Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

392 reviews

theequeendee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I've only read "The Fury" by the author and decided to read another one of his works. It was overall a decent read, it wasn't as interesting as "The Fury" but it was still worth a read. I might read "The Silent Patient" eventually.

The chapters were rather on the shorter side, making the story feel rather rushed at some parts. Some of the scenes of this book made me cringe, like the scene where Edward Fosca kissed Mariana after talking about "Do you think you can see inside my soul?" I love Mariana's character and the inner conflicts she has while being at the same university that she met her late husband at. Although the twist is predictable, I do enjoy how the author builds the reasoning as to why they did the killings.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Suicide

Minor: Incest

annies0627's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

vavocado's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

jensynaw's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Stalking

Minor: Pedophilia

studymeaghan's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Abandonment, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, and Suicide

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.

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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

aheinicke27's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Having read The Silent Patient, I knew that this book was bound to have an interesting and dark twist at the end. Throughout the entire story, I contemplated who could be murdering The Maidens of Cambridge and whether I could really trust the narrator. It’s safe to say that despite my best efforts, I was totally surprised by the twist and definitely did not expect the story to take the turn that it did. Wow. Well done. 

This story is dark and distributing in a way that you can’t look away. As an English nerd, I loved all of the nod’s to classic Greek literature, which really added interesting layers to the story and foreshadowing. I also really liked the connections to The Silent Patient. Since it has been a while since I listened to that book, I didn’t notice them at first, but once I made the connection, it was so fun to return to that world. Overall, this is an excellent thriller and one I will definitely recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Murder, Death, and Pedophilia

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

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Suicide attempt

kellyisntcool's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Death

Minor: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

boop123's review

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.25

Read this via audiobook, and I gotta say this is one of those books that makes you create many theories about what actually happened. Personally, I enjoyed figuring the ending out as I read along, but honestly, almost all of the characters here are annoying and/or stupid, especially Marianna (sorry to say). 

The ending was also unexpected but at the same time, did not give clues throughout the book at all??? So, although the third act of the book was intense and gripping, I was not expecting the ending to go that way at all, which was lowkey dissatisfying. Also, I rarely read books by male authors, but why are adult-minor/age gap relationships such a prevalent theme here???? Kind of a side eye, and like all of the male characters, they are major creeps and extremely annoying lmaooo 

Anyway, this was alright. I still read the whole thing, keeping me engaged until the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Sexual content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Death, and Pedophilia

Minor: Drug use