If you haven’t read the book yet, please read my regular review instead! This page contains spoilers for The Maidens.

I have to admit that found the ending of The Maidens a bit unsatisfying. I know I’m in the minority here — social media is just full of readers in love with this book. And I mostly loved it, I loved reading it, just when a thriller does a huge surprise reveal, I enjoy it more when there was a hint or two before that. I prefer a surprise reveal that feels like “OMG, IT WAS THERE ALL ALONG!” to  “Huh. Well, I guess that was technically possible.”

After all the misdirections around Henry / Feed / Julian / Fosca, I wasn’t 100% shocked to find it was Zoe all along. She’s basically the only person Mariana hasn’t worried about, which often makes for the perfect thriller reveal. But Zoe’s affair with Sebastian felt forced into the book for a Big Shock. We’ve seen so much of Mariana’s memories of their romance, with nothing to make it seem like he manipulated his way into her life.  Also, if his motive was her money, she was disinherited by her father when they got married, right? So it seems like he was playing an extremely long game, hoping that she’d be back in the will and he’d get his hand on the money. On Mariana’s half of the money, because I expect Mariana’s sister would get some too.  Also, Zoe is Mariana’s niece, and would presumable inherit the rest of her grandfather’s / Mariana’s father’s money, so…

 Overall, I accepted more easily that Zoe had a dark side than that Sebastian was not only cheating throughout his perfect marriage with Mariana, who had no idea anything was wrong, but he was so deeply evil he turned Zoe in a serial killer just for the sake of an alibi before she got to the important murder of her aunt.  And also killed his mother. And Mariana, a therapist, didn’t pick on any of it and didn’t remember Sebastian with anything but affection.

It was a big shock, but maybe a little too much of a shock.