"Between the three of them, author Alex Michaelides and narrators Louise Brealey and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith cast a spell that will have listeners glued to this suspenseful novel every chance they get." -- AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner "The audiobook is narrated primarily by actor Louise Brealey, who has given life to complex female characters in the audio editions of The Girl on the Train and The Silent Patient, Michaelides’ first novel. Here, she does an excellent job of conveying Mariana’s confusion, courage and determination to solve the mystery at any cost. Actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s nuanced performance as the killer reminds us that monsters are made, not born, and that within even the most heinous murderer is a shattered, lonely child." -- Booklist (starred audiobook review) "Listeners will not be disappointed with this suspenseful and intelligent thriller." -- Booklist (starred review) From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession, that further cements “Michaelides as a major player in the field” (Publishers Weekly). Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens. Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge. Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld? When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life. A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books "Stunning... The intelligent, cerebral plot finds contemporary parallels in Euripides's tragedies, Jacobean dramas such as The Duchess of Malfi, and Tennyson's poetry. The devastating ending shows just how little the troubled Mariana knows about the human psyche or herself. Michaelides is on a roll." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "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!" —Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List
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“Between the three of them, author Alex Michaelides and narrators Louise Brealey and Kobna Holdbrick–Smith cast a spell that will have listeners glued to this suspenseful novel every chance they get…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
“A masterful, slow burn blend of Greek mythology and a knife-edged plot.”
— Newsweek“The premise is enticing and the elements irresistible.”
— New York Times“A compelling page-turner.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine“Michaelides’ stage-setting skills are as masterful here; another tense, cleverly twisted winner.”
— Booklist (starred review)“Stunning…The devastating ending shows just how little the troubled Mariana knows about the human psyche or herself.”
— Publishsers Weekly (starred review)"The Maidens is a page-turner of the first order.”
— David Baldacci, New York Times bestselling authorAlex Michaelides is the author of The Silent Patient, his first novel, which was the biggest-selling debut in the world in 2019. It spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and sold in a record-breaking forty-nine countries. He was born and raised in Cyprus. He has a MA degree in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and a MA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is a Ghanaian-born British actor who has appeared on stage, screen, and television. A graduate of the Guildford School of Acting, he won a Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Louise Brealey, AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator, studied history at Cambridge University before studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Manhattan. On television, she appeared in the long-running medical drama Casualty on BBC One in 2002, appearing in ninety-six episodes. Afterwards, she appeared in the BBC serialization of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, as well as Hotel Babylon, Law & Order: UK, Ripper Street, and in all series of Sherlock as Molly Hooper.