The Maidens by Alex Michaelides is a thriller novel revolving around the death of young maidens and Mariana's determination to prove Edward Fosca as the killer. The Maidens is a hit or miss novel, as I ended up not enjoying the read but many others have.

With many red herrings, a fast-paced plot and characters that are easy to digest, this is a good novel to read for those searching for something easy to breeze through. A hit or miss novel - up to you to determine if it is worth your time.

The plot is told over a short timeframe with flashbacks to Mariana's past and creepy letter-like excerpts from the assumed killer. I found the plot to be unbelievable and compared to The Silent Patient, which I do believe is worth the hype, I was anticipating something more.

I think the previous phenomenal novel may have led to the over-hype of The Maidens and I do recognise that as a barrier to what I could have gained from the plot. If you have read The Silent Patient, do know this plot is more simplistic and lacks punch, but is not a bad plot. I found it to have no intensity but again, must recognise that others did and is why the plot is a miss for me but could be a hit for you.

Mariana is the main character, a psychologist recovering from her husband's untimely death. Zoe is her niece and the individual closest to the murdered victims who calls Mariana to the scene. Combined with supporting characters, anyone could be the killer.

Edward Fosca is who Mariana believes to be the killer and my goodness, he is a slime ball. He is a great character to despise and the characters overall are ones you can easily root for and have personal connections with and root for.

What saved The Maidens for me from being a not worth your time novel is the ending. You think you know what is going on? Think again. The ending encapsulated what a thriller is for me and is why I was able to close the novel with a bit of satisfaction. If you are craving a fast read with a bit of thrill, then The Maidens is a good choice worth an hour of your time.

I expected more. The whole novel felt like a fever dream, none of the plot seemed plausible and the only saving grace for me was the ending when Sebastian was revealed to have been the 'influencer' behind the killings. I mean, that itself was improbable but made more sense than Mariana being able to saunter through a crime scene, multiple times, without any repercussion. What type of police force allows a random person to walk through without any written consent or authority?

All the characters were chill with her investigating on her own and contaminating crime scenes!! Isn't this forensics 101, don't contaminate the crime scene? That would have made more sense if Mariana herself was the killer (now that, would have been a twist). There were too many moments like that for me to look past and the sheer convenience of it all made me disengage from the novel. Also - Fred? If I had a random man constantly in my face saying he wanted to marry me, no thanks. Mariana was so at ease with Fred when he was a literal stranger and a creepy one at that.

I found the majority of The Maidens to be frustrating. I felt I was being told instead of immersed in a story and when the twist was revealed to be that Zoe was the killer acting on Sebastian's dead wishes? No. The only thing I liked is that I never expected him and is why I thought the ending was intriguing because it was the only twist in the book but otherwise, none of it was plausible and those are my thoughts.