I won’t pretend to have pulled apart Alex Michaelides’, The Maidens like it should in true literature analysis. What I will say is this, I love a good murder mystery and a book that presents puzzles to solve. It was a book that I had a very hard time putting down and Mariana Andros’s character is both relatable and tragic. Michaelides weaves Mariana’s storyline alongside Euripides’s tragedies which were entertaining as well as educational. I felt I was a student all over again. What fell flat for me back story that didn’t connect with the murder investigation (but seemed to) …and (spoiler alert) Mariana’s patient who is stalking her. Maybe those were meant to be misleading to distract the reader from the true plot, but it left me feeling like those storylines were unsatisfied. The ending was a surprise, but I was deflated at the reveal vs feeling elated that the mystery was finally solved. The self-doubt and self-sabotage that Mariana was experiencing throughout her life were justified when in reality she proved these damaging beliefs to be somewhat true, even if the caveat is that the murderer and her late husband were creeps. All in all, still a good story but I felt rushed at the end as if the reveal were forced and would have preferred a longer novel with a big reveal that happened slower.