Synopsis:
Psychotherapist Mariana rushes to Cambridge to comfort her niece, Zoe, after her friend is murdered. Mariana believes the police have the wrong person, and decides to investigate. She becomes fixated on one of Zoe’s professors as the likely suspect.

I’ll get my unpopular opinion out of the way: I felt The Silent Patient was just ok. I enjoyed it, but didn’t think it was as good as many others thought. So, I approached this one with that in mind. I was blown away with this one! It’s set against a backdrop of Greek tragedies, of which I have very limited knowledge. From that aspect, I learned a great deal. It’s also set in the context of grief and trauma and explores the way we process our experiences, and the long term impact they have on us. Of course, being a thriller, there was “the twist”, and I didn’t see it coming. Initially, it bothered me that there were few (if any) “clues”, but I think that was the intent-for the reader to be just as surprised as Mariana was. I will give just a touch of criticism about the treatment Mariana gave one of her patients-in my opinion (I’m also a psychotherapist), it was completely incorrect. I won’t say much more to avoid spoilers. Overall though, this one sucked me in completely! The narration of this book was very well done, and totally hooked me. The male narrator, in particular, lent a particularly creepy vibe to this production. The audiobook was so good, I chose The Maidens as my BOTM pick!

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audiofor an advanced audio copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was just meh for me, which was very disappointing, seeing as I LOVED Michaelides debut, The Silent Patient. Unfortunately, The Maidens was just too predictable and silly, and the ending left me feeling empty and let down. I'd definitely still try another book by this author, though and I thought the female narrator did a wonderful job.

audiobook wise, this was great, the narrator was great. book wise, it didn't work for me. fell a bit flat for me, it was slow and dull, i didn't click with it at all, which is a huge bummer after loving the silent patient so much.

Thank you, Alex Michaelides, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book. It releases on June 15th, 2021!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides has been everywhere since its release. It is sitting on my shelf right now and I hope to read it soon. But, when I received an audiobook copy of his second book, The Maidens, I could not wait to read it! It doesn’t release until June 15th, but I have been seeing this book everywhere FOR MONTHS! Mariana is a group therapist who lost her husband a year ago. Now it is just her and her niece, Zoe. Zoe calls her from college saying that her best friend, Tara has been murdered. Mariana goes to Cambridge, her former college to be there for Zoe. Mariana is convinced that the professor, Edward Fosca is a murderer. He is the leader of a female-only group, called The Maidens. It is an exclusive group and Tara was a member. But Mariana has no evidence, then another member is murdered. Mariana begins to investigate on her own and will do anything to bring down Fosca before another member is murdered.

When people say this thriller is a slow burn, there should be an extra emphasis on SLOW. I almost gave up. But I must say, I am so glad I didn’t give up. I was really conflicted with Mariana as the main character. While she is obviously brilliant and truly wants to help people…she can also be pretty idiotic. She gets EVERYTHING wrong. –I don’t want to expand on that thought because it may lead to some spoilers. The thing is, readers will see clearly that she is wrong but she just keeps forcing herself into an investigation that she is clueless about and her decisions do affect those around her. But let me get back to the pace of the novel. I felt that there are a few unnecessary moments, particularly at the beginning of the book. I understand that the author wanted to give readers more than one suspect but it did not help the pace. THANKFULLY, at about 65% in the book, I did not want to put it down. I went an extra mile on my run, just so I can finish it.

The author does an amazing job at intertwining ancient mythology with the crime and within Mariana’s life. I loved the addition of the stories of Demeter and Persephone. It is important to connect Demeter and Persephone’s relationship with Mariana and Zoe. Plus, the author really showed why women often don’t come forward to report crimes because they are often not believed.

The narrators are Louise Brealey and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. I thought Kobna Holdbrook-Smith did a phenomenal job by adding a very eerie aesthetic to the audiobook. But Louise Brealey left me a little disappointed. She does some amazing accents but her narration didn’t quite keep me hooked to the story. Overall, I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. I have to say that the ending of the book was pretty brilliant.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to listen to this audiobook. I have not yet had a chance to read Michaelides earlier book, the Silent Patient, but this one was ok. I enjoyed the narrator, but there were definitely places in this one where I got sidetracked or my brain wandered and I missed some key information and had to go back. Overall, a decent thriller.

