The Maidens

Another great read from this author. Loved the nods to his other book- The Silent Patient. Another psychological thriller, with some Greek mythology intertwined, was intriguing. While I guessed who the murderer was early on, I had the motive all wrong. Still enough to surprise me.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for providing the arc audiobook to provide my honest feedback. This is my second book from this author, the first being the popular novel The Silent Patient. This book is a bit different and at times felt it drug on a bit, but that could be because I didn’t speed up the narrator (ha). The narrator(s) did a wonderful job with the story and weren’t annoying at all, as some voices can be. I do have a short attention span for audiobooks so I had to speed up the narration to get through the story and a few times I was a little lost what was going on. I’m rating the book 4 stars but I think maybe in 6 months I’ll try reading the actual book to see if I get a different opinion (like if the book is actually a quicker read than what I’m expecting, or if I enjoy it better that way). Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and narration overall and would recommend others to try this one out. From other reviews it seems to be a hit or miss for some. Hopefully you’ll all enjoy!

⭐️3.5Upon reading the premise, I was instantly intrigued. Since I had read The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides himself and enjoyed it, I was even more eager to dive into The Maidens. While The Silent Patient is a more compelling and satisfying read, I still found this one to be quite enjoyable.The way Mariana set about identifying the culprit for the gruesome deaths of some of the members of the Maidens drove me nuts a lot of the time. Playing the 'detective' role, I simply found her to be idiotic and tactless due to her unsubtle, lame interrogation tactics and highly questionable decisions. This complaint applies to many female main characters within thrillers/mysteries, since they are often quite clumsy and impulsive in their decisions and how they go about things when they play the 'detective' role. I also found many of the characters underdeveloped and very one-dimensional, which made connecting with them or even gaining a sense of their motivations difficult. It seemed, however, that every single male character was creepy and strange, while every single female character was either hostile or helpless.I was surprised by the plot twist/major reveal at the end, which is all I can ask for from a thriller/mystery. One star just because it had a decent plot twist that wasn't overly predictable or far-fetched, since that seems to be a trend in all the thrillers/mysteries I've read so far. The book lost some stars for me because of the amount of unnecessary misdirection surrounding the murderer and excessive red herrings. Despite Alex Michaelides' expert use of psychology entwined with Greek mythology and literature as an integral part of his really horrific gothic thriller mystery, a lot of the references flew right over my head due to my lack of interest in Greek mythology and literature. Last but not least, I didn't like how abruptly the book ended.While I have some issues with the book, The Maidens still is probably one of my most enjoyable thriller reads of the last couple of months, along with Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica and The Passengers by John Marrs. This is quite a statement on my reading experience so far this year in terms of thrillers. All in all, The Maidens is a book that's not terribly terrible, but not outstanding enough to earn a five-star rating.