The Maidens, by Alex Michaelides

I started the month with The Maidens, by Alex Michaelides because the premise sounded intriguing. I love a well written psychological thriller and fully anticipated that this one would check all the boxes for me. Hmmmm…where do I start?!

Mariana is a group therapist who is called to Cambridge by her niece, Zoe, when her friend is found murdered on campus. Mariana originally goes back to her alma mater to provide a source of support for niece, but becomes involved with the murder investigation and the drama surrounding her prime suspect, professor Edward Fosca. Determined to prove he’s the murderer, Mariana is relentless in her pursuit of the truth.

There was a lot that worked in this story and so much that I felt missed the mark. I enjoyed the short chapters that kept me turning the pages and made the story easy to digest. The idea of a secret society/cult with Greek mythology ties was such an interesting concept! It had every opportunity to be smart and well developed, but it fell a bit short for me.

The Maidens was a bit one-dimensional and a little choppy…the ending, predictable. I know I might be in the minority when saying that, but it felt so obvious that every other possibility seemed way too forced and contrived. There was so much that happened throughout the story that had me scratching my head…so many questions! It felt a bit rushed, IMO. All that aside, it was entertaining. I never wanted to DNF it or set it aside to read at a later time. I kept turning the pages and found it, overall, pretty enjoyable.

I gave this one 3.7 out of 5 stars.

TW: murder; self-harm