Holy crap.... What in the heck?!

The Maidens is an incredibly well written and will have you guessing 'who done it' the entire time.

Ya'll, I'm going to be honest, this book was a little slow but the writing was fantastic. The plot twist at the end, I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. It was so good and I would highly recommend giving it a read.

One of the most captivating and fun thrillers I have had the pleasure of reading this year. The obsessions, the drama, the twists and turns.... and the final twist at the end!!! It was one of the first plot twists that I truly did not and could not have guessed. Wow. A five star thriller!

There is so much hype around The Maidens  right now,  and I'll confess it was one of my most anticipated reads after loving the silent patient. However it definitely didn't love up to my expectations. I did enjoy this novel but not quite as much as others. I thought the plot didn’t have enough cohesiveness to pull off another shocking surprise twist at the end. The atmosphere was creepy and fear of the unknown was prevalent but it wasn’t enough to hold the story together. Overall, this book was average and a bit predictable and not up to the silent patient standards.

In the story we follow, Mariana Andros a therapist who is still grieving the tragic loss of her husband. Mariana gets a frantic call from her niece, Zoe, over the disappearance of her college roommate.

Mariana travels to the university to offer support to  Zoe. Mariana becomes immediately suspicious of a popular professor, Edward Fosca and his group of female students deemed ‘The Maidens’.

Another student is murdered and Mariana steps up the pressure on the Professor. Her actions begin to border on obsession, making her appear more and more unhinged…

High on atmosphere with a pace that’s deliberate rather than breakneck, The Maidens did draw me in and keep me guessing.

Main character Mariana has had a tough life - both her parents died, then her husband. Her only remaining family member is her niece Zoe, a student at Cambridge. When Zoe calls saying a close friend has been found dead, Mariana rushes to her side. But she finds much to investigate: a charismatic professor, a group of beautiful, privileged young women, and ... murder.

As a mystery, The Maidens is a classic amateur detective story in its format, with Mariana going around interviewing witnesses and suspects in an attempt to figure out who is killing the Maidens (an elite literary salon of women handpicked by Professor Fosca) one by one.

Mariana is an interesting character. Still struggling with grief over the death of her husband a year ago, Mariana becomes obsessed with the man she thinks is guilty of the murders: Edward Fosca, an American professor at Cambridge.

I loved The Maidens. But if you’re a fan of thrillers and like your books fast-paced and twisty, The Maidens could feel a little slow to you. There’s a lot of Mariana’s thoughts on her grief, and psychotherapy, and Tennyson and mythology. Let’s just say that if this were adapted, I’d expect to see it on Masterpiece Theatre, not Netflix.

If you’ve read The Silent Patient, you’ll love that The Maidens is a crossover book set in the same story world. I don’t want to say more so you’ll be surprised. I liked this aspect of the book, but I need to go back to The Silent Patient and investigate further.

I was so excited to dive into this book! From the beginning I was intrigued and found the mystery aspect to be well done.

Mariana, a therapist who is dealing with her own past trauma, starts to ask questions concerning a death at her nieces university. More deaths lead to more questions with very few answers. I enjoyed following Marianas thought process as she was trying to piece clues together. I also loved the little ties to The Silent Patient!

The ending SHOCKED me! I would 100% recommend this book

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

An exclusive academic university setting with loads of references to classical Greek studies and a high body count. The mystery itself is unpredictable, with a great twist and plenty of red herrings. I guarantee you won't guess the ending! Overall, though, the characters were mostly unlikable, I was even unsympathetic to Mariana and Zoe, who are supposed to be our main heroines. It seems so unlikely that the police would invite a psychiatrist so closely connected to the case to be a part of the investigation that I just couldn't get past the fact that Mariana was essentially questioning witnesses and searching crime scenes for weapons and clues. Sneaky references to Michaelides's first novel The Silent Patient as well, so there's a connection for readers who enjoyed the other book!

