I received advance copies of The Maidens in both etext and audio form, so my review is going to be pretty similar - albeit with some additional thoughts on the audiobook's narration and auditory choices.

I had such high hopes for The Maidens. Dark academia set at Cambridge, secret societies themed around ancient Greek tragedies, murders and general intellectual/poetic creepiness... I'm SO here for that. But while the concept was promising, the actual execution was tragically disappointing.

Despite the multiple murders, The Maidens was remarkably slow-paced. We spend a LOT of time with Mariana's backstory, getting much more than we probably need and, more frustratingly, getting it through shoved-in exposition chunks rather than more organically during the course of the story. The already slow-paced story is interrupted here and there by chapters from a second, anonymous, perspective, read by a second narrator, which are...technically necessary for the plot, I guess, but honestly, there's a lot of it and none of it was very interesting. Furthermore, the choice of reader for these scenes was kind of a spoiler that clued me into something I wasn't supposed to know for a while. (That sounds vague, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers myself.) This wasn't really the fault of the reader, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who has an excellent voice for the troubled character in these portions, but it did make certain revelations obvious too quickly.

The primary narrator, Louise Brealey, does a lovely job of reading Mariana's chapters, and tone, pacing, and lightly distinct character voices all added to the story. Unfortunately, I just didn't really love the story itself.

The details of the plot don't really hold up well to scrutiny, and too many pieces just don't connect; the official investigation's total lack of anything like questioning a flimsy alibi, red herrings that don't even go far enough to count as red herrings, and nonstop awkward attempts to make Mariana's therapy background more relevant than it really felt. I was hoping that, despite the obvious plot holes, a lot of these threads would tie together better in the end, but the solution is fairly nonsensical and messy, without wrapping things up the way I'd hoped.

A major component of dark academia is the atmosphere, aesthetic, and just general vibes, and I will say, The Maidens has that. It just has nothing really backing up that atmosphere. The Greek tragedy element, the Demeter & Persephone stuff, the supposed secret society angle - they all seem designed to give the book the veneer of dark academia that's so trendy right now, and to give it some intellectual heft, but they don't...really...do much? It's really a pretty basic thriller dressed up in fancy robes.

I didn't actually hate this book, for all my complaints. As I said, the atmosphere works, and the audio version is well-read. It's all right, if insubstantial and weakly plotted - I was just hoping for more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance review copy!

Totally captivating audiobook. I liked it better than The Silent Patient (also by this author), and the little crossover was fun and even creepy. Mariana, a group therapist, returns to her alma mater Cambridge to comfort her niece, whose friend has been murdered by what seems to be a serial killer. Through her expertise in psychology, she becomes involved in the case, and her own grief at losing several of her loved ones plays a role in her journey. I loved the way the mystery unraveled, and the audiobook kept me engaged the whole time. My only critique was one minor character that didn’t seem necessary and I wasn’t sure why the story needed them. I don’t want to give a spoiler, but I’ll discuss in detail with anyone who would like to!

<i>Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!<i>

As Mariana Andros continues to deal with personal tragedy, she is called to Cambridge University by her niece Zoe after Zoe’s best-friend is murdered. Despite her initial hesitation, Mariana is soon embroiled in the investigation and on the hunt for a killer. Who’s her number one suspect? Edward Fosca, a popular professor with a secret society or “study group” of female students. When another member of The Maidens is killed, this puts Mariana on a collision course with the killer. But who is the real killer? Is it truly Edward Fosca, or someone else even more devious?

I have not read Michaelides’ The Silent Patient, so I came in to The Maidens without the extremely high expectations others will come in with. What attracted me to this book was the dark academia feel combined with the references to Greek mythology. The atmosphere and the setting of the book was spot on, and really immersed the reader into the story.

Mariana was a difficult character and an interesting narrator. Learning about her and seeing the book through her POV, the reader wonders if she is a reliable narrator. Many readers may even view her as unlikeable. I find the some male authors really struggle to write a strong female character, and I think that was unfortunately the case in The Maidens. I think there was much more opportunity to develop Mariana and the other female characters in the book that was overlooked.

