The Maidens

Product Information

In "The Silent Patient", artist Alicia Berenson stopped speaking after shooting her husband in the face 5 times. Her only explanation, a self portrait, titled Alcestis-after the tragic heroine of the Greek Tragedy, by Euripides. The first instance is when he is 12, after his “dream” about killing his mother (which I think was not a dream at all, but it’s something that actually happened that he is unable to face). The second instance is right before he writes the letter (which I’m guessing is when killed Mariana’s father). In the interim, in Zoe's room, Mariana finds a letter (which turns out to be what the journal-like chapters of the book are) written to Zoe, where the author explains that he wrote it so Zoe could understand him, and he professes his love for Zoe. (Mariana assumes the letter-writer is Fosca.) So many thanks to Macmillan Reading Insiders club for providing me this readers’ advance copy in exchange my honest opinions.

Most of the teaching...was done on a one-to-one basis, between fellow and student, usually taking place in the fellow's rooms. At any time after midday, or even earlier, at the discretion of the fellow concerned, alcohol was invariably served...providing an education in drinking as well as literature. Edward Fosca is a charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University. All the staff and students love him, especially a group of female students called The Maidens. When Mariana receives Zoe's phone call she finds out that one of the maidens, who is Zoe's friend, was murdered in Cambridge. Mariana is determined to stop the murderer even if it costs her everything including her own life. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession, that further cements “Michaelides as a major player in the field” ( Publishers Weekly).

Synopsis

When Zoe reveals that she, too, received a postcard (with the Ancient Greek quotes), Mariana decides it's time for them to get out of Cambridge. Before they head out, Zoe insists on fetching a knife from the ceremony (which she suspects was used in the murders) so they have it as evidence. Was this book perfect? No, but how many of them are, honestly? Yes, it will be too slow of a burn for some readers, especially those expecting a Silent Patient 2.0 type of read, but if you're willing to go into this one with an open mind and a fresh palate, and you enjoy the literary side of crime fiction, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the author's versatility in writing. Here we have a limited third person view, told strictly from Mariana's POV, and this is where I think most of my hesitance in giving the book 5 stars stems from. Third POV has a way of keeping the reader at a distance if we can't experience the story from multiple viewpoints, and I think seeing things play out from various character's experiences would have allowed me to get a little closer to the story and connect on a deeper level to the characters, rather than feeling like we were getting a condensed version of the tale shortened for time's sake. Again, Mariana is a trained psychotherapist, the book uses psychology abundantly when it's convenient but absolutely no time is spent treating this trauma and topic with due care and respect. There is no discussion for treatment and recovery, victims, or even the behaviors that might enable this - grooming, exploitation of grief over Zoe's parent's loss, manipulation, narcissism, an abuser's perceived god complex, power hunger, and inadequacy issues, etc. None of that is explored with Sebastian, the abuser, and we're left uncertain about Zoe's mental health and future. I say this again because it merits repeating, it is clear that Michaelides struggled to write from a female character's perspective and he did a poor job of it. This is not authentic to any female perspective I have ever read or would have and simply fails to do justice to the harrowing pain and experience suffered by both Zoe and Mariana. A blend of psychological mystery and gothic thriller puts a psychotherapist in pursuit of a serial killer on the campus of Cambridge University.

Mariana understood this. She knew she should relinquish Sebastian, but she couldn’t—because she was still in love with him. She was in love even though he was gone forever, gone behind the veil—“behind the veil, behind the veil”—where was that from? Tennyson, probably. red and yellow. His brown eyes, partly disguised by his oldfashioned steel-rimmed glasses, brimmed with intelligence Students drinking and debating with their professors, private gardens and dining rooms, student rooms with fireplaces and " i could do this all day—i haven't even touched upon the postcards, or the on-the-nose focus on revenge tragedies, but i've already gone on so long here that i'm running out of review-space, despite cutting out so many tirade-tangents i don't even know if what's left of the review makes sense anymore, and i've spent so much time rereading chunks of the book to make sure i'm not missing anything that makes the book make sense, and i'm just getting hot and cranky and i want this to be over.And, he has an alibi-6 students who claim to have been revising with him until 10 PM-6 beautiful, favored women, referred to as "The Maidens". In Part V, Morris is arrested after Mariana tells the police inspector what she saw (though Mariana disagrees with them and thinks it implicates Fosca moreso than Morris). Zoe also finally admits to Mariana that she attended one of Fosca's initiation ceremonies, but ran away once he started kissing and touching her. Nevertheless, I think both books are worth reading if you’re a mystery-thriller fan. The Silent Patient is probably the more memorable of the two just because it’s got such a great plot twist, but The Maidens is still a solid entry in the genre. Tara had just confided in Zoe, that their Greek Tragedy Professor, Edward Fosca, had threatened to kill her. But, the investigators do not believe what Zoe has to say.

