Review by emilyacv - The Maidens

emilyacv 's review for:

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

2.75

I would have given the first 2/3 3.5-4 stars, I was thinking the whole time how much more I was enjoying it than the Silent Patient, but the end killed it for me! I also felt like so many strings were left untied and the main protagonist was done so dirty. I get that the ending was giving “Greek tragedy” on purpose, but it was just too much of a stretch and so many pieces that I thought were clues were just abandoned.

Like Henry, who was stalking Mariana for half the book, is just suddenly never heard from again? Was he the one calling her, and we are just supposed to assume that he was having an episode and once she confronted him that was it? How the hell is Fred a hero at the end despite being a total creep? And Mariane was just hyper-focused on Edward as the killer the whole time as a fake out so she just looks crazy, but then also they casually mention he WAS sleeping with his students, just not killing them? And that’s just casually mentioned in like the second last page?

I also could have done without the references to the Silent Patient but I’m biased because I really didn’t like that book.

I also was loving the Greek mythology references but I feel like they didn’t end up having any real significance?

TLDR: I’m just really salty about the ending. Maybe I’ll get over it (probably not)

Content Warnings