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A review by librocrone
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
dark
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
1.75
Woof, y'all. Woof. More like a 1.5/5, but at that point, does it really matter?
Trigger warnings for death of a spouse, stalking, statutory rape, child abuse, and obviously murder.
I was very excited about this because the synopsis seemed to hit a lot of buttons for me: dark academia, murder, Greek mythology, spooky vibes. This book *technically* delivered on these things, but with no soul, no flair, and no originality.
My long-term gripe with this book is that the writing is just so poor. The characters are stale and flat, dull and predictable. The way this book feels stilted and badly crafted is impossible to ignore while reading - Mariana's obsession with Professor Fosca as the perpetrator makes it unbearably clear to anyone with two brain cells to rub together that he *isn't* the murderer, there's a police chief who like, wags his finger threateningly at Mariana and literally says "This is my investigation!" like it's a noir cartoon, and just bad, corny, tropey writing all around without any spin on trope to make it new or different.
And that doesn't even touch on how absolutely ridiculous Mariana is herself - how totally impossible I found it to root for her. She knows in her gut that Fosca is a murderer, and I knew in my gut that he wasn't, because this is a book and no writer would lay out their murderer in a thriller right away. But since I came in with that gut instinct, it made *all* of Mariana's very convenient and frequently borderline illegal actions totally unjustifiable. The finger wagging police chief is right wag his finger - this random woman's obsession with the investigation is impeding the real work of figuring out whodunit. She lies to get people to confide in her, she breaks into locked buildings, she stalks people she suspects, and because she "believes" that the professor is the murderer, this is somehow... okay?! Also her "evidence" against the professor is LAUGHABLY inconclusive. I fundamentally don't understand why the audience is supposed to be on this character's side.
Also, she so fundamentally believes that Fosca is a *literal murderer* and chooses to spend time alone with him? Baffling.
The pacing was ploddingly slow - nothing happens for quite a long time after the first murder. We don't even begin to talk about The Maidens until about halfway through the book. The only saving grace on the pacing is the short chapters, which make it easy to keep going. Otherwise, it's all just very boring, waiting for something else to happen to please GOD move this plot along.
However, my second gripe with this book is the twist. Spoilers below:
I guessed the twist about the niece, thinking that she was the only possible killer that would actually be a bit of a surprise, and gasp. I was right, therefore making it not a surprise. But the motivation? The reveal about the dead husband? Like... WHAT?
Mariana and Sebastian met when they were nineteen and he died at thirty-five. They were together FIFTEEN YEARS and suddenly he decides he's going to kill her? It does not make any sense, and mostly just grossed me out. That reveal was 'shocking' I suppose but mostly it just left me with a full-body ick feeling because it felt so absolutely pointless, just shock value, just to ruin your day, just to make you feel sick to your stomach. And what's more - once we've had this reveal, we FINALLY stop talking the stupid husband?! We've spent the entire book listening to Mariana whine and moan about her grief and once we learn that he's evil, actually, she just never mentions him again. Just. Such poor writing, and such an absurd and gross and unnecessary addition.
All in all, this book was intensely boring and irritating by turns. The idea was an interesting one, but the execution left SO much to be desired. Bad characters. Bad writing. Predictable twist. Unsatisfying ending. Just. A big no.
Trigger warnings for death of a spouse, stalking, statutory rape, child abuse, and obviously murder.
I was very excited about this because the synopsis seemed to hit a lot of buttons for me: dark academia, murder, Greek mythology, spooky vibes. This book *technically* delivered on these things, but with no soul, no flair, and no originality.
My long-term gripe with this book is that the writing is just so poor. The characters are stale and flat, dull and predictable. The way this book feels stilted and badly crafted is impossible to ignore while reading - Mariana's obsession with Professor Fosca as the perpetrator makes it unbearably clear to anyone with two brain cells to rub together that he *isn't* the murderer, there's a police chief who like, wags his finger threateningly at Mariana and literally says "This is my investigation!" like it's a noir cartoon, and just bad, corny, tropey writing all around without any spin on trope to make it new or different.
And that doesn't even touch on how absolutely ridiculous Mariana is herself - how totally impossible I found it to root for her. She knows in her gut that Fosca is a murderer, and I knew in my gut that he wasn't, because this is a book and no writer would lay out their murderer in a thriller right away. But since I came in with that gut instinct, it made *all* of Mariana's very convenient and frequently borderline illegal actions totally unjustifiable. The finger wagging police chief is right wag his finger - this random woman's obsession with the investigation is impeding the real work of figuring out whodunit. She lies to get people to confide in her, she breaks into locked buildings, she stalks people she suspects, and because she "believes" that the professor is the murderer, this is somehow... okay?! Also her "evidence" against the professor is LAUGHABLY inconclusive. I fundamentally don't understand why the audience is supposed to be on this character's side.
Also, she so fundamentally believes that Fosca is a *literal murderer* and chooses to spend time alone with him? Baffling.
The pacing was ploddingly slow - nothing happens for quite a long time after the first murder. We don't even begin to talk about The Maidens until about halfway through the book. The only saving grace on the pacing is the short chapters, which make it easy to keep going. Otherwise, it's all just very boring, waiting for something else to happen to please GOD move this plot along.
However, my second gripe with this book is the twist. Spoilers below:
Mariana and Sebastian met when they were nineteen and he died at thirty-five. They were together FIFTEEN YEARS and suddenly he decides he's going to kill her? It does not make any sense, and mostly just grossed me out. That reveal was 'shocking' I suppose but mostly it just left me with a full-body ick feeling because it felt so absolutely pointless, just shock value, just to ruin your day, just to make you feel sick to your stomach. And what's more - once we've had this reveal, we FINALLY stop talking the stupid husband?! We've spent the entire book listening to Mariana whine and moan about her grief and once we learn that he's evil, actually, she just never mentions him again. Just. Such poor writing, and such an absurd and gross and unnecessary addition.
All in all, this book was intensely boring and irritating by turns. The idea was an interesting one, but the execution left SO much to be desired. Bad characters. Bad writing. Predictable twist. Unsatisfying ending. Just. A big no.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Stalking
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
Minor: Animal death and Suicide attempt