“The Maidens” is another murder mystery from Alex Michaelides after “The Silent Patient” which revolves around a secret society that is based on Greek mythology.
Mariana, a psychotherapist who had lost her husband Sebastian few years back receives a call from her niece Zoe and gets to know that Zoe’s friend has been brutally murdered. Mariana is concerned about Zoe and reaches Cambridge to be with her.
With mysteries surrounding the murder and suspicions being raised over a professor who teaches Greek tragedy to Zoe and her classmates, Mariana decides to stay at Cambridge to uncover the truth and the identity of the killer. The killings continue and Mariana stumbles upon an evidence that connects these serial killings to Greek mythology.
The novel starting off as a template serial killer mystery, has all potential to become an intriguing and compelling murder mystery. Does it hold on to the promising premise and builds on it?
There are too many characters introduced just to add up to the suspense and the closure the novel provides for these characters is underwhelming in some cases. Mariana being a psychotherapist trying to play a detective is not convincing either.
The literary references in the novel not only creates a great impact but also sticks to the storyline without deviating much. That is a big plus. The author also makes an interesting connection to his previous novel “The Silent Patient” bringing in its central characters Theo and Alicia into this universe. This is not a force-fit and blends seamlessly with the proceedings in the novel.
With few sparks of brilliance here and there, the novel plummets down with a climax that throws us off guard in an unconvincing way.
