The Maidens

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides is a mystery thriller published in 2021. Its Cambridge University setting, gothic mood, and incorporation of a secret society situate it in the “dark academia” genre, which romanticizes the pursuit of knowledge at old, elite institutions.

Plot Summary

The Maidens is narrated in third person from the perspective of Mariana Andros, a 36-year-old widow, lifelong book lover, and group therapist who travels to Cambridge to investigate the murder of her niece Zoe’s friend. The novel is divided into six parts that cover the initial investigation and two subsequent murders. A Prologue introduces Edward Fosca, a professor who Mariana believes is guilty, and an Epilogue provides a glimpse into the aftermath of the reveal that the murderer was Zoe. Interspersed are first-person narratives from the point of view of a killer, who is revealed at the end to be Sebastian, Mariana’s husband, who murdered her father and plotted with Zoe to kill her.

Part 1 opens in London with Mariana, a 36-year-old widow and group therapist, struggling to manage a troubled patient named Henry and to overcome the trauma of losing her husband.