The thriller and suspenseful aspects of the book were bogged down at times. Every male character was made to seem like the killer, but instead of helping the story, it made the story lag at parts. In addition, when the killer was discovered I did not find it a big shock and saw it coming early on in the book. The ending was thrilling and fast-paced, but many parts of the plot were glossed over too quickly at the end. However, while this book may not live up to the hype for some readers, for the most part it is an enjoyable read that any mystery/thriller lover will enjoy. 3.75 stars.

I received a free digital ARC from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely Loved this audiobook. The narration was fantastic. I couldnt Stop listening. Knowing his previous work and the throw you for a loop ending, I couldnt Wait to see how he would conclude this book. Incredible writing, and loved the gothic mystery and Greek mythology elements. Highly recommend.

Alex Michealides avoids the sophomore slump with The Maidens! This was a really solid book. Michealides' debut The Silent Patient was a smash hit last year, and often success like his is difficult to follow. The Maidens follows group therapist Marianna as she consoles her niece, Zoe, after the death of a classmate and friend, Tara. Marianna visits Zoe on campus at Cambridge, her own alma mater, and quickly gets wrapped up in the mystery surrounding Tara's murder. Marianna, still grieving in her own right after the disappearance of her husband, investigates what turns into a string of murders, with the help of a few oddball professors and co-eds. The setting of Cambridge lead to a nice mysterious atmosphere for this novel, and the list of potential suspects runs deep. The ending is stunning, reminiscent of The Silent Patient's wow factor. I didn't so much care for the many references to Greek mythology, but I suppose it did tie things together.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest feedback.

The Maidens Another fast pace thriller by Alex Michaelides. Edge of your seat mystery. Mariana is a group therapist who has her own issues. Her niece Zoe attends Cambridge College. Mariana finds out a student was killed at Zoe’s college. She goes to comfort Zoe but winds up investigating the murder. #netgalley #goodreads

What a mesmerizing and luring story! A true smart psychopath is always lurking in the shadow. From the beginning, the suspected murderer is not on my high list of suspects. This is a mystery/thriller; therefore, throughout the whole book, I tried to guess as to who it is not much considering the motive. As psychopaths rarely have a motive that would make much sense. I love the weaving of Greek mythology into the story. It gives the story a hint of deviousness as well as an untouchable quality to the murder, just like a God. Mariana's character is confusing. At times she's straightforward and competent, yet other times she's a ball of paranoia. The way her personality unravels adds to the suspense of the story.

The story was narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Louise Brealey. Kobna read the part of the murderer. The depth and tone of his voice add to the image of this disturbed person. Louise read the rest of the story. Louise's tone and the pace were spots on. She read with emotions, which helps me feel like I am there. She read in Greek with such fluency that it amazed me.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for letting me listen to this advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is fine for a while, but the ending throws it into highly uncomfortable territory. The ending as a whole doesn't work for me at all. It almost feels like the whole book was written and then the author took a step back and said, "Okay, what's the most shocking twist I can pull out here...? Hm..."

A terrible character is given a chance at being a romantic interest, and I just do not buy it. He was written as such an awful, overbearing character that I figured he was just being framed up as an obvious red herring. Nope. Potential boyfriend. One who, just a few chapters earlier, forced a kiss on the main character after constantly harassing her. No thanks.

I didn't dislike The Maidens, but I did not love it. I had such high expectations after reading The Silent Patient. I felt The Maidens was a little slow and predictable. I don't know why Greek mythology was even mentioned. Mariana kind of got on my nerves because she tried playing detective. I did like the twists towards the end. That was fun.

Overall, it was an okay psychological mystery.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ALS.

