St Christopher’s College, Cambridge, is a closed world to most.

For Mariana Andros – a group therapist struggling through her private grief – it’s where she met her late husband. For her niece, Zoe, it’s the tragic scene of her best friend’s murder.

As memory and mystery entangle Mariana, she finds a society full of secrets, which has been shocked to its core by the murder of one of its own.

Because behind its idyllic beauty is a web of jealousy and rage which emanates from an exclusive set of students known only as The Maidens. A group under the sinister influence of the enigmatic professor Edward Fosca.

A man who seems to know more than anyone about the murders – and the victims. And the man who will become the prime suspect in Mariana’s investigation – an obsession which will unravel everything…

The Maidens is a story of love, and of grief – of what makes us who we are, and what makes us kill.

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to host this leg of The Maidens tour.  I recieved a review copy from the publishers.

The Maidens: a group of young women who meet their professor in his quarters at Cambridge’s St Christopher’s College. One of their number has been murdered but the group are closing ranks and are not accepting the possibility they are in danger.

Nor are The Maidens willing to consider any suggestions their handsome, charismatic professor is behaving inappropriately.  It is no surprise that Mariana (a group therapist) is frustrated by their lack of engagement when she believes she is trying to help and protect them.

Mariana is a tragic character.  She fell madly in love with Sebastian and even aftet the couple married they were besotted with each other. Tragedy struck when a much needed holiday to Greece ended with Sebastian’s death, drowned at sea.  Mariana remains bereft at the loss and his death overshadows her life.

Mariana is contacted by her niece, Zoe, after one of her friends at college is found dead. Zoe tells Mariana that the dead girl had problems with substance abuse but during a drug Hugh she had confided in Zoe that she was scared for her life.  Zoe too is terrified and Mariana steps in to help Zoe and to try to uncover the truth.  She is alarmed by the influence Professor Edward Fosca holds over his young students.

The story is mainly set in the college at Cambridge and it is a world I don’t recognise. Porters, bedders, Chambers and lectures where anyone can roll up to listen.  The Professor studies classics and Greek Tragedies are very much part of this story. My lack of knowledge in this area didn’t stop me enjoying the story but I did need the author’s helpful explanations to know the characters he was discussing.

Mariana’s investigations are very unofficial but she is allowed some leeway to speak with people close to the murder and it quickly becomes apparent she is putting herself at risk with the questions she is asking. Tension ramps up as the story progresses and as Mariana gets closer to exposing the danger that is Professor Fosca the more you fear for her safety.

The Maidens is a psychological thriller with a murder mystery to be solved. It’s a fun read and the reader can quite easily get caught up in this mysterious, secretive world of academia.

The Maidens is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08R18D45M/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1