Therapist Mariana Andros doesn’t study murderers. She’s not a forensics psychologist. She’s a group therapist. But when her niece calls her from Cambridge to tell Mariana that her best friend had been killed, Mariana sets off from London to figure out what happened and do what she can to help bring the killer to justice.
Mariana knows Cambridge well. She went to school there herself years ago, even met her husband there. It’s been almost a year since she lost Sebastian, but she’s still deep in her grief. Now she’s heading back to Cambridge, where there are so many reminders and memories. But she has to go, for Zoe. Zoe has no one else. Mariana’s sister and her husband, Zoe’s parents, had died when she was a teenager. Mariana and Sebastian took her in, in the summers between years of boarding school. Mariana and Zoe are all the family they each have left.
Tara was a troubled young woman. She was Zoe’s good friend, but she was also experimenting with drugs. She had a boyfriend, a local who sold drugs. But she was also involved with one of her professors, an American who was teaching her Greek tragedy. Edward Fosca was not only a charismatic professor, he also has a group of students that he works closely with. They are all young women. They are all beautiful. And they all come from wealthy or powerful families.
Mariana tries to talk to some of these women, these followers of Fosca, these Maidens, as they’re known at the college. She is convinced that Fosca is the killer, even though the Maidens are saying he was with them when Tara was stabbed.
And then another of the Maidens is killed. Again, she is stabbed. And again, other Maidens are giving Fosca an alibi. Mariana cannot understand the hold that this man has over these young women. She talks to the police, but they are not impressed with her accusations of the professor. She is warned off. She is told that she is in danger. And yet, Mariana will not be deterred.
As Mariana delves deeper into the mystery, she is also thrown into a storm of emotions, from the grief of losing her husband to anxiety about her group therapy patients, from her concern for Zoe to her frustration in getting nowhere with the police. As potential suspects close in on her, and ghosts from her past are stirred up from old memories, Mariana finds herself getting closer and closer to the killer. And when she herself receives a death threat similar to the ones that came to the dead girls, will she be able to figure out the answers in time to change her fate? Or have the gods already decided that she has to sacrifice her life for Zoe’s?
The Maidens is a modern thriller set in the halls of Cambridge and filled with references to Greek myths, tragedies, and poets. It feels contemporary and classic at the same time, drifting through time with ease. Author Alex Michaelides’ first novel, The Silent Patient, was a huge bestseller, and The Maidens is destined to be as well. It’s flawlessly written, with a growing sense of unease that propels you to keep reading until all the secrets are revealed. The characters are sublime, the plot is taut, and the overall experience is just magical.
The thing that struck me the most as I read The Maidens is that it felt so effortless. The pages just kept going by, and it didn’t feel like it took any work on my part. It was so well written, so expertly woven together, that I was only removed from the story when I came across the Easter eggs from his first book. The rest of the novel was completely smooth and lovely, and I was delighted by every page. I absolutely recommend this novel. It’s an amazing experience, with the perfect surprise ending.
Egalleys for The Maidens were provided by Celadon Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.
