Being a huge fan of The Silent Patient, I was worried that the author wouldn’t be able to top the suspense and twists of his debut novel...I was very wrong! This was another gripping story which I devoured over a couple of days.

Mariana is a group therapist who receives a shocking call from her niece reporting the disappearance of her friend from her Cambridge college. In tracking down what has happened to her niece’s friend, we learn a lot about Mariana’s backstory, her dealings with her patients and her marriage, as well as the “frenemy” relationships between some of the students in the college. There are also references to Greek mythology which are very cleverly interwoven to make this far more than just a “whodunnit” story - and some of the twists and turns left me open-mouthed!

I really can’t wait to see what Alex comes up with next!

With thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group W&N for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Alex Michaelidis’ crime novel The Maidens is hugely entertaining and engaging - until it reaches its final twists which left me unconvinced. This spoiled it a bit for me – hence only three stars.

Mariana Andros, the main character, takes the reader to one of the Colleges at the University of Cambridge, when she responds to a distress call from her niece Zoe who, like Mariana many years ago, studies there and whose best friend Tara has just been brutally murdered. Although Mariana is traumatised by the recent loss of her husband, she rushes to Zoe’s aid. She feels compelled to solve the mystery of the death of the murdered girl and that of the others who were to share her fate. Mariana’s own grief and her deep worry about Zoe take her into a murder investigation in which she gets so ensnarled in her suspicions and theories that the official police investigators see her as a disturbance at best and unhinged at worst.

Her focal point is Edward Fosca, Professor of Greek tragedy; charismatic, good looking and admired by students and staff alike. As a professional therapist, Mariana probes into Fosca’s psyche, who in turn seems to be playing a game of cat and mouse with her. This part I really enjoyed, it reminded me of the dialogues between Raskolnikov and Investigator Porfiry in Crime and Punishment, only that Fosca, unlike Raskolnikov, seems to be able to retain the upper hand. These conversations also highlight how much Mariana still has to learn about herself, her own motivations and emotional drivers.

Interspersed within the crime detective story, are the reflections of a person we have to presume is the killer. These provide an insight into how an ordinary child can grow into a person that brutally destroys the life of others without conscience and who’s identity is only revealed at the very end.
Greek mythology, in particular the legend of Demeter and her daughter Persephone, is woven into the narration, this is a feature of the book that I really liked. It enriches the plot, offers many possible interpretations and gives ample food for thought.

The author also uses Tennyson’s poetry to give us an insight into the deep feelings of grief and loss experienced by both, Tennyson and Mariana, both in the process of coming to terms with the death of a loved one. It directly connects with the novel’s main themes of love, hurt and fate which give the reading a depth and flow beyond your standard crime detective novel.

All in all a very good read until its final twist, which I felt was flat and not terribly convincing in comparison with what the book offered throughout.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Weidenfeld&Nicolson/The Orion Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book! The Silent Patient is such a favorite of mine, and I cannot stop recommending it. And this book was just so good that it took me only two sittings to finish it!

The narration was extremely gripping and I was anxious to know how the story would unfold. Mariana was a strong character, and Edward Fosca very fascinating. This book also has Greek mythology mentioned, and we meet Persephone 'The Maiden' here. I also loved how the author created a connection between this book and The Silent Patient - how Theo, Alicia and Ruth are a part of this book too.

I honestly felt that the pages were turning on its own! I did not see the twist coming, although it didn't numb my brain when it did. I think it's quite a task to outdo oneself since the author's debut book was such a bestseller. And I think it is unfair to compare the two books. It was a gripping tale on its own, and I highly recommend it!

When Mariana returns to Cambridge to help her niece Zoe after her friend goes missing and a body is found, she is instantly put on edge. Having studied at the college herself she knows her way around but it’s not the same without her husband, Sebastian who she lost 14 months earlier. The happy memories are lost to sadness, missing the man she so loved.

