think this is what could definitely make a lot of people like the book because it makes it harder to pinpoint the true person, but for me, they were too little and too far apart to fill in a lot of time-wasting words. There were also a lot of plot whole and things that Mariana did and got away with in regards to the police and how they acted that seemed very unrealistic.

But I enjoyed the little added touch of having his characters from The Silent Patient show up. This was a nice touch to tie his books together. Of course, this is a stand-alone but for those who have read his other book, it is just a little nice touch that adds some behind the scene stuff.

I have hope for his next book!.

I received an ARC of this title via Netgalley (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.
This author has succeeded in surpassing their debut novel and I didn’t think it would as I truly enjoyed The Silent Patient. I was throughly convinced I was not going to let myself be bamboozled into thinking the wrong person was the culprit but yet again I was left going, WHAT?! Without any spoilers you also get a little cameo of characters seen in The Silent Patient as it is set in the same world, However this is perfectly good as a stand-alone and reading the other title is not necessary to enjoy this one. For all your thriller mystery fans, you are in for a treat!

First of all, I can’t explain enough how excited I was to receive this ARC. It was a gift from the literature Gods because of my obsession with the Silent Patient. And Alex M. did it again! Round of a freaking plause!!!!

I went into this one blind because I didn’t want any reviews or comments or backstory intervening with what I was about to read and I’m so glad I did. Now that I’ve finished and had the chance to review reviews I noticed that some say it begins slow. I would have to say that it may SEEM slow but it’s just so vivid. You really get a grasp on the character Mariana’s mind and setting and engulfs how the story will go. So be patient because it unwinds beautifully in the end.

I don’t want to give much away so I will be brief. Marianna was married to Sebastian who passed away a year ago. It begins with showing she’s still mourning his death and introduces her life as a group therapist. Her niece calls her with news that her best friend was brutally murdered and needs her help. This is where it all begins and the mystery of who the killer is gets dragged through your brain and I loved every second. I also loved that there was a nod to his first book with characters that made me squeal with delight!

Super well developed characters and story line and I would highly recommend to all!

Thank you Celadon Books and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to read The Maidens by Alex Michaelides after reading and liking The Silent Patient. Alex is a fantastic writer, there is no doubt. I liked a lot about this book but wasn’t as into the Greek mythology that he often delved into. It wasn’t as fast-paced as I wanted it to be but I was curious about what was going to happen next and the twist in the book did surprise me.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.

Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge.

Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld?

When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.

The beginning part of the book is mainly about Mariana and by the time Edward Fosca enters the story, I was a little bored with Mariana’s inner thoughts and her issues. I would have loved to have met Edward and his band of female students who follow him around (The Maidens), sooner and also skip the deep mythology stuff. I did note the cross-over between this and one of the characters from The Silent Patient, watch out for that!

While this wasn’t as dazzling as The Silent Patient, there were parts I enjoyed and others are raving about this book so you will have to read it and see for yourself!

Coming out on June 15.

Perfect psychological thriller too engross the reader. I absolutely love this book. I highly recommend reading it.

This book left me feeling slightly ambivalent by the end and I needed some time to gather my thoughts. After reading the Silent Patient, this was one of my most anticipated reads for the year but unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to the expectations I had for it.

However, expectations can be a hard thing to maneuver around when writing reviews and when viewing this book as a standalone, I did find it to be extremely well done as I flew through it and was quite intrigued throughout!

I found it to be quite well paced, captivating, extremely chilling and definetly shocking at times. While I was able to foresee part of the ending, I did really enjoy how everything came together and how the remainder of the unpredicted twist was revealed!

Bonus points for The Silent Patient goose eggs in the middle and the ultimate connection in the end! This I loved!

I had high expectations after being blown away by the author’s previous book, The Silent Patient. The Maidens was just as dark, twisted, and enjoyable. I love the depth of the main character and the ending that made me say “wow!” This book will definitely be a best seller and I’ll be telling everyone to read it!

This author has a way of creating a sinister and compelling atmosphere like no other! The writing is absolutely beautiful, and creates tension so that you are turning, turning the pages to see what happens next. There was a clever use of a red herring, and a twist I didn't see coming. I loved the depth of the main character.

This won't be a hard sell due to the popularity of The Silent Patient, but it's a worthy successor, and will be fun to give to those looking for psychological suspense with a very enjoyable a literary bent.

I will add that I usually stay away from recommending suspense, thriller, and mystery books for book clubs. But this one could work. There's enough real psychological depth/heft to the main character, herself a therapist, which could lead to good discussion about "how well do you ever really know someone," how trauma follows us around our whole lives, causing history to repeat itself...etc.

I didn't LOVE the ending but let's be honest -- I don't think any ending could have lived up to the beautiful build-up experience, here. I will recommend this one to British psychological suspense and thriller lovers ala Elizabeth Haynes, Sophie Hannah, Ruth Ware, and the like. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read, review and recommend this one ahead of time. :)

I would not have wanted to be this author and try to follow his first masterpiece, The Silent Patient, but he is equal to the task. This second thriller is quite different, thank heavens, but still mesmerizing and intriguing. Mariana, the protagonist, is a group therapist, and tries to use that knowledge to solve multiple homicides at her niece's elite private British college. I'm not sure that a therapist can be a successful crime solver, but it is a change from the traditional type. Adding the flavor of Greek tragedies to the story is another unique twist that improves the story. I did not solve the mystery but it made sense after the big reveal. I also liked the way the author wove facets of The Silent Patient into this story, which required me to return to that original work. The author writes beautifully, and tells a walloping story. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing an ARC.

Because I really liked The Silent Patient I had high expectations for The Maidens.. And while The Maidens is a good enough read, it failed to match or exceed what I expected. At its base level, The Maidens tells an unexceptional story, filled with twists and turns and a surprising ending. But not a single character is so well developed that I felt I knew him or her, and thus their motivations became blurred or obliterated. Relying on stereotyping, Michaelides presents us with a cast of tired players in a much-told tale. By the end, I felt sympathy for none of them except perhaps those who had been murdered. There are bits of cleverness, unnecessary displays of erudition, and holes in the action as well as in the plot. I think it would make a good enough read on a hot beach (perhaps in Greece), where one drifts out and back in again repeatedly, but it definitely is not good fare for readers who want to engage their minds in a clever riddle or who want to be lost in the layers of a good psychological thriller.