and THEN—there's a nice little The Silent Patient connection, but he ruins the moment by bashing the reader over the head with it a couple more times to make sure we noticed, lessening the effect of the shared world, and it left me with the same bad-taste reaction as the similarly-shaped ending of Split, which tie-in-reveal is the only cool thing in an otherwise terrible film. The story is also interspersed with journal-entry-like chapters written by an unnamed person, who describes his childhood growing up with an abusive father on a farm. He talks about how one part of him is sane and calm and the other part of him is a bloodthirsty killer. It wasn’t going well. A year on from his death, the majority of his things remained spread around the house in various piles and half-empty boxes. She seemed unable to complete the task. The Maidens also makes effective and substantive use of the mythological aspects of the story, so mystery-thriller fans who also love the classics should definitely take note. It adds layer of meaning that you don’t see too often in mystery-thrillers. A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly compulsive read —with a twist that blew my mind. I loved this even more than I loved The Silent Patient and that's saying something!"

There was something amateurish about the storytelling. It fell short of convincing. Inconsistencies in characters’ behavior. And lots of small things I wish had been edited out. seriously, ____ (proper noun) killed ___(pronoun) ______ (all-caps noun, two words) even though the whole reason for the murder was moot? you don't countermand that plan and find a different way? Let’s talk about the ending. The Sebastian thing definitely felt a little out-of-the-blue. The clues that point towards the reveal at the end are somewhat…sparse and pretty vague. (I’ve listed all the ones I could identify in the Explanation section at the end. If there’s something I’m missing, please let me know!) Because beneath the university’s ancient traditions and beauty is a web of secrets, jealousy and lies. And when the killer threatens the person she loves most, Mariana will give anything to stop them – even her own life… Tennyson comes in for multiple mentions. Greek mythology figures large and Mariana even finds herself succumbing to a bit of atavistic religiosity at times. The mythology that permeates the novel is a particularly fun element, offering an incentiveIf you’re not someone who typically reads mystery-thriller genre novels, you might want to skip this. It’s very much a genre novel (as opposed to literary fiction with a mystery twist). I have a gift for that sort of thing, you know—runs in my family—foresight, premonitions. I see things others do not." I also wonder if Ashley Winstead was inspired by this book. The Maidens and Tongue Cut Sparrow were clearly inspired by the cult of Eleusis, which in this book is described as a group of people meeting in a basement, tripping balls, hoping to feel like a god/goddess. I don't even want to get into how Fosca convinced these girls to join his cult, or how it went on for so long because the math did not mathulate on any level, but I guess that's what The Last Housewife is for LOL.

I did not understand what compelled the main character to play detective. There was nothing in it for her. She was on her knees, on the floor, surrounded by boxes. She was making yet another halfhearted attempt to sort through Sebastian’s belongings.Egan, Elisabeth (7 July 2022). "How a Failed Screenwriting Career Forged a Best-Selling Author". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 4 June 2023. In Part IV, Mariana sees Fosca give Morris (the head porter on campus) an envelope, and she follows Morris and sees him have sex with one of the Maidens, Serena. Soon, Serena is found dead as well, and Mariana finds one of the postcards (with the Ancient Greek quotes) under her own door. Sadly, Mariana has lost almost everyone she has ever loved. In fact, the only family she has left is her niece, Zoe, currently a student at Cambridge University. Mariana prays to the goddesses (Demeter and Persephone) in Naxos, and Sebastian is then shrouded in darkness and dies the next day. Mariana assumes it’s because she offended the gods, but in the end you realize that (if you accept the superstitious take on things) her prayer protected her from him. Then, when she prays again, they reveal the love letter in Zoe’s bedroom. I thought this was one of the cleverer aspects of this book.