Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

216 reviews

secre's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

This is the second Michaelides novel I've read, and whilst I was a little more enamoured with it than The Silent Patient - where I was a very obvious minority in my lack of enthusiasm - it still failed to truly grab me. I found most of the characters fairly insipid, particularly Mariana, which is a pity as she is absolutely the main lynch pin character here, the murder mystery underwhelming and the twist annoying. I do need to stop reading books that rely on big twists. They almost always aggravate me.

The characters are absolutely the biggest flaw here. Whilst Michaelides depicts the setting of the Cambridge university well, virtually every character - including the dead ones - are flat and uninspiring. Mariana is a bit of a moron with questionable judgement at best even if it can be partially excused by her recent loss and grief, her niece gets barely any page time for most of the novel, Edward Fosca is a creep with few redeeming features, and the Maidens show zero emotion to their members being brutally murderers. It's... flat, lifeless and uninspiring.

That said, I did enjoy this more than The Silent Patient. It kept me more engaged and whilst the use of shock twists with no lead up annoys the hell out of me, I can absolutely say I didn't see it coming. Admittedly, I didn't think it was well developed either and that's from both the character perspective and from the consequences after perspective. I actively appreciated the depictions of grief and trauma in individual's lives, and how much it can cloud both judgement and make you act in weird ways. The use of a therapist as the main character is one that appeals to me, it's just a pity that Mariana doesn't really live up to this.

All in all, I think I'm coming to the conclusion that Michaelides works are not really for me, even though they sound like it from the blurbs.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my free review copy of this title. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent

swansonjunkie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

literally why was the twist pedophilia

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicide attempt and Infertility

cinderpot's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Amazing book! Amazing twist!!! I read the silent patient about a year ago and really like it. This book follows a similar premise and over all ties in greatly. Some professional decisions from the main character is questionable… but what can you get with a fiction.

The added cameo from Theo was my favourite

Will be ready his next book with anticipation!!!! JUSTICE FOR FRED!!!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, and Stalking

emma6544's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read The Silent Patient and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to this book. 

I was hesitant going into it because I have not enjoyed a lot of dark academia books but this book is different. It balances the academic and mystery lines really well so I felt that both areas were explored really well. I also loved Alex’s descriptive writing style which brought the characters and story to life. 

The plot was face paced and it kept me invested into who the killer is. While I wasn’t hugely shocked at one of the people involved as I had my suspicions on them for awhile, I was majorly shocked at the twist

we find out that Zoe, her niece, had killed the victims, influenced by her lover Sebastian, Marianas husband who she is grieving throughout the book. This came as a shock as the book builds up to Edward Fosca and I was also expecting Fred by the language of the last few journal entries. This shock blew me away and it flipped the book for me, like it did Marianas world.

I also really enjoyed the references to The Silent Patient

Theo, the therapist from The Silent Patient, makes an appearance towards the end of the book. Mariana recommends him for a job at The Grove, his place of employment in the book. Plus, after Zoe’s arrest, he is the one treating her and we get a little preview of that in the epilogue.

This book blew me away and this is my favourite book of his so far and I am looking forward to enjoying his latest book, The Fury. Despite the references to the last book, you can easily read this book first. I highly recommend reading this book, even if you are not a fan of dark academia. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Pedophilia and Death of parent

pedophila is brought up towards the end of the books

lionfish_22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal death

kaylokay_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

positive points for the tense feelings I had during the last third of the book. I enjoyed the contemporary gothic vibes. However, I think the plot twist could’ve been tighter.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Self harm, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Rape, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

alex_bousquet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This was a fairly well written book, better than the silent patient in my own opinion. Although I did not like Marianne and she was the main character, she seemed to be blind to what was happening right under her  nose until she was basically hit with it. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Murder

mckinleyelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Stalking, Death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Mental illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Suicide attempt

carolines's review against another edition

mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Blood, Physical abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Animal death, and Sexual assault

thatlibrarychick's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Stalking, Sexual content, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent