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. After receiving a call from her niece Zoe about her friend and classmate Tara’s murder, Mariana sets off for Cambridge. During her journey, she reminisces about her husband Sebastian and the tragic vacation on which he died. A PhD student, Fred, flirts with Mariana, which she finds alarming and sinister.

At Cambridge, Mariana meets with Zoe and Julian Ashcroft, an old classmate of Mariana’s. After learning that the murder was extremely brutal and violent, Mariana assumes the killer is male. Frequently anxious and exhibiting signs of paranoia, she is inclined to leave the investigation to the professionals, but Zoe pressures her into getting involved. At a memorial service for Tara, Mariana gets her first glimpse of Edward Fosca, a charismatic professor with a large following, and his privileged group of private students known as “the Maidens,” of which Tara was a member.

Mariana is drawn deeper into the investigation in Part 2 and discovers that she has been idealizing Zoe. A campus cleaner reveals that Zoe can be rude and suggests that she is hiding something from her aunt, while Clarissa, a former professor of Mariana’s, discloses that Zoe is a student of Edward’s. Fred’s obvious interest in Mariana and her increasing conviction of Edward’s guilt intensify her emotional fragility. At the end of Part 2, another body is found.

Part 3 reveals that the second murder victim is another Maiden: Veronica. Mariana accepts a dinner invitation from Edward, whose attempt to seduce her unsettles her. At the end of Part 3, she resolves to return to London to visit her supervisor, Ruth.

Mariana returns to London in Part 4 and meets with both Ruth and Theo, a fellow therapist. Both seem concerned about Mariana’s emotional well-being and suggest that she is hiding something important from herself—advice that she ultimately dismisses. Returning to Cambridge, Mariana sets up a group therapy session with the Maidens and Edward that goes poorly. Zoe seems to want nothing to do with it. A third victim is found: a Maiden called Serena.

Parts 5 and 6 move briskly through the final stages of the investigation. Mariana confronts Zoe, who admits that during her botched initiation into the Maidens, Edward gave her a spiked drink and sexually exploited her. She also reveals that a porter named Morris was blackmailing Edward, who was sleeping with his female students. Claiming to know where Edward hid the murder weapon, Zoe brings Mariana into a woodland, admits that she was having an affair with Sebastian and plotting with him to kill Mariana, and attacks her with the knife. Fred arrives and distracts Zoe but is critically injured in the process. Mariana phones the police, who take Zoe away.

The Epilogue reveals that Fred is on the mend and Zoe declared unfit for trial. Theo becomes Mariana’s therapist and urges her to meet with her niece for the sake of both their healing processes. In the novel’s final sentence, Mariana opens the door to Zoe’s room, having agreed to see her.