Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

237 reviews

lottieingham's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

anjens's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

It's good, not unlike the Silent Patient book that the author also wrote. There were some good moments, but I felt like the foreshadowing was leading toward a different path and we didn't get the payout that we wanted and that be ending didn't quite make sense with the evidence that was given. Overall, not bad though.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

doodlebeanz's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow... Alex Michaelides has done it again. Left me completely confused and grasping at straws and then wanting to throw the book across the room when the twist inevitably reveals itself. I actually DID throw The Silent Patient across the room and proceeded to pace around my bedroom for 10 minutes before I could continue reading... but with this one, I was on a packed train and had to keep my total shock and 'omfg' moment to myself but oh BOY I was floored.

I read The Silent Patient a few years ago and I have never been able to find a mystery/thriller that got me the way that book did. Other books came close, but nothing surprised me like that twist. I read The Fury by Michaelides back in March I think, searching for that same WTF moment, but it did not impress... in fact, it fell so flat and horrible and so I thought that Michaelides was just a one hit wonder and didn't rush to grab this one. I came across it at the library over the summer and figured I'd give it a shot... I put it off for a few months and finally picked it up for spooky szn since it's dark academia and all that, and I read it in just a little over 24 hours. It FLOORED ME. 

I liked all the characters. I was suspicious of everyone, feeling tense and putting my head in my hands very often. I was convinced certain people were the killer, but nothing compared to the truth. I had some inklings that the murderer was indeed the murderer, or at least an accomplice in some way, but... even my thoughts did not come close to what was actually going on.

I saw some people online say that the book was pretentious, but I never felt that way. I loved the whole Cambridge scenery and the nods to Ancient Greece and Greek mythology. It was perfect for cozy autumn reading which is exactly what I was looking for (if you consider murder/thrillers to be cozy like I do!). Other people said it was boring and drawn out, and I could not disagree more. I thought the writing was so smooth and it flowed so well, it was such a page turner and it left me wanting more after every single chapter. There was never a moment where I was bored or felt like a scene could've been cut out, especially knowing what I know now. I especially loved the random journal entries thrown in, giving a look into the murderer's mind. I get goosebumps looking back at them now and knowing... fuck, this book was SO GOOD!

There are some dark and heavy topics covered in this book and I would suggest reading the TWs before going in. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

trin_16's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Was slow starting and hard to get into at first (for me personally) but overall, I did really enjoy this book. Picks up a lot in the last third of the book and the twist was truly unexpected. Great read. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

maryconney's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hmatt's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

I did not get on with this book. I think it was trying to do too much. 

It felt to me like the author had a really interesting concept in mind but struggled to execute it fully. Alternatively, the original manuscript was about twice as long and the author had to pare it down (and if this is the case, I think it was done poorly). There were also some aspects that I feel like "other" the reader: the Cambridge setting feels very surreal and elitist, as does the Greek tragedy... theme? 

My biggest issue, though, is that the MC keeps sticking her nose into a police investigation very obviously and everyone just lets her. She is very clearly unwell and crossing so many professional lines and she doesn't try to hide her actions... but she just isn't called on it
until, just a little, and then it doesn't come up again
. This really prevented me from buying in to other aspects of the story.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

_megansara_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

devlev7's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Honestly I was very into this book right up until the ending. It was definitely scary and creepy, and kept me on my toes wanting to know what would happen next. I would still maybe recommend it if you like spooky thrillers. But the ending was a bit of a let down. *SPOILERS AHEAD*

I started to have an inkling that Zoe had something to do with the murders about midway through the book, but the way this was revealed was just bizarre and felt surprisingly unnuanced compared to the rest of the book. It felt like a lot of the buildup about the Maidens and Fosca was for nothing since it didn’t end up having anything to do with the actual murders. I will also say that listening to the audiobook caused a bit of a spoiler since the villains narration wasn’t in an American accent so I knew it couldn’t be Fosca from the beginning. Speaking of the villain portions, I was left with some confusion about Sebastian and his past, and why he was doing all that writing, what crimes he was referring to, etc. I don’t feel that was wrapped up or explained very well, nor was Fred’s “book” he was writing, nor who was following Mariana earlier on in the story (I guess it’s implied that it was Henry?). In general, I was left with a lot of loose ends, and one of the satisfying joys of a mystery novel is seeing them tied up. I also felt there was just so much that wasn’t believable or explained, like how the school kept allowing Mariana to talk to their students unsupervised, or how no one had suspected Fosca of any weirdness with his students before. Mariana was such an unprofessional and irresponsible therapist time and time again, putting herself and others in danger. Maybe this was part of the point, but it wasn’t really acknowledged as her main flaw. Lastly, I thought the themes of childhood sexual abuse were hit a little too hard. Not that this doesn’t happen in real life, but was it really necessary to make so many different characters have this in their past to explain their poor actions? I’m not sure.


Definitely check the content warnings for this one! 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sfulabhai's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

samgyupsal's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Since it was Alex Michaelides, I already expected a plot twist but I still didn't see it coming. I just don't understand why the FMC was so nosy in the first place, I get that she was protective of her niece and her psychologist background made her really invested but, she was so nosy???
Expand filter menu Content Warnings