I was really expecting great things of this book because of all the blurbs by other authors (I'm starting to get suspicious about the value of those) and because I loved The Silent Patient. Pros: the cozy setting at Cambridge University was a plus for me as was the emphasis on classics especially Euripides as well as Tennyson. Cons: the main characters. I was a therapist for almost forty years and it drove me bat___ to read about the anti-professional, boundary-breaking, and just plain crazy actions of Mariana. Trying to follow her and care about what happened to her felt like riding on a runaway train. Not fun. Mr. Michaelides must have put years of work into this book but I think the problems started in the very beginning with the plot outline; at a minimum, I can't imagine any university staying fully open while murder after murder takes place. Hmmm, where were the parents? I think the author has written only this book and The Silent Patient, and batting 50% in baseball is not to be sneezed at. I'm hopefully awaiting Mr. Michaelides' next book.

Wowzers. I loved The Silent Patient, which had a killer (ha!) twist, so I was really anxious to get my hands on his second book. It’s so good. Mindbendy and provocative and full of twists and turns. The main character being a psychotherapist is brilliant, there’s so much introspection in the narrative and exploration of inner thought that adds a great element to the story.

The murder mystery is really well done, with lots of red herrings and misdirection. And there’s a great tie in with The Silent Patient that I appreciated.

Long story short- if you like crazy murder mysteries set on a college campus involving a small privileged group of students and a cult figure type Antiquities teacher, this is the book for you.

Since I listened to the audiobook, I’ll also add that the narration was top notch.

2.5 stars rounded to 3. The Maidens was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, as The Silent Patient is one of my favorite books. This book has, so far, been the most disappointed I’ve been in a book this year. It was SO FREAKING SLOW!!! So slow. I found the whole story to be gimmicky and predictable (I guessed the final reveal, which NEVER happens), and just overall wasn’t impressed or attached to any of the characters. Hopefully Michaelides isn’t a one hit wonder.

I was very excited to listen to this book, since The Silent Patient was one of my favorite reads of 2019. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat in comparison.

First of all, the plot seemed a little cliche and overworked. The whole 'secret society' at a prestigious university plot has been thoroughly worked over and seems a bit stale at this point. But then I also felt like the author shied away from embracing this plotline completely. And the wishy-washiness doesn't help any.

My other complaint is how rushed the plot felt at some points, especially the ending. I would have preferred fewer scenes with unimportant characters earlier in the novel in order to fully flesh out the ending.

With all of that said, I have definitely read much worse thrillers. The book flows well enough, and there is a decent amount of suspense and intrigue. The narration also shines, and helps to move the novel along. You could do worse than to read it.

Michaelides definitely knows how to write thrillers. I was terribly excited to get an audiobook ARC since I loved The Silent Patient so much. I feel that I can't say much ... almost anything could be a thriller. Towards the end, there was one thing about the letter that bugged me ... Some of the language used there is used elsewhere and that was hard to suspend this belief for, but otherwise this is a great thriller.

I'd recommend this to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller. A big thanks to the author, the publisher, and net galley for a copy of this ARC.

Easily The Maidens is one of the biggest books of the summer.

Trying to gather my thoughts here. I’ve read the reviews for The Maidens before reading the book itself. I never do this, because doing so frequently ruins how I will go into the book. I’ve seen what people have been saying, and they haven’t been kind.

Lucky for me, I am auto approved through Macmillan Audio on Netgalley, and as soon as I realized this book was available to listen, I snatched it up.

Look, maybe I’m not a critic. It’s very rare that I’ll say I hated something. I love to read. I love stories that take me away. I especially love Greek mythology. So... I don’t know what you guys are talking about when you say this was a flop, because I loved it. I didn’t see flaws with Mariana like most of these reviewers said they saw. I loved her character and her open mindedness.

I especially loved this narrator. Even as I write this, I’m reading my own words in her voice. It was pure honey.

That said, I do see that the twist with this book was glaringly obvious, so unlike its predecessor, The Silent Patient. But it was still good! It still made me gasp. I think it’s the way Alex Michaelides writes. His way with words is truly brilliant, always interlacing teeny little hints and clues along the way.

