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My stop today on the @RandomThingsTour #BlogTour for #TheMaidens
Just, wow! Another home run from the Master of the crazy-twist-ending-out-of-nowhere, I admit I did not see this one coming (although I did get part of the way there…)
A wonderful mixture of character-driven psychology, gruesome Greek mythology, Cambridge old-world charm, and murder mystery, this story is told from the point of view of Mariana, a thirty-six year old psychotherapist, still struggling with her own devastating emotional crisis a year or so following the death of her husband, Sebastian.
After receiving a plea for help from her niece, Zoe, a student at Cambridge University, Mariana becomes embroiled in a dark and twisted series of murders occurring within a tight group of students clustered around a handsome, charismatic and thoroughly unsettling English Literature professor known as Edward Fosca.
Fosca’s creepy fingerprints are all over this story – from his love of macabre Ancient Greek tragedy to the cult-like hold he seems to have over the young and beautiful female students under his tutelage, the pulse and tone of this story – dark, brooding, grisly and atmospheric – oozes with Fosca’s influence.
Mariana, our protagonist, immune to Fosca’s charms, is determined to see his crimes acknowledged and paid for, with complete disregard for the personal cost to her safety or reputation.
Intent on seeing her journey through, Mariana meets several strange and interesting characters- each of whom may or may not have a role to play in these grisly crimes.
- Six gorgeous, arrogant and incredibly entitled female Fosca-loving co-eds.
- Fred – A lovesick physics graduate student, (with premonitions!)who has a habit of appearing and vanishing suddenly
- Henry – an addicted, sick and scary patient of Mariana’s London-based therapy group
- Mr. Morris – a burly porter who may not be what he seems
- Julian – a forensic psychologist whose teeth ( and overall charms) are just a little too perfect
- Clarissa – an elderly Literature scholar, Mariana’s former tutor, Ancient Greek translator, and her only true confidante on campus
And finally,
- X – an anonymous journal writer, (who is likely our self-confessed killer), visiting us periodically through dark pages providing glimpses into a horrific childhood it’s impossible not to feel compassion for.
I raced through this book, unable to put it down until I reached (and thoroughly enjoyed!) the clever and unexpected ending. This one is not to be missed.
Many thanks to the publisher #wnbooks for an advance review copy of this book and to #Randomthingstours for the opportunity to participate in this #blogtour.
@RandomTTours #blogtour #TheMaidens #wnbooks @AlexMichaelides
