The Maidens ist ein atmosphärischer Dark-Academia-Thriller mit starkem Setting und psychologischer Tiefe. Alex Michaelides schafft eine dichte, geheimnisvolle Stimmung und spielt gekonnt mit Mythologie, Macht und Obsession. Das Tempo ist eher ruhig, die Spannung dafür konstant. Nicht jede Wendung überrascht, aber die Atmosphäre trägt den Roman bis zum Schluss.

What can I say other than I inhaled this in only 24 hours, it was such a page turner and by far the fastest book I’ve ever read. I loved this more than the silent patient. I literally couldn’t stop reading and the short chapters definitely helped with that. It contained everything I personally love: Dark Academia, Cult-like groups and murder. SPOILER ALERT As for the twist, I kind of guessed from the very first page written from the villains POV that it must be Sebastian. Something he mentioned about his upbringing gave it away for me from the very start but of course knowing that he is dead made me doubt my suspicions throughout reading. To me, the villain and the murderer of the maidens was not the same person. I kind of suspected there to be two stories. I‘m not sure how I feel about Zoe being the killer. One girl going through with something plotted by a dead man? Alone? I don‘t know about that, but the book as a whole still worked for me.

I didn’t enjoy that there were so many references to Greek mythology but overall the story was interesting and I was actually really suspicious of everyone and really didn’t see the plot twist coming! But I would have liked a little more of a back story to the plot twist since it seemed a little too surprising to just have this huge of a plot twist sprung on me right before the end.

Ughhh I thought I had learned my lesson with the first book so I was reading this one super thoroughly but I didn’t have enough evidence to guess the twist! With that said, there were some plot points that repeated The Silent Patient, even a line I noticed said by the supervisor to Mariana: “where’s your difficulty?” It was cool that Theo and Mariana met, confirming the “universe” of the books. I’m excited to read his next work!

Irgendwie ist meine Meinung zu diesem Buch recht ambivalent. Es hat mich gut unterhalten, der Twist am Ende hat mich doch überrascht. Trotz allem war es nicht die Art an Spannung, welche ich gehofft hatte. Unerwartet gut hat mir der Psychologieansatz und die Erklärungen zu Verhaltensweisen gefallen. Da wäre ein bisschen mehr gut gewesen. Leider sind die Charaktere recht flach und ich habe nicht so recht eine Verbindung zu diesen bekommen. Bisweilen waren mir diese sogar recht egal. Das Setting in Cambridge fand ich sehr gelungen und hat mir gefallen. Alles in allem ok. Mehr aber leider auch nicht.

Seit langem mal wieder ein richtig spannendes Buch! Ich fand the silent patient etwas besser, weil dieses hier manchmal schon so all over the place war hahahha. Außerdem hat’s der Autor echt auf schöne junge Frauen abgesehen (schon male gaze oft). Fand auch die Darstellung von Psyche und Therapie in the Silent Patient besser. Hier wird fast schon zu viel Empathie für Mörder gezeigt

A murder? On a university campus? And the victim is part of a small group that worships Greek Mythology? Sign me up. I had not read The Silent Patient yet when I started this. This is why I had zero expectations and desperately hoped that the ending wouldn't disappoint. And it honestly didn't. I think if you approach this with no pressuppositions you'll get a fast-paced Dark Academia "Whodunit" with all the vibes you could possibly hope for. The perfect read for the fall season!

2.75 I dreaded to pick up this book. I struggled through the first 50 pages and then was surprised that I finished the remaining 300 pages in one day. The book itself was bizzare. I didn't expect the twist at the end. My personal highlight was meeting Theo out of 'The silent patient' again. I didn't connected or cared mich for the characters and I hate it when a thriller wraps up in the last ten pages. Overall okayish but not great

I didn’t enjoy that there were so many references to Greek mythology but overall the story was interesting and I was actually really suspicious of everyone and really didn’t see the plot twist coming! But I would have liked a little more of a back story to the plot twist since it seemed a little too surprising to just have this huge of a plot twist sprung on me right before the end.

