Mariana is a brilliant but troubled group therapist. Recently widowed, she is struggling with her own grief as well as an obsessive patient. When she gets a frantic call from her niece Zoe that one of her friends has been murdered, she rushes to Cambridge to be with her.
Edward Fosca is a murderer—of this Mariana is certain—but he is untouchable. The handsome and charismatic professor of Greek Tragedy is adored by his students and fellow staff at Cambridge—particularly by the The Maidens, a secret society of female students. Mariana becomes fixated with the remaining members.
When another body is found, Mariana's obsession with the group spirals out of control. As a former student, she 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? Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.
Lacklustre, underwhelming, and a forced twist that completely missed the mark, The Maidens is a disappointment. Michaelides' writing is basic at best, and his cast forgettable. The protagonist is a therapist who consistently acts out of character and does a disservice to her profession under the guise of grief. And almost every male in this book is a stalker.
With an interesting premise that could've celebrated female power, sexuality, and mythology, The Maidens falls flat on its face. The only connection that this was by the same author as the outstanding psychological thriller, The Silent Patient, is the mention of Alicia Berenson, her therapist, Theo Faber, and the Grove (a secure forensic unit in North London).
ALEX MICHAELIDES was born and raised in Cyprus. He has an M.A. in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and an M.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient was his first novel and it spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list and sold in a record-breaking fifty countries.
Michaelides lives in London.
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