Maidens by Alex Michaelides *****

Maidens by Alex Michaelides begins when Mariana receives a call from her niece Zoe—Zoe’s friend Tara has been murdered. The action takes place at Cambridge University where Zoe is a student and Mariana was formerly enrolled. Mariana is a therapist and uses her training and experience to pursue the murderer, serial killer. The writing is excellent and there are plenty of suspects, none of whom prove to be guilty after the final twist.

Mariana is confronted with two groups: the Maidens and the men. The maidens are vulnerable, insecure, and mean. The men are untrustworthy and predatory. The women are naïve victims, and the men, from the college porter to the professor are all patriarchal. Between these two stereotypical antagonists is Mariana. She carries the novel with her effort to understand her own demons and her quest to navigate between the two conflicting camps and discover the serial killer.

In one dramatic scene, she brings the Maidens together in a group therapy session where much is learned about the Maidens, their professor, and Mariana. Mariana’s struggle to understand drives the book. A fast read and a fascinating character study.

A cautionary tale for daughters going off the college.

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