Everyone’s entitled to be the hero of their own story. So I must be permitted to be the hero of mine. Even though I’m not. I’m the villain.
The maidens, alex michaelides
Author: Alex Michaelides
Publication Date: 15 June 2021
Publishers: Celadon
Page Count: 352
Reading Method: Physical ARC [Thank you to the Publisher!]
Dates Read: June 16 – 17
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.
Review:
The Maidens was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Like most everyone else, The Silent Patient blew me away. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Michaelides’ newest book – throw in a dark academia/ Greek mythology element and I was so freaking SOLD. Plus look at that creepy, beautiful cover! So did genius strike twice? Hmmmm. Let find out…
Plot:
Let me start off by saying I am absolutely in love with the premise of The Maidens. The setting – perfection. The tie in to Persephone lore – epic. There were so many wonderful elements to this story that made it near impossible to put down. Unfortunately, there were also so many elements of this book that served only to frustrate me.
It felt like we got so much from this story and nothing at all. The Maidens are a group of students who are enamored with their professor. For a book named after them, we didn’t get nearly enough about them. I wanted to see their meetings, their thoughts, the inner workings. I felt they were surprisingly absent and a little ~too mysterious.
So many characters exist just to throw us off the trail and once they serve that purpose, they just *poof* get put to rest with the briefest of explanations. They didn’t need to be included in the first place. I know what you’re thinking. “But Haley – that’s like, the foundation of writing a suspenseful thriller.” I get it. I really do. Misdirection is a key element in mysteries/suspense books, but it just felt overworked and repetitive. Some of these side plots/characters should have been eliminated or more fleshed out. They took too much time and focus from the main plot. That space should have been used to immerse the reader in the Maidens circle.
By the time we get to the big reveal at the end, I was a little over it all. Did I see it coming? Nope. But it didn’t wow me. It was certainly disturbing but I was just hoping for a little bit more.
But but but! There is a little bit of a crossover to The Silent Patient, which was fun!
Characters:
Our main character, Mariana is a group psychiatrist, grieving after the loss of her husband. I struggled a lot with her. She has absolutely no investigative experience and just hops right in thinking she knows better than everyone else. While I thought the lead investigator was a massive jerk, I could see why he would be getting frustrated with Mariana and her constant insistence that Prof. Fosca is guilty. She was so locked into her belief that she became a bit unbearable. She went to Cambridge to comfort her niece and seemed to spend very little time actually doing so. Because of that, we don’t really get to see much of Zoe and her character felt underdeveloped.
Of course there are other characters in this story – like Prof. Fosca, the man Mariana is convinced is killing the Maidens. I got bad vibes from him from the get-go. What a weasely, manipulative, cunning little man. The student’s obsession with him only fuels his ego and blegh – I didn’t like him one bit. But he’s charming and confident with a mass of devout admirers.
Writing:
I still love Michaelides’ writing style. Though I wasn’t in love with the story, it was impossible to put down. He does an excellent job of creating a sense of unease and making his stories so beautifully atmospheric. The setting could not have been more perfect. The way it’s written completely immerses the reader and makes it feel as though you are right there alongside the characters.
Overall:
Gah… I wish I had loved it more. I really really wanted to be raving about this book for the rest of eternity. Unfortunately, there was just so much about it that didn’t work for me. That doesn’t mean I won’t be checking out future works by Michaelides. The Silent Patient was absolutely fantastic and I’m hoping that I’ll find that magic in their stories again. Even though this one was a no from me, the writing style was still excellent and I look forward to see what comes next.
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