The Maidens: A Novel

Alex Michaelides

Jun 2021 · Macmillan Audio · Narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Louise Brealey

About this audiobook

"Between the three of them, author Alex Michaelides and narrators Louise Brealey and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith cast a spell that will have listeners glued to this suspenseful novel every chance they get." -- AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

"The audiobook is narrated primarily by actor Louise Brealey, who has given life to complex female characters in the audio editions of The Girl on the Train and The Silent Patient, Michaelides’ first novel. Here, she does an excellent job of conveying Mariana’s confusion, courage and determination to solve the mystery at any cost. Actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s nuanced performance as the killer reminds us that monsters are made, not born, and that within even the most heinous murderer is a shattered, lonely child." -- Booklist (starred audiobook review)

"Listeners will not be disappointed with this suspenseful and intelligent thriller." -- Booklist (starred review)

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession, that further cements “Michaelides as a major player in the field” (Publishers Weekly).

Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.

Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge.

Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld?

When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books

"Stunning... The intelligent, cerebral plot finds contemporary parallels in Euripides's tragedies, Jacobean dramas such as The Duchess of Malfi, and Tennyson's poetry. The devastating ending shows just how little the troubled Mariana knows about the human psyche or herself. Michaelides is on a roll."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly compulsive read—with a twist that blew my mind. I loved this even more than I loved The Silent Patient and that's saying something!"
—Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List

Ratings and reviews

This was such a page turner of a book! I couldn't put it down. I generally am quite decent at figuring out the whodunit and I had settled on my guesses. I was half correct, but the other half I never saw coming, which is truly rare. Highly recommend!

The Maidens was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, and it did not disappoint! I liked the Silent Patient, a lot, but The Maidens was even better. (This book is all over the bookish world, so I’m going to skip a synopsis recap. The blurb says it all, and I don’t know that I could add any more without spoilers.) First off, The Maidens was much faster paced than SP. I don’t mind a slow burn book, but I definitely prefer fast paced over slow burn. I think by chapter 3 I was already having a hard time putting The Maidens down. I was immediately drawn to the characters, I was interested to find out more about Edward Fosca, and ultimately, I wanted to know if Fosca truly was a murderer and why. Some of the foreshadowing in the book made some of the “twists” pretty obvious. I had one of the major twists figured out pretty early on, I just didn’t know why. With that being said, I was also wrong about some of the twists, and they ended up being nothing like I expected. I was still blown away by the twists even if I had them figured out, and that is what made this book so great for me. There is nothing worse than guessing a twist and being let down with the reveal. That was not the case for me here. I enjoyed the Greek tragedy aspect, even though I know absolutely nothing about Greek tragedies. I thought it was creative and a refreshing new element to make this thriller stand out from so many others. I also appreciated the fact that there was a bit of backstory to some of the Greek tragedies mentioned in this book without being too heavy or too dry. It was just enough to help the reader understand without detracting from the story. Overall, I think Michaleides nailed it. I personally think this is his best book, and I am excited to see what he brings in the future. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fast paced murder-mystery thrillers. This is a book I will be thinking about for a long time.

The Maidens was absolutely amazing. I am still in shock from the ending, and it has been 2 days. Usually, I only read fantasy and romance novels. This was my first time reading out of my comfort zone, and I can say that I am thoroughly glad I did. This book had the perfect amount of suspense and depth. If you like criminal minds, you will love this because it is even better. It has the psychology and investigating aspect. However, this book took that to the next level. This book had me on the tip of my toes and constantly guessing. At every chapter, my mind would form new predictions, which usually ended up being wrong. This book was very hard to predict, and I loved that about it. The ending was also mind-blowing. I cannot believe what happened and how the whole story connected. This is definitely one of my top five books. I would definitely recommend it.

About the author

Alex Michaelides was born and raised in Cyprus. He has an M.A. in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and an M.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient was his first novel. It spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list and sold in a record-breaking fifty countries. He lives in London.