I probably would have enjoyed this more had I not read The Silent Patient because Alex Michaelides likes a good twist, leaving me expecting 50% the ending. The red herrings are very, very red.

Mariana is a decent audience surrogate but her deduction leaves a lot to be desired, particularly considering that she's a therapist. She also falls into the trope of Every Man Who Sees Her LOVES Her, which was exhausting, and I don't understand why a therapist of all people, especially one who is related to one of the impacted girls, is conducting an investigation with very little resistance from authorities.

The setting is sufficiently atmospheric, the cast of characters is thorough (although I wanted more of Clarice), and the story is well-plotted.

The narrators of the audiobook are Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Louise Brealey, both of whom are very good. Louise Brealey has an excellent voice that I'm pretty sure I've heard before. (I looked her up and yep, she's an actress and I really like her.) The audiobook is also really short, making it perfect for a commute.

Overall, this is a book worth reading or listening to, despite the lackluster ending.

I received a copy of this audibook for free from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

Ugh…You could have just in-deal answered the lingering question, Michaelides, and I would have given you 5/5. I kind of loved this book with serial killer mystery, the dead husband worship with the Greek mythological stalker letters mixed in…but for the love of everything, I need closure, and you can’t plant a “Castaway package” of ending on me.

I just reviewed The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

4/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing this audiobook-arc!

This tale was thankfully narrated well and i applaud the team behind it for that. Just like with The Silent Patient, i somehow predicted the end. Though not the circumstances and reasons to why. The cliché of the untrustworthy female protagonist was done a bit better here in comparison to the other, of the few, thrillers i've read. I was a bit disappointed in the Dark Academia part as the characters of that type didn't feel developed. But then again, the aura of snobism is what makes DA the aesthetic that it is. The continuity with his debut is a nice touch and i hope to see another fun predictable book from the author set in the same world!

2.5 rounded up to 3.

Mariana is a group therapist recovering from a trauma of her own, who returns to her alma mater, Cambridge, to comfort her niece whose friend was murdered. Mariana meets an interesting cast of characters as she begins to unravel the mystery of who may have murdered her niece’s friend. Interspersed with Greek mythology and psychology references, the atmosphere of this book is very unique. It gave me A Secret History by Donna Tartt vibes.

Overall, this was a compelling mystery with short chapters ending in cliffhangers that made it a pager turner. The ending redeemed the book.

That said, this book didn't totally work for me. None of the characters were likable, which is usually the kiss of death for me.

Mariana must be as beautiful as a greek goddess because men were literally throwing themselves at her upon first sight, like every man in the book. It was very annoying and unrealistic. This is just one example of some of the silliness of the book. Farfetched and unrealistic.

If you are looking for a book as good as The Silent Patient, you will probably be disappointed.

Special thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Michaelides’ sophomore novel is just as enthralling as “The Silent Patient,” but that comes as no surprise as the similarities between the two stories are numerous. In “The Maidens,” another psychologist serves as the primary narrator who tries to unwind the mysteries which lie in the minds of the suspects all around her. The story is compelling and easy to read, breaking at times to insert a second narrator, and it includes a jaw-dropping unexpected ending.

There are some differences between the two books which I believe might hinder “The Maidens” success. Unlike “The Silent Patient,” there are a multitude of characters who at some points are hard to keep track of and don’t necessarily add to the story. Additionally, some of their motivations (including the maidens’ themselves) are never really fully fleshed out. There are also a staggering number of repetitive sentences, quotes, and unnecessary symbolism seemingly used solely to muddy the waters in the who-done-it tale. I believe this book could have benefitted from some tighter editing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It hooked me immediately, and I cruised through it in two days. I’m excited to see what’s next in store from Alex Michaelides.

The Maidens is the story of a string of grisly murders set against the backdrop of Cambridge University and its private colleges. There is something so compelling about the juxtaposition of an upstanding legacy of distinction and eliteness against chaos, controversy, and violence.

