Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Maidens

I’m not entirely sure how, but I guessed the whole thing at one point, as kind of a “wouldn’t that be a wild twist”? I knew who the killer was from the 60% mark, but the rest of it? Wild.

I’m not sure if I liked it? If it was good? Right now I’m at a 4 but that might change.

As a therapist, it’s wild that she didn’t see any of what was going on.

Content Warnings

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

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dark informative sad tense slow-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

3.5

Honestly, I wished I typed this review out as soon as I finished this book. Four days have passed and I honestly don't remember much about it. I remember the plot and everything just fine, what I'm trying to say is that this book is very forgettable. I was really excited after reading "The Silent Patient" two years ago (around this time, funny enough) and learning that this book is centered around greek mythology (which I love). I was initially pumped and sadly underwhelmed when I finished. The best way I could describe this book is just lacking. It lacked a lot. It lacked in the plot. It lacked in intricately incorporating the Greek mythology into the story. It lacked when it came to the side characters. It lacked with the plot twists

I knew it was Zoe, but there was a lot of unnecessary misdirection with the twist that had me questioning if I was right. Also, the subtle incest twist was so unnecessary. Felt cheap.

. I just felt like things weren't as intricately woven out as he was making it seem like they were. I found certain side characters to be extremely redundant. The society plot device, underutilized. And the plot twist to be incredibly lubricious and disappointing. Not gonna lie, a little part of me wanted to dnf this book, but I trudged along because it was short, and weirdly enough I thoroughly enjoyed his writing. It is very flowery (I think "purple prose" is what it's called) which I wasn't expecting when going into a thriller. I really enjoyed his writing here, however, due to the things I listed above as well as the fact that his storytelling (he's what I call a "slow burn" thriller author; meaning he relays his stories like a mystery with a big twist at the end rather than presenting various mini-plot twists throughout the story which is my preferred method of thriller storytelling) isn't my favorite way that I'd like to consume thrillers. It just didn't make for the most enjoyable reading experience. I don't think this is the worst thing ever by any means. I just think it was mid, mediocre. Nothing crazy. (something cool though was how this book was lowkey a prequel to "The Silent Patient"; we got to see Theo which was really cool)

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hazybee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Reads like you are watching a movie. You can picture every scene and character perfectly. My only complaint is that there are so many random side characters that only appear for a scene or two and it’s hard to remember all their names for when they get brought back up again later

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mlander's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

lisasaurusreads's review

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dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

Content Warnings

sare1125's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

h_sloan's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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mirrorofneptune's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-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

1.75

This book could’ve been something but then wasn’t. I found the mystery super compelling at the onset but my interest waned with each chapter. Even when the answer to the mystery was revealed I didn’t feel satisfied– maybe because the main character, despite doing a lot of running around and “investigating,” doesn’t seem to organize her efforts or make any headway at all? Basically it felt like the narrator hadn’t “earned” the mystery reveal, though I know that’s not a logical take.

There were a lot of interesting themes here I would’ve liked to see explored more and a lot of things I think could’ve been taken out, including

that random plotline with the Cambridge kid who’s into the main character, whose name I don’t even remember because he wasn’t relevant to the plot until he suddenly was

. Also, as my friends and I joked, for a book called the maidens there’s shockingly little about those actual maidens! Would’ve liked to see at least some of them made into full characters instead of feeling like stage props.

I did like The Silent Patient so I’m disappointed.

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