Disclaimer: I am at a point in my life where I WILL consume every piece of dark academia media and this (sadly) has to be one of the worst ones (so far). I didn’t like the silent patient that much and this has to be even worse. Maybe Michaelides’ books just aren’t for me. While I - once again- enjoyed the initial premise, the plot twist, or rather parts of the plot twist became really apparent in the first third of the book so I was just curious about the remaining details. And those I didn’t like. There would have been roughly 20 better choices that could’ve been made concerning the motives of the culprit and yet the author chose the weirdest love triangle p*dophilia situation?? If there’s one thing I’m not asking for in my murder mystery dark academia book it’s THIS + grooming?? Also the whole Fred side plot felt so weird and unnatural? Like homeboy is obsessed with the most boring person in the book who doesn’t ever mirror his feelings or leads him on? There’s no background as to why he thinks so other than “he has a feeling they will marry at some point”??? And last but not least the inclusion of “the grove” and Theo is obviously a nod to “the silent patient” which I didn’t enjoy either. Feels kind of uncalled for and didn’t serve the plot either. I just hope michaelides continues using his writing skills but maybe starts adopting other peoples’ ideas plot wise. Also, PLEASE write a likeable woman for ONCE!! rant over and out

Disclaimer: I am at a point in my life where I WILL consume every piece of dark academia media and this (sadly) has to be one of the worst ones (so far). I didn’t like the silent patient that much and this has to be even worse. Maybe Michaelides’ books just aren’t for me. While I - once again- enjoyed the initial premise, the plot twist, or rather parts of the plot twist became really apparent in the first third of the book so I was just curious about the remaining details. And those I didn’t like. There would have been roughly 20 better choices that could’ve been made concerning the motives of the culprit and yet the author chose the weirdest love triangle p*dophilia situation?? If there’s one thing I’m not asking for in my murder mystery dark academia book it’s THIS + grooming?? Also the whole Fred side plot felt so weird and unnatural? Like homeboy is obsessed with the most boring person in the book who doesn’t ever mirror his feelings or leads him on? There’s no background as to why he thinks so other than “he has a feeling they will marry at some point”??? And last but not least the inclusion of “the grove” and Theo is obviously a nod to “the silent patient” which I didn’t enjoy either. Feels kind of uncalled for and didn’t serve the plot either. I just hope michaelides continues using his writing skills but maybe starts adopting other peoples’ ideas plot wise. Also, PLEASE write a likeable woman for ONCE!! rant over and out

Das hat Spaß gemacht, auch wenn das Ende wieder fast ein bisschen zu spektakulär war für meinen Geschmack. 😅 Aber: ein Thriller, der an der Uni in Cambridge spielt, in dem es einen Geheimbund gibt und einen attraktiven aber grusligen Professor, der auch privat ein Faible für griechische Mythologie hat… für mich hat das Setting gepasst und war spannend. Ich habe diesen Thriller gern gelesen - den Handlungsstrang rund um Henry hätte ich aber nicht gebraucht. 🙃

2,5: I had fun reading it, but there were a few questionable narrative choices. The whole narrative hinges on the mc believing something that the reader cannot possibly think is true, which may be the point, but also makes for a rather frustrating reading experience in parts. The writing style is a bit cheesy, like it's trying too hard to be profound and mysterious. Overall, however, the book is engaging and worth a read, I'd say.

Der Plottwist am Ende war wirklich unvorhersehbar, unfassbar Generell wurde die Spannung sehr gut aufgebaut und ich habe wirklich viele gute Zitate markieren können 5 Sterne hätte ich sicherlich gegeben, wenn die griechische Mythologie mich mehr interessieren würde Die Verknüpfung mit The Silent Patient war wirklich super und vollkommen unerwartet

I think I’ll have to reread the silent patient now, just to refresh my memory. This novel is chronologically set before the silent patient, and I think it makes a great lot of sense to either read this one before, or with several months in between, so that your memory is a little rusty (or it will spoil the book I think?) I didn’t expect the book to be what it was, but I still really enjoyed it. I thought I would get the POV of a more ‘inside’ person , a student perhaps, but instead it was Marianas who is the aunt of a student and in her mid-thirties. I was promised more academia, but still, loved the thrilling aspects. There is a small plot hole I think, but it leads to think so I don’t mind. I tried to guess who the killer was repeatedly and though I guessed it, but then thought it was someone else, I didn’t guess all of it.

