Not the fairest of them all – The Maidens Book review

After having read The Silent Patient, I decided to make “The Maidens”, my next read. Afterall, I enjoyed the author’s first book that had a reveal as interesting as The Sixth Sense movie. Let me tell you, at the outset, that this was a bad decision. Never before have I been so let down by an author whose first book was so good, but the second was diametrically opposite. I will henceforth stop comparing the books lest you feel that I am using an incorrect scale to measure this book.

The Maidens follows the story of Mariana, a group therapist who is pushing through the personal loss of her husband. A phone call from her husband’s niece Zoe takes her back to college – her alma matter. Zoe’s roommate Tara is missing and Zoe could really use a shoulder for support. Nostalgia that floods her at Cambridge is bitter sweet. She had fallen in love with her husband Sebastin here. Tara’s body is later found – brutally murdered. Mariana investigates Professor Edward Fosca who private tutors a group of girls all beautiful, well-connected and very obviously the cool gang. She is convinced that the professor is the murderer. Zoe reveals that Tara has been sleeping with Edward, cementing her belief. The professor insists on his innocence – he has alibis. The fact that the alibi are other Maidens, who Mariana thinks are covering up for Edward. More murders occur, the victims being other Maidens.

Mariana is being followed by someone – is it the killer who think she is getting too close? What about Fred the person she meets on the train to Cambridge and insists on getting together with Mariana. Morris, the college porter seems shady as well – he is involved with one of the girls. The reveal forms the rest of the story.

_{Spoilers Begin}

The killer is someone who you will never expect. Their motivations will baffle you. That is how absurd the author has decided to play this out. Every character that you suspect – even the ones you think are benign, but will be the plot twist you didn’t expect are just red herrings. It is not the person you would ever suspect. Before you feel that this is an amazing twist, I want you to also try to connect it with the rationale behind the killings. When that is revealed, it will defy any logic, any reasoning and will have you perplexed. The author is quite frankly stretching this to the extremes. “Did you think the twist would be the porter? Or, crazy guy who followed Mariana from London?” “No”, taunts Alex Michaelides, “My twist is going to put The Silent Patient’s twist to shame”. Well, I am sure he thought that. It just doesn’t work out the way it was imagined.

The writing is good, the scenes where Mariana is off trying to find proof, the plot progression that adds more suspects to the pool – all make for really interesting reading. The buildup is well paced. The Greek painting & references to mythology make you expect that they would be relevant to the plot, but they are no more than a distraction. As much as I love to appreciate the character development – Mariana’s backstory making you more invested, it just doesn’t pan out. I plowed through the book hoping a diamond would reveal itself at the end. All I found was a lump of coal. This alone is enough for me not to recommend this book.

_{Spoilers End}

The author has sown the seeds to create a universe encompassing his books with the main character Theo (from The Silent Patient) making an appearance here meeting Mariana. They both share the same mentor Ruth. The killer ends up at The Grove as the book concludes. Apparently, Mariana makes an appearance in the next book – The Fury. (This book is out at the time of writing this review, I am not sure if I will read that). The tie-in to make a “The Grove” Universe is interesting, but seems forced to get the readers to say “Aha!”. The plot would have not changed in any form or way if Mariana didn’t meet Theo or if the killer didn’t go to The Grove.

My final conclusion – Skip this book. While the story gets interesting, the end is a big letdown and I just can’t digest the motive of the killer. It is creepy and weird that undos the build-up.