Sophomore novels are tough, especially when your first novel is a runaway hit. Especially when your first novel has THAT ending.
The premise of The Maidens has so much going for it: Cambridge, murder, a mysterious society, a charismatic professor, Greek mythology! All the elements are there, but I wasn’t captivated.
Widowed Mariana is drawn back to Cambridge, when a college student is found murdered. Cambridge holds the memories of her courtship to her husband and the mystery of the murdered student. She races to find answers before more lives are lost, helping with the investigation and reconnecting with old friends and colleagues.
I might be growing out of dark academia. I didn’t find anything new and insightful in it. The nod to Michaelides’s first novel was incredibly interesting and peaked my curiosity, but it was not elaborated on.
I think the book delivers on its premise, it provides a satisfactory mystery.
The premise of The Maidens has so much going for it: Cambridge, murder, a mysterious society, a charismatic professor, Greek mythology! All the elements are there, but I wasn’t captivated.
Widowed Mariana is drawn back to Cambridge, when a college student is found murdered. Cambridge holds the memories of her courtship to her husband and the mystery of the murdered student. She races to find answers before more lives are lost, helping with the investigation and reconnecting with old friends and colleagues.
I might be growing out of dark academia. I didn’t find anything new and insightful in it. The nod to Michaelides’s first novel was incredibly interesting and peaked my curiosity, but it was not elaborated on.
I think the book delivers on its premise, it provides a satisfactory mystery.