The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

 

Reviewed by Abby

Mariana has always enjoyed working as a group therapist. She knows she has the knowledge, patience, and mindset for the job.  Occasionally, though, she does let her clients’ intrusive comments get to her. It also doesn’t help that she is still mourning the loss of her husband Sebastian a year after he passed away. The two were the perfect couple, but had no children of their own. They adopted their niece Zoe after both of Zoe’s parents tragically died. Mariana is thankful to have Zoe as a way to keep Sebastian’s memory alive. Zoe is currently a student at Cambridge University, which is also Mariana’s alma mater.

Zoe reaches out to Mariana one day concerned about her friend Tara who has gone missing and asks Mariana to come to Cambridge for a few days for support. Mariana is eager to stay with Zoe and to reminisce about her own time spent at the university. Soon after Mariana’s arrival, Tara is found murdered. Mariana does what she can to comfort Zoe while uncovering clues about the murder. Mariana learns about a popular professor named Edward Fosca who teaches classes on Grecian classics and tragedies. Fosca is instantly on Mariana’s radar because of his popularity on campus.

He is also very friendly with a group of female students known as the Maidens. The Maidens are a secret society at Cambridge who align closely with the cult of Eleusis, an ancient Greek group who were followers of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Fosca gives the Maidens private lessons after normal class hours. Mariana can tell Fosca and this elite group of women are keeping secrets.  

Mariana learns that Tara was a member of the Maidens, which draws even more suspicion to Fosca. Mariana begins to snoop around a bit too much for her own good in her quest to find the killer. Her determination to have Fosca arrested grows as more murders occur around campus with clues that unmistakably lead back to him. Mariana’s fixation on Fosca becomes uncontrollable after others don’t believe her allegations that Fosca is the culprit.

(Just like The Silent Patient, Michaelides’ second novel revolves around a Grecian tragedy as well!)

Overall, I really enjoyed The Maidens! This is Alex Michaelides’ second novel. It starts slow, and Mariana’s character is a bit hard to relate to (it’s as if her brain is set to psychotherapist mode 24/7 and she has to resolve every thought and feeling she experiences), but the plot picks up well about halfway through. The plot twist at the end certainly surprised me, but not as much as the one in The Silent Patient. I really appreciated the little “Easter eggs” that Michaelides includes from The Silent Patient too.  I have become a big fan of this author and I hope to see more from him in the future!