Reviews with content warning for Stalking - Fecioarele

That ending has me SHOOK. Literally what the heck. I LOVE these mysteries, they're so thought-provoking and well thought-out. I'm giving a 4.75 because I just feel like I should've paced my reading time better, it's not because of any faults with the actual book, although there were some things.

There are MULTIPLE adult-minor relationships in this book that make me feel icky (Fred and Mariana I don't count because that's a 7-year age gap, but they're both adults), and there's just a lot of sex this time around that I feel like was unnecessary. The Maidens is basically just a big orgy with Edward Fosca, one of the other professors is sleeping with one of The Maidens too, and Zoe and Sebastian had a relationship going while he was married to Mariana, and it's just...a lot. I haven't even mentioned the fact that one, Zoe and Sebastian have a 16-YEAR AGE GAP, and two, HE IS HER UNCLE BY MARRIAGE. It's fornication, infidelity, adultery, incest, adult-minor relationship, it's all the things. They also DON'T EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT HE'S HER UNCLE. I just...feel SO bad for Mariana.

BUT THEO FABER IS IN THIS BOOK. HE IS IN THIS BOOK.

AND THIS IS A PREQUEL, BUT THIS IS AFTER HE KILLED GABRIEL AND IS ABOUT TO MEET ALICIA AGAIN. AND WE KNOW HE'S A KILLER, AND MARIANA DOESN'T, AND THAT...IS CRAZY.

AND MARIANA TELLS HIM TO APPLY FOR THE JOB AT THE GROVE. AND SHE SEES ALICIA BERENSON, THE SILENT PATIENT HERSELF, IN THE END. AND ZOE AND MARIANA ARE NEVER MENTIONED IN THE SILENT PATIENT, SO SOMEONE DIES. Sorry that was in all-caps, but I didn't think these books were even in the same universe, and THEY ARE, AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

In conclusion, wow. Just wow. Alex Michaelides writes some messed-up stuff. (also, are you okay, dude? I'm not even that concerned about all the murder and sex and stuff, but your characters have some MESSED-UP families. Did you have daddy and mommy issues? Because your MCs do. Just some food for thought.) A lot of messed-up things, but I love them. These books have FANTASTIC plot twists, and I want to do something like that in my own characters, especially with the MCs meeting each other. Just incredible.

Content Warnings

threadsof_kate's review against another edition

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4.5

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minimicropup's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Atmosphere 🧐: Mostly set at Cambridge University in the UK. Can't quite figure out why, but it wasn't immersive or atmospheric for me.
-Writing suffered from "the" syndrome, but instead of "the living room" "the house" "the car", we get "The (name of Cambridge building)", "the courtyard", "the main arch".
-The atmosphere and plot are driven by nostalgia, but we are seeing the University solely through the MCs eyes as alumni, so there is a lot of updating the reader about why certain buildings or characters are meaningful after the fact.

Main POVs:
-A Greek-born, Cambridge University educated psychotherapist specializing in group therapy. They are grieving the accidental death of their spouse while on vacation. They had an emotionally neglectful childhood, experienced a series of tragic losses of loved ones, and the only family left is their niece (who is currently studying at Cambridge University).
-Introspective-style journal entry or letter of an unknown character describing their life.

Cred Rating 👎: Nonsensical to outlandish. This is not an absurdist/bizarre/speculative fiction, and it's not over-the-top/campy/satirical fiction. Yet somehow the writing manages to tip toe back and forth between those directions while aiming for realistic tragedy. It felt inconsistent and erratic, which kept pulling me out of the story and diluting the plot.

Growls and Howls 🐺 (many...but I didn't dislike this book)
-A lot of the memory lane tellings didn't seem relevant to the plot, just something the reader had to know to explain the camaraderie (or lack thereof) between the MC and various characters. I wish we had another POV. Maybe from one of the 'Maidens' or the niece.
-I don't know much about Greek tragedy but the way it was presented felt more like explaining a religion? There is explanation given but it disrupted the dialog (almost like the MC had to turn to us to explain things to readers like me mid-sentence). Academic discussions went on for awhile, leaving me feeling lost. That's 100% on me for being ignorant, but I got the feeling that even if you were knowledgeable on the topic it may still feel forced into the plot sometimes?
-Lack of depth for the MC and their quirks. Why don't they lock doors?! Why do they put themselves so obviously in danger? Why are they so overconfident and skeptical and other times so blindly trusting? Were they always this way? Did this start after their spouse died? Why?
-The whodunnit may range from reveal to twist for you, but that wouldn't ruin the book. The whydunnit does though. It's a well done 🤯 unpredictable twist ruined by 🤨 "wait, whut? that makes no sense" motivation.

Reading Journey 🫠: Friend wants to take you somewhere via their scenic nostalgic route, but their memories are long-winded and totally lost on you. A lot of polite smiling to hide the "are we done yet?" thoughts.

Possible match if you like:
-Mysteries in academic settings
-Metaphors, similes, and archetypes from Greek literature
-Hyperbolic characters
-Descriptive, "telling"/exposition type narratives
-Incompetent police, pathologists, security
-Whodunnits and amateur sleuthing

Content Heads-Up: Death of a spouse and fertility issues.

Format: Library Digital via Libby

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ibbyyyyy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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literaryinluv's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

it was really okay. i appreciated the literary references and the allusions to greek mythology, but it just felt so forced sometimes? the way the author tried to force tennyson and the myths in SO MUCH. to, like the littlest detail. and mariana was so flat and sticking her head in a crime scene, which is not realistic at all. and fred???

0.2 seconds after meeting her: "marry me"

the red herrings were just so... forced. like,

oh fred has a picture with a dog, and the letter mentions "premonition," which he claims to have, it must be him!!! but like nobody thinks that, he's just some guy.

everything felt forced, and like the author was booping my nose and saying, "catch that? let me explain!"

despite all this, i enjoyed the pacing and the ending, as well as the

actual culprit

. i probably won't read it again, tho.

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christinesandor's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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carlys_currently_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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