Spoiler Free Review of The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

From what I’ve seen, readers are pretty divided over this one, along with its predecessor The Silent Patient (another ‘Marmite’ book) which seemed to receive more hype than this one did.

I was intrigued by it but didn't have high hopes. 

I think it’s worth prefacing this review with what I see to be the problem with Alex Michaelides’ writing. If you’re a seasoned thriller fan, I doubt his books will be for you. Recommending Alex Michaelides’ books to hardened thriller readers is like recommending Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder series’ to detective/mystery novel enthusiasts. It’s not going to touch the sides. 

Back to The Maidens, I thought I had it all worked out, but I was wrong and even if i had an inclination of the who, I would never have guessed the why. However outrageous the outcome was (I’m pretty sure many people took issue with it), but I was completely gripped.

What I found most enjoyable about the book was the dark academia vibes, the setting of Cambridge University, Greek myths and Alfred Lord Tennison references. I also loved that Theo from The Silent Patient made an appearance. I hope his next book, The Furies has a little link in there too. Simple things please simple minds. 

It is a gripping, easy read. Short sharp chapters, a decent ramp up of tension and plenty of suspicious characters. Topped with some psychopathy/psychology theory and all tied up with secrets and lies. What’s not to enjoy?

Sparked by one of my favourite reads ‘In Memoriam’ by Alice Winn, this book ignited an enthusiastic nose dive into a Tennyson poetry rabbit hole, which I greatly enjoyed. I will forgive almost anything where the dark academia genre is involved, especially if it prompts a curiosity for further reading. Maybe the plot wasn’t overly clever but the setting was excellent, as was the atmosphere and build-up. I enjoyed it. 

A strong 3.5 ⭐️ stars