After the attack on Zoe’s friend the police look for a suspect and after she tells Mariana what her friend had said before she went missing she is immediately suspicious of one person. A person who has the students hanging off his every word, dazzling them and making them fall for his charms. But is it all an act? Is the suave and sophisticated professor to blame?

Oh my goodness, I loved this book! I read the silent patient (also written by the author) last year and I thought it was brilliant, so I was so pleased to be gifted this. The book was amazing, with lots of different facts entwined into the narrative. This story had me hooked right from the beginning and as with the previous book there are plenty of twists in the plot to keep you turning the page. Another fabulous book, I highly recommend it.

Another brilliant book by Alex Michaelides!

Following the shocking reveal at the end of The Silent Patient, I've been waiting not so patiently for Alex's next book and The Maidens did not disappoint. Full to the brim with unreliable and untrustworthy characters, it kept me guessing right up until the end. Once again, I did not see the twist coming and can't wait to give it a reread to see how the threads are all woven together. I loved that Greek mythology was intertwined in the plot and that it threw up so many red herrings.

The Maidens is a thrilling, addictive read that will have you looking over your shoulder after every chapter.

Having read The Silent Patient last year, I was thrilled to receive a copy of The Maidens. I enjoyed travelling back to Cambridge, to its boathouses and punts, and to an elitist academic world. I loved the setting: coffee shops, the porter’s lodge, Combination Rooms, streets filled with graduates and rooms set in an older part of the college. Interiors, where paper is everywhere, scribbled writing and mathematical formulae — all of which drop you right there.

With aspects of Greek mythology, literature and psychology at its core, and Tennyson quotes to add an extra layer, Mariana sets out to solve a mystery. Still in love with Sebastian — now a ghost in much the same way Tennyson loved Hallam — Mariana is desperate to be left alone to follow her investigation. Although her method begins in earnest, she is challenged at every turn. Postcards (or calling cards) depicting the sacrifice of Iphigenia by Agamemnon amongst others, and handwritten in Ancient Greek, only add to the evidences she must wade through before jumping to her final conclusion.

Fred’s persistent premonitions were creepy. I would have dismissed him in much the same way Mariana did. The scene of her visiting his room in Trinity felt a little rushed and I’d like to have seen this developed more. Morris was a surprise and I couldn’t get the visual of him with Serena in the churchyard out of my mind. As for Fosca and his fragile devotees, I found myself getting more and more exasperated by his smiling face, and the Maidens’ supposed naïveté. Hidden layers make up the fabric of this crime and I say “bravo” to the author for his research and ingenuity.

For me, some sensory elements were missing. Too much exposition didn’t immerse me with the characters as I’d hoped and left little to interpretation. As a result, I felt more like an outsider looking in. I was surprised CI Sangha didn’t press charges towards the end. A slap on the wrist and a warning might not have been believable, especially if poking around in an investigation (and following individuals) amounts to stalking. But it did lend more time to the narrative. A few characters with painful pasts kept the red herrings going, but the ending took my by surprise. Looking in the wrong place like a magic trick. Villain or victim? You’ll just have to read the book.

The Maidens is a gripping, propulsive read with all the hallmarks of being another bestseller. Thank you to @Netgalley and @OrionBooks and author Alex Michaelides for the privilege of reading an advance copy of this book.

I am a huge fan of Michealides, and I was so very excited to get an advanced copy of the Maidens. The Silent Patient entirely blew me away. It took me a little while to get into the Maidens, because I was a little wary of the story. The narrative of the cult of young women who follow their enigmatic professor has been done to death, and I feared this would be the same as I’ve read elsewhere, but I was wrong. Michaelides cleverly explores grief, tragedy and belonging in this masterful tale, and like the Silent Patient, it kept me guessing right until the end. I loved Mariana’s drive and inner angst, and Fosca was so fun to hate. The characters are complex, and the use of Greek tragedy and mythological reference was exquisite. I liked it a lot.

🌟 4 stars 🌟

I did not want to stop reading this book. Seriously. I didn’t want to put it down until I had finished. Alex Michaelides really knows how to write a great thriller.