Give into the hype and read this book as soon as you can get your hands on it, and decide for yourself if it’s worthy of all the buzz. I say so.

Rating: 5.5/10

Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance copy of The Maidens for review consideration. This did not influence my thoughts or opinions.

The Maidens was one of my most anticipated novels of 2021 after loving The Silent Patient SO MUCH OMG. Michaelides absolutely slayed with his debut (clearly, look at the sales, reviews, etc.) and with that, made me an insta-fan of his writing. Unfortunately for me, his sophomore novel never really glimpsed that debut crest and ended up as a middle-of-the-road thriller.

The voice is there, his prose is there, and the premise is there. What it lacked, for me, was believable execution and characters with whom I cared about. Mariana, our main protagonist, has all of these qualities that give you almost a requirement to feel for her, but it never really clicked for me. Don’t get me wrong, her drive and motivation to get to the bottom of things is perfectly understandable, but being absolutely blind to “the reveal” was sort of a… seriously?

As far as the other characters, the were quite bland and very surface level, especially “The Maidens”. I found them rather, well, annoying and unnecessary but they were unfortunately a requirement for tricksies. Sure, they popped up randomly to misdirect, but besides being “the mean girls’ club”, they didn’t add much to the story for me. The men all just turned out to be horny creeps which was a bit… off-putting.

I think having just about every character in a story be a potential suspect hinders more than helps, because when the final reveal happens, there isn’t much of a mic-drop moment; it feels like more of dart throw. I also feel like it was a bit rushed over the course of the last few chapters, and that is while also stating that the book had quite a quick pace to begin with.

Look, I did enjoy this book for the most part and the eventual reveal was decent though not farfetched. I really enjoyed Michaelides’ setting and atmosphere, his writing style with quick punchy chapters, and the mixture of thriller with Greek tragedy. I also have to say that Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Louise Brealey did a wonderful job lending their voices to the audiobook. While Holdbrook-Smith had very few lines, the tone with which he voiced those segments was perfect and I could listen to Brealey narrate all the day long.

The Maidens is a dark academia story that follows Mariana, a grieving widow and group psychotherapist. While Mariana is coping with life after her husband's death, she receives a call from her niece, Zoe, at Cambridge University. Zoe is frantic as she explains that her friend has been murdered. When Mariana arrives on campus, she starts piecing together the murder and grows increasingly suspicious of a professor at the University who is known for his popularity among the young female students and his curious obsession with Greek tragedy.

This novel was a slow burn, full of rich atmosphere from start to finish. Each character seems capable of bad deeds and Michaelides truly makes it impossible to pin down our murderer through the end. There was also a nod to Michaelides' previous novel, The Silent Patient, which I think readers will enjoy.

Unfortunately, this book was just too slow building for my personal taste. While it is critical to the atmosphere of this novel, I personally enjoy a more fast paced, heart throbbing thriller. This costs the book stars for me but I think it is important to note that fans of slower, more atmospheric thrillers will likely devour this one! I also think that even though this releases in June, this will be a great read for early fall!

Okay this was so good! The writing pulled me in immediately and the plot kept me hooked. I also did not see the twist coming at all! I thought Mariana was realistically flawed and likeable enough. I desperately need to read his other book, The Silent Patient, ASAP. Also, the narrators were really good!

*Thank you for the opportunity to listen and review The Maidens!

This is the second book I’ve listened to by this author. I really enjoyed both the story and narrator. I will be purchasing the book to read. It was Fantastic!

I listened to this elegant, dark, and enthralling audiobook while often simultaneously reading along with the ebook. The audiobook with its splendid narration by Louise Brealey and Kobna Holdbrook- Smith, enhanced my reading pleasure. The book contains lovely prose and a stunning conclusion to its mystery and references Greek tragedy and poetry by Tennyson. It explores psychology and reveals how little the protagonist, psychotherapist Mariana, knows about the human mind. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this great listening experience. My full description and review is posted under my ebook edition. The author, Alex Michaelides, proves that he is a master of surprising and shocking twists. Highly recommended.