Review by gummifrog - The Maidens

gummifrog 's review for:

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

4.25

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I loved The Silent Patient, so I was excited to give this book a try. Although this one has a different approach to similar ideas, I felt it hit very hard at the climax and was equally exciting and twisty!

The author is a master of misdirection, using literary analysis and psychological expertise to guide your thoughts in a specific direction. Although I guessed the killer about halfway in, the motive was so shocking that I yelled "WHAT?!" in my car, because it was SO much more fucked up than I had expected! But in thinking back, there were tons of clues. That's the best kind of mystery, truly.

I felt the protagonist was particularly lovable in this one, if a bit unhinged and overly determined to be right when everyone is telling her she's blinded by her stubbornness. I really felt for her and I hope to see more of her in his work in the future. The little cameos from The Silent Patient were very welcomed in this book!

Content Warnings