The Maidens is set primarily in Cambridge, and tells the story of Mariana, a grieving therapist who travels to be with and support her niece in Cambridge when her friend is brutally murdered. Once there she meets a charismatic professor who she suspects murdered the young woman.

When no-one believes her Mariana becomes borderline obsessed with proving the Professor’s guilt and will stop at nothing to ensure the killer is caught.

The book was well paced, the dialogue flowed and main characters were quite well developed. The descriptions of settings were vivid and really helped bring this book to life and create a creepy atmosphere. Drawing upon Greek Mythology also made this a very compelling mystery.

My one criticism was that at times the plot felt a little chaotic, as if there were too many characters and a lot going on at once. However, this didn’t detract from how enjoyable I felt the book was overall.

I liked and really enjoyed The Silent Patient and The Maidens was just as good. If you enjoy atmospheric and engaging thrillers, this could be a read for you.

Another great mystery thriller from Alex Michaelides! For those who loved the Silent Patient, you’ll also enjoy this one! As with The Silent Patient, the story revolves around a psychologist. Mariana visits her niece, Zoe, at Cambridge University after her friend is found murdered. Having been through plenty of trauma and death in her life, Mariana seeks out to prove who the murderer is.

It's fairly slow paced, but the short chapters keep it moving. I loved the incorporation of Greek Mythology as part of the murder, making this a bit different to your usual thriller. The inclusion of secret societies, rituals and sacrifices gave it an uneasy atmosphere. I also loved the academic setting which added to the sense of foreboding. There were lots of twists, which keep you searching for the answers.

The majority of the narrative is told from just Mariana's third person perspective. This could be considered a bit of a limited view point, but there are the occasional chapter in first person from an unknown narrator. I really enjoyed the chapters from the alternative point of view as they added loads of suspense.

The crossover of characters from The Silent Patient was also a nice notable addition for those who have read his other book!

Thank you Netgalley and Orion Books for my ARC copy.

I didn't read The Silent Patient until last year, but once I did, it turned out to be one of my favourites. I was so excited when I heard that Alex Michaelides had a new book coming out but thought that the first would be hard to beat. I can honestly say that The Maidens was in a league of its own - and I am completely obsessed with this book!

After such magnificent success, there will inevitably be comparisons to The Silent Patient. The way I saw it was summed up perfectly by one of the Tennyson quotes which were dotted throughout the story - it felt "the same, but not the same". It had all of the elements I loved from The Silent Patient - it was addictive to read, full of unexpected twists and turns, it was beautifully written and also had an underlying sadness about it. There was even a reference to a character from The Silent Patient which, for fans of that novel, was a really nice touch. This allusion put the two stories together in the same 'universe' but I never felt like The Maidens was just trying to recreate the first story.

At its heart, The Maidens is a thriller and a murder mystery. But, at the same time, it is also an exploration of grief, interwoven with elements of Greek Mythology, ritual, dark academia, literature and psychology. Deaths are not included for shock value, they allow the author to use his knowledge of psychotherapy to explore the characters reactions to those deaths, and the way people behave in challenging situations. Even though I am a thriller fanatic, the thing that hit me straight away was actually how accurate and moving the descriptions of loss, grief and heartbreak were. It really helped to establish the mind-frame of Mariana, the main character.

In terms of the thriller aspects of the book, at one point I was slightly disappointed as I was convinced I had the ending completely sussed out, but after several shocking revelations, I was happily proven wrong!

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @orionbooks for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

The Maidens unfortunately wasn't for me. I found it a little to slow for my taste with characters I just did not like. When I read the description I was really intrigued by it but it just didn't work for me but after reading other peoples reviews I can see I am in a minority and I am sure this book will be an instant hit as was the previous book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for my ARC.

This is one of my most hyped books since I found out it was in the making. As a huge lover of The Silent Patient, I knew I had to get my hands on this book.

