The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Ok gotta be honest. I was a little worried going into this, and it’s totally my fault. I have a really bad habit of going on Goodreads and reading reviews about books I’m about to start, and then I start looking at the bad ones, and my mind runs wild. I noticed a bit of them. Those who enjoyed “The Silent Patient” were not fans of the Maidens. Now, my rating for the Silent Patient was five stars, and my rating for “The Maidens” was four stars. SO! Just because other people said they won’t like it, doesn’t mean you won’t! I have to keep reminding myself of that.
Now that we got that out of the way, The Maidens was an amazing, twisty, page-turning plot. It did have its slow moments that I had to skim through, but even then, at least something was happening! I’m definitely a sucker for secret societies, 100-year-old universities with dark secrets, and, of course, a murder mystery. Alex Michaelides definitely knocked it out of the park with this one.
What to expect
Secret Societies
Teacher-Student Relationships
Betrayal
Family Secrets
Murder Mystery
Manipulation
Dark Academia Trope
Mariana Andros, a brilliant but troubled young adult who was recently widowed, is trying to live a quiet life. She carries a lot of self-doubt about herself and the world around her. She walks with minimal confidence and talks above a whisper. She is a group therapist for troubled adults, but she seems to lose control of the room often. Some of her clients respect her, maybe even pity her, but others seem to over obbses and want her all to themselves. On a crisp autumn day, Mariana is having a group session with her regular clients, always scheduled once a week. Some are more troubled than others. Halfway through the session, a repeat offender client started to be distracting and rude. Per usual, Mariana starts to lose control of the room, the discussion, and her clients. While she’s trying to keep her clients calm and herself, she receives a panicked phone call from her “adopted niece.” She tells Zoe that she needs to call her back and to stay calm. Mariana ends the session and attempts to put a boundary up on her obsessive client named Henry. Barely escaping the room, Mariana calls Zoe and is shocked to hear what she has to say.
Zoe’s best friend Tara may have been murdered. Zoe clung to Tara after Mariana’s husband, Sebastian, passed away. Mariana was ecstatic to learn that Zoe made a friend at college. Someone to help and guide her during a hard time. Zoe told Mariana that her friend was found dead in her dorm room early that morning and that she thinks it has something to do with a secretive society called The Maidens. Mariana quickly arrives that morning and tries to soothe Zoe, who is clearly distraught. She tells Zoe to tell her everything she knows, from the top. Zoe explains that this mysterious, flirty, handsome American professor named Edward Fosca is behind the murder. Professor Fosca is the performative kind of guy who likes to read the classics, write handwritten letters, speak in riddles, and is very captivating to the women’s gaze. Zoe tells Mariana that these girls in his society are his “favorite students,” all beautiful, petite, skinny girls. All come from very elite and wealthy backgrounds. They almost always wear white and are seen following Fosca like little lost puppies.
Mariana takes it upon herself to get down to the bottom of this horrendous mystery. She starts asking questions to the right people, forms friendships with people who point her in the right direction, and might have found someone she might be interested in. I have to say, Alex definitely did his big one with this novel. I truly didn’t expect the ending until it happened. I rated this book four stars. It did have some slow parts that were a bit hard to get past. I think the subplots were a little thrown together as well. I’m sure it was a metaphor for something, but I didn’t really care that much to put two and two together. Overall, the scenery was great to picture as well. The cozy college campus vibe was definitely emaculate. Having read The Silent Patient first, I really appreciated the subtle nod to his other works. I thought that was super clever. I also wonder how Marina feels knowing two murders now, and not just one…
