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The Maidens cover art

The Maidens

Written by: Alex Michaelides
Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Louise Brealey
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Publisher's Summary

2021 AudioFile Best Audiobooks
2021 Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year

"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 number one New York Times best-selling 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 best-selling author of The Guest List)

©2021 Alex Michaelides (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

What listeners say about The Maidens

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

fascinating character development

A very engaging mystery with many twists ... unsure if links made to the Silent Patient added to or detracted from this story ... seemed a bit like an insider's joke?

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The horrible accent…

The American accent… is so bad that I had to walk away n take a break several times.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

brilliant but…

I absolutely LOVED The Maidens. I never wanted to stop listening to it. The voice actors are perfect and the writing is so much better than most works in this genre. The story, the characters, everything was exquisite. The only problem is how rushed the ending feels with a lot of questions not being addressed. I really liked how shocking the plot twist was, but I wish the author had spent a bit more time to fully develop that ending and wouldn’t have left so many loose threads. There’s many conversations between Mariana and the side characters that needed to be had to have a truly satisfying conclusion. That’s not enough to deduct a star out of the book however, because it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Another master piece!

Very good! I couldn't put it down! Michalelides surprises you once again with an unexpected ending.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Alex Michaelides does it again!!

Wow wow wow wow wow!! This was another huge hit from Michaelides. I’d been looking forward to this one since It was announced months ago and binged it in a couple sessions. It was worth the wait! Keeps you on the edge of your seat, very atmospheric without ever dragging on, narration is on point, and the story is unbelievably captivating. Almost as good as the Silent Patient (that one is just so amazing I don’t think it can ever be topped) but this was very close! If you haven’t read this, get it now! I need this author to pump out more books more often!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Captivating

The Maidens is a book that leaves you wanting more, but it’s 2am and you have work in the morning. I found myself much to many times captivated by each and every chapter trying to figure out what is going to happen next.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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So captivating!

This author never disappoints. Love the ties to ancient Greece. I couldn’t stop listening to find out what happened….

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gods story, great twist

In the same vein as silent patient, the story draws you in with a well paced and well developed mystery with a surprise twist ending. A solid read

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Thank god for Louise Brealy

This lackluster thriller was redeemed only by Louise Brealy’s narration for me, but otherwise a super underwhelming book

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed in the storyline

Loved the Silent Patient & was really looking forward to this book but was disappointed. The twist was interesting but the presumption that a therapist could run a murder investigation was too much of a reach to make it credible.

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