Alex, you did not disappoint. I couldn’t put the book down at all. I was hooked and guessing from the beginning but never once did I suspect it to be who it was in the end (no spoilers given). I was absolutely shocked and stunned at the ending, it had me blown away and I felt the need to read quicker because I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.

The whole story from start to finish had me hooked. I loved the little ‘ode’ to the main character in Silent Patient, Alicia. I thought that was cleverly done and very sneaky.

If I could give this more than 5 stars I would because my God, I’m going to have a severe book hangover from this!!

Thank you so, so much to Netgalley and Alex for allowing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. One of my top 5’s in 2021 so far. Just wow 🤩 Okay

The initial reaction is ‘eh?’ I have no idea what just happened, the ending felt a bit rushed to me and I’m not quite sure how the Greek mythology mixes with the whole thing...
I really didn’t like the main character although I can totally understand why she is the way she is.
I loved the descriptions of Cambridge (I’m a sucker for room descriptions!) but wish there was a bit more mention of the maidens.

What's the last psychological thriller you read?

I've been fascinated with serial killers ever since middle school, to such an extent that my career of choice was criminology. Even now, I have forensic medicine as a subject, and even if it's not as important as the others, it's the one I enjoy the most. So, yes you may call me obsessed.

I had high expectations for 'Maidens' since the author's debut 'The Silent Patient' had such wide acclaim and, being the psycho thriller fanatic I am, I was too excited to dive deep. But I was disappointed, and here's why:
1) The novel was too slow
2) There are some plot-holes, which definitely ruined my experience
3) The characters didn't have a particularly exceptional character arc
4) I was definitely not satisfied with the ending

But, instead of coming a full circle, it did try to become an ellipse. Nevertheless, I'm still going to be expecting more from the author as I see a huge potential in his stories being more interesting.

Amazing thriller!! Gripping for the very first page to the last. I was a huge fan of The Silent Patient, but Michaelides improve in his second book and I will wait impatiently for his third!

Thank you so much @netgalley and @orionbooks for approving me to read and review this brilliant book!!

Ok, @alex.michaelides is unmistakably an absolute genius of an author! His debut novel, “The Silent Patient” is by far one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve ever read, he’d set the bar extremely high, and his next book was eagerly anticipated by myself and so many others, but let me tell you, “The Maidens” did not disappoint!!!

I was instantly gripped by the plot and I LOVED the “whodunnit” aspect of the story:
Every time I thought I’d figured things out, I was thrown a curve ball again and was completely thrown off the scent. Alex’s writing is addictive and engaging, I simply couldn’t put it down.

There is also a reference to The Silent Patient which is absolutely superb and pure class in my opinion.

I don’t think I can say anything more coherent other than THIS BOOK IS BLOODY BRILLIANT!!!

If you enjoyed his debut novel, then The Maidens is perfect for you......brilliant, clever and full of twists. The perfect psychological thriller

Mariana, a Cambridge alumni, millionaire, group therapist and recent widow, receives a panicked call from her niece, Zoe, who’s best friend has just been murdered at Cambridge University. Zoe asks Mariana to come to Cambridge to be with her. When Mariana gets there not only does she have to face her bereavement as Cambridge is where she met her husband, she meets Cambridge Professor Edward Fosca. Professor Fosca is widely loved by the student body due to his charismatic ways, and even has an exclusive club for female students called the Maidens, and after one meeting, Mariana is certain he is the one who killed Zoe’s best friend.

This was a so-so read for me. Not as good as I’d hoped it would be, but it could’ve been worse. It was predictable, mildly irritating but it definitely enveloped me into the story to be a page turner.

I saw part of the big killer reveal coming, which, I honestly think more readers than not will find predictable too. However, I didn’t see part of the twist coming, and was quite gobsmacked and blindsided by what transpired.