The most boring thriller I have read. Granted I haven’t read many but this really isn’t it. Mariana is boring and wholly unqualified for the role of the protagonist of this uneventful and mediocrely written novel. What is the point of a group therapist being intimidated by a group of young women investigating the murders of said girls? Mariana even has to ask her supervisor and a colleague, who she is suspicious of, for advice because she is completely lost in her unprofessional investigation. Her supervisor, Ruth, gives her to groundbreaking advice that the maidens are a group and Mariana is a group therapist so it should be easy for her to talk to them, right? Wrong. Mariana is so out of her depth as a therapist and is intimidated by a bunch of 20-year-old women whose vocabulary consists of “This is so stupid” and whose behaviour is like that of 13-year-old bully in middle school. If you describe a group called the Maidens, a reference to Persephone’s old name Kore, as the most intelligent and promising students under Professor Edward Fosca’s care, but present them as these valley girls who could care less about studying and are only concerned with impressing and lusting over Fosca, you have completely missed the point as an author. About Fosca I can say that he was the most interesting yet underdeveloped character and pseudo-villain I have ever had the misfortune of reading about. Yet I would have much rather read the story from his perspective than Mariana, a woman hung up on her dead husband. Everything reminds her of Sebastian and I imagine her walking around Cambridge and London with constant tears in her eyes, because “Sebastian would walk this way every day” and “Sebastian always bought this exact chocolate from Tesco every Thursday”. Her husband was so perfect that consequently, she is suspicious of every man that crosses her path, whether he is a professional like inspector Sangha or a total sweetheart like Fred. Mariana’s incompetence is further underlined by the fact that she doesn’t even for a second suspect or really questions Zoe. Zoe, who has seen Tara last before she died and has no alibi. Zoe, who was a loner at university and only had Tara as a friend. Zoe, who hates the maidens and Professor Fosca, and wow would you look at that, two of those maidens are killed! But it can only be the young, handsome, American Greek tragedy professor, right? Mariana is so convinced that it’s Fosca that she even physically assaults him. This premise had so much potential, but writing mediocre at best female characters and only creepy men and making the most interesting group in this book a bunch of wannabe edgy but ultimately mean valley girls, completely missed the mark for me. One of the worst books I have read, maybe even THE worst because this has no redeemable qualities whatsoever.

4.25 ⭐️ “After all— ‘it’s better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.’” An extremely slow-burn thriller & I loved it! Although I kind of guessed the plot twist, the story behind it made me speechless. I would have never guessed that! In that way, the plot did surprise me! I honestly prefer THE MAIDENS over THE SILENT PATIENT, but I would recommend both, especially because a certain character from THE SILENT PATIENT is also part of THE MAIDENS & I love that! <3 Looking forward to Alex Michaelides’ new books!

I didn't hate the book. It was good, I enjoyed the story but the protagonist. She was probably the worst he could have chosen to narrate the Story. Mariana was not only boring but absolutely replaceable in the Story. She brought nothing to it and had so specific characteristics. She wasn't hateable nor likeable and I was glad when the book was over. The Ending I am confused about. It was predictable that the person who did it was the murderer. There were some false clues everywhere but more or less it was obvious those that were painted suspect weren't it. It just didn't make all that much sense to me that this specific person did it. I expected a lot more from this book tbh

*spoilers* The pacing was so darn slow. I was thrown information for no apparent reason. The whole concept of the main character was BS, if she couldn't see what her own husband was at fault, let alone her niece. She was feeling feelings? I MEAN HOW? I was so disappointed. :\

??? What did I just read? It was pretty aweful to be honest. The main character was so unlikable and she did things I found very questionable. Also every male person in this novel was a creep or an idiot. And how the hell could Mariana fall for (or even think about feelings for) Fred?! He stalked her, didn't take a no and was very creepy?! Also the gaslighting of the inspector and the Julian dude?! And of course Prof Fosca. The "twist" wasn't that surprising. It was more like: what? How? Why? It was so out of the blue, so without any clues, like the author just wanted a good twist and just imagined something completely different. Also: everything greek was pretty much useless for the entire story. All the things about offending Persephone and Demeter? Whatever! Throw it out the window! It doesn't matter at all! Also I didn't like some scenes with Mariana and how her thought process were. Maybe she should seem like an unreliable narrator? But please: men who write woman: not every man is attractive and not every man can INSTANTLY make a woman feel things. There are two men in this story where Mariana is like "hm, maybe I like him?!" But they are both creepy. Also this side story with Henry is stupid and useless and utter nonesense. I'm very angry and disappointed. Haha.