Mariana mentions how her father thought Sebastian was a gold-digger and threatened to disinherit her to prevent her from marrying him. When you read this, the assumption is that her father is being a jerk, but I guess it’s possible he saw what Mariana couldn’t see. Ultimately, he doesn’t follow through on his promise to disinherit her, which may have indicated he wasn’t trying to be mean, just trying to protect her. A book which screams ‘make me into a TV series’… his writing, especially his characterisation, possesses a unique sparkle and more promise than most other writers.’ DAILY MAIL Mariana is called to Cambridge when her niece Zoe's closest friend is brutally murdered. Mariana soon realizes that this idyllic campus of higher learning conceals something sinister lurking beneath the surface. The dead girl was a member of The Maidens, a secret society of beautiful female students led by the charismatic Professor Fosca. Mariana immediately suspects Fosca and becomes obsessed with proving his guilt. She must stop him before more innocent lives are lost. I've decided to round my rating up a star, if for no reason other than I cannot stop thinking about this book and it got me out of a major reading slump. I wasn't as dazzled by The Silent Patient as most readers, yet as a debut it was undeniably entertaining and well crafted. The author has completely changed courses with his sophomore novel, The Maidens, and traded the world of flashy psychological thrillers for a literary murder mystery. Make no mistake, although this book has a quiet power, its short chapters and oppressive atmosphere are gripping. Academia and crime fiction go together like peanut butter and chocolate, so I think Michaelides has found a sweet spot in this particular sub-genre of suspense. Mariana discusses how Sebastian is not close to his parents, that they’re divorced and that “he felt they hadn’t given him a good start in life” (it’s discussed in a financial sense of them being poor, but perhaps he meant that in other ways as well).The greatest campus novel since The Secret History by Donna Tartt … with a climatic twist that you will NEVER see coming.’ Mariana was still in love with him—that was the problem. Even though she knew she’d never see Sebastian again—even though he was gone for good—she was still in love and didn’t know what to do with all this love of hers. There was so much of it, and it was so messy: leaking, spilling, tumbling out of her, like stuffing falling out of an old rag doll that was coming apart at the seams. P.S. I have now listened to the audio version of the The Silent Patient. I had to increase my rating for that one because the audiobook was so well done, but I still prefer The Maidens! I suspect that if more reviewers had listened to the audiobook, The Maidens would have a much higher rating. This would make a great movie! ) As well as the group therapy element Mariana was supposedly heavily involved in. The come-about of the Maidens. Mariana’s relationship with Zoe. The trauma she’s suffered from her husbands death. If only she could box up her love, as she was attempting to do with his possessions. What a pitiful sight it was—a man’s life reduced to a collection of unwanted items for a jumble sale.

On this particular Monday, a bone of contention arose almost immediately, requiring a rare intervention. The problem—as usual—was Henry. Ten years ago, on the fictional island of Inisrun, a young woman was murdered but nobody was ever charged with the crime. A decade later, two documentary film-makers have arrived to interview residents and try to uncover the truth. Exploring themes of class, wealth, desire and coercive control, O’Neill’s psychological thriller is a meticulously researched and emotionally astute exploration into the far-reaching impact of domestic abuse.I could swoon about this book for days, but I will spare you that and wrap up by saying, I loved this! I liked Mariana, who was dealing with her own grief behind the scenes. What I didn't like was the direction the book took in the later chapters. For one thing, I was fairly convinced early on that I had figured out the culprit, and I was right. But more than this, what came out as the reason behind everything was so baffling and out of left field that I was disappointed by it. I also just really dislike when a character who acted completely normal for the whole book suddenly pulls out a knife and turns "here's Johnny!" on us. Some parts of the final revelation is also well executed even though there are still so many questions in my head which are still not satisfyingly answered! Author Alex Michaelides, revisits the Greek Tragedies again, with his sophomore novel, "The Maidens". Mariana Andros is a dedicated Group Therapist who knows first-hand how difficult recovering from trauma can be. Therefore, she exhibits a great deal of empathy towards her many clients.