This was a great psychological thriller. One of the best I've read in a while. I thought I had it all figured out so many times but I was wrong. This is the first thriller I have picked up in a while since I was starting to find them predictable but this one had me constantly second-guessing my assumptions. I crushed this book in one sitting and highly recommend it.

I loved the tie-in of Greek Mythology in this book. It was nice to see a take on the story Persephone and Demeter that was reflective of the mythos surrounding the Greek gods.

The narrators in the audiobook were phenomenal, and the male narrator especially had me questioning my predictions throughout.

*trigger warning - drug abuse, violence, abuse

I found this thriller oddly soothing, not because of the story but because of the narrator! A fantastic choice, it kept me drawn in although the novel was not my cup of tea. Fabulous narrator!!

Let me begin with the audio book aspects:
Narrator--The female, who narrated most of the story, has a pleasant tone, an easily understood British accent, and used some voice variation to help distinguish between characters. There is also a male narrator who we hear from during certain chapters sprinkled throughout the book. His voice was also pleasant.

Default speed--The default speed of 1 was painfully slow. It began to sound more like natural speech starting at 1.5, but I listened at 2 for most of the book. (I typically listen to most audio books at 1.5.)

Story feedback:
The book itself is a combination of Greek mythology, dark academia, secret societies, and murder at Cambridge University. We follow Mariana, a recently widowed group therapist, who is also a Cambridge graduate. She returns to Cambridge after receiving a phone call about a body found on campus, and becomes obsessed with seeing the killer caught.

Mariana travels to Cambridge to console her niece when she learns that the body is that of Tara, her niece Zoe's friend. Upon her arrival, Mariana becomes convinced of the guilt of one of the college professors and works to see him brought to justice.

The book contains chapters sprinkled throughout where we hear from a male narrator who suffered intense abuse as a child, so that is something to be aware of before reading the book. There is nothing graphically described, but the reader should still be forewarned. There are numerous characters who could be the writer, as there are several male characters revolving around the plot.

Overall, I enjoyed the book--I finished it in a day. The mythological element was interesting, but might be confusing if the reader has no prior knowledge base in Greek mythology. There was one plot line from Mariana's personal life that didn't seem to add any value to the plot, but otherwise I found the book highly engaging.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audio book in exchange for my honest review.

Thoughts and Themes: I rarely read mystery books and I haven’t read many since I was a teenager. I used to love this type of book so I’ve been trying to get into them again. I listened to this one on audiobook and I believe that I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had read the book.

I’m not a big fan of the way that the mystery unravels itself in the end of the book, I was really enjoying it until the last hour of listening. I found that this portion of the book sped up but it also was a little off to me. I found that the book kept speeding up while they were close to figuring things out only to slow back down with filler information. While I like twists and turns in the book, I would like the tension to remain in the story without it feeling like it was gone.

Something that I did enjoy about this book was the way that Greek Mythology was weaved into the murder mystery. While the beginning of this story was slow to start because it had to introduce the murder mystery and the Greek aspects, I found that the best part to read.

Characters: In this book you get to meet a few characters as they are interreacting with Mariana. I liked Mariana as a main character and found that she was easy to follow along with. I liked getting to learn a bit from her past and also see how that past informs the way she investigates this murder.

I also liked the short pieces that we get from the male perspective. I thought those pieces were just the right amount of creepy and the way they are written kind of deter you from figuring out who did it.

I wasn’t really invested in any of the characters throughout this book. I wanted to like Mariana but she was just the character we needed to tell the story to me. I did like Zoe though and really wanted to believe the best of her even as Mariana starts to doubt her. I like the relationship that Mariana has with Zoe and also the relationships we get to see that Mariana has with some of her patients.

Writing Style: This story is told in third person when it is about Mariana and then it switches to first person when it is the male perspective. I thought this was an interesting way to write this because it makes you feel like the male is our narrator for the rest of the story. I wondered if this was the case and someone was watching Mariana’s every move throughout the book. I really liked having the shift in point of view included because it throws you off and it also makes you question the reliability of our narrator.