Mariana was what can only be described as an interesting protagonist - for better and worse. On one hand I enjoyed reading her perspective because she’s a group therapist trying to help people who need someone to help them navigate their traumas, all the while experiencing her own grief, bereavement and trauma due to the sudden death of her husband.
But as Mariana grew increasingly obsessed with getting to the bottom of what was happening at the campus, it was hard not to be completely bewildered by this. Why is a group therapist self appointing herself the heroic detective role, when it’s not her job and the police are investigating? For justice for her niece’s friend? That strange narrative is never satisfyingly justified enough by the end. Especially when she constantly did the opposite of what she knew to either be wrong or she thought wouldn’t be appropriate.

Moreover it became increasingly difficult to see this woman as not only professional but educated considering how oblivious she was to clear facts and lacked intuition the average person would possess, so naturally, that frustrated me to no end.

My favourite element of this book was its setting and atmosphere. I loved the academic setting, the secret society atmosphere and combined with Greek mythology, it was clever, extremely beguiling and definitely made it feel like dark academia. The idea of vengeful gods, the furies, sacrifices and rituals, somehow playing a part in grisly murders made me need to know what was happening.

I also liked the tie in to The Silent Patient, and despite finding that Michaelides story extremely predictable too, being reunited with Theo’s character wasn’t dull. He isn’t a central character in this story, he just pops up as an opinion consultant.

The pace was quick and each chapter ends with a tug to keep reading on and on, so it was a real challenge to put the book down. I definitely think The Maidens is worth a read if you liked Michaelides other book, and you’re particularly into cult/mythological inspired mysteries. It was enjoyable but it definitely lacked something.

I was so excited to be accepted for this. I loved the authors debut novel ‘The Silent Patient’ so had high hopes for this.

‘The Maidens’ was definitely a psychological thriller to get your teeth sunk into. There’s nothing better when the author completely blindsides you with plot twists that you don’t see coming at all. And this book did exactly that.

It was mysterious and gripping - especially towards the end. For me, his description of grief was really powerful and how it affected Mariana.

In fact, I think one of the things I love most about his books is his background in psychotherapy really shines though. Mental health and psychology really interests me. With his main character being a group therapist going through the stages of grief just added to the plot.

I absolutely LOVED how he linked his debut novel into this too. So cleverly written and clear a lot of work and research went into this book ! It just blew me away. I enjoyed this and would definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and Alex Michaelides for this ARC.

Set in Cambridge, group therapist Mariana, who is coping with the death of her husband Sebastian, becomes an amateur sleuth and tries to uncover the identity of the person who is murdering students.

The characterisation was excellent, as was the description of the setting. I did think that it was a real page turner, and it kept me engaged throughout. Mariana is such a likeable protagonist, you can’t help but feel sympathy for her and empathise with her grief.

Although I only have minimal knowledge of Greek mythology, how it was intertwined in this novel made it accessible to me, and I feel it would be accessible for those with little to no knowledge of it.

A criticism I had is that I did guess part of the ending of the book. I wouldn’t say it was entirely predictable, and there were enough red herrings to keep me guessing. However, I do have quite a big issue with this twist, I just found it was thrust to the reader within the last 20 pages and the book was finished, which left me feeling somewhat frustrated.

I also feel somewhat let down by the ending. Some of the characters I felt like I didn’t have a sufficient explanation for and I was left wanting maybe another 20 pages to finish the story off.

I was a fan of The Silent Patient, and had high hopes for The Maidens too. I wasn’t disappointed by the Michaelides’ second novel, however, I do think that similarly to my feelings of his first book that the twists need further expansion to leave the reader feeling satisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this title to review.

Last year I read The Silent Patient and I really enjoyed it, it was a great debut.

The Maidens is one of those books that you basically binge read, that you don't trust anyone at any point so it is well developed. As someone interested in Psychology, I found it both fascinating and disturbing.

Even though I didn't like any of the characters throughout the story, I did enjoy it reading it. I found it hard to put down... but it was the twist at the end that made me reconsider my thoughts about this book. I think it was unnecessary and it could have ended differently. I was right about who did what, though. I just didn't expect it to be so twisted.

I do recommend this one, just don't expect it to be like The Silent patient because you will be disappointed.