by Alex Michaelides
3.8 · 4 reviews"Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain.
"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.
4 reviews
The widow angle gives it more emotional weight than most thrillers bother with. The Tennyson and Euripides threads are well used.
Went in with low expectations after the backlash and enjoyed myself thoroughly. It's a gothic campus thriller and it commits to the mode.
I loved the first two thirds — the punting, the secret society, the Persephone references. The reveal asks a lot of you. Some readers will find it audacious, I found it a stretch.
A group therapist convinced a charismatic classics professor is murdering students. The academic setting is delicious and Michaelides knows how to keep you turning pages. Mariana is a more interesting narrator than she first appears.