This is the much-anticipated second novel from the bestselling author of The Silent Patient. It’s a page-turning thriller centred on psychotherapist, Mariana Andros whose niece, Zoe, is studying at a college in Cambridge where her best (and only) friend, Tara has been brutally murdered.

Zoe studies under Edward Fosca, who has several female students in his thrall, one of whom was Tara. These are the Maidens: all female, all beautiful, all intelligent, and seemingly all in danger. The charismatic Fosca lectures in the English faculty and has a special interest in Greek mythology, particularly the story of Demeter and her daughter Persephone. Demeter is the god of the harvest and represents life, where Persephone – having been abducted by Hades – represents death. This line between life and death becomes an obsession with Fosca and his Maidens. When a second woman in the group is killed, Fosca has to be involved. He has alibis for each death, but Mariana is convinced he’s the killer. This follows the trope of the outsider convinced the police are wrong and having to act as the lone avenger.

Mariana, a past Cambridge student herself, is shadowed by different men and is increasingly in danger. One is a patient from London, another is the clingy friend she met on the train to Cambridge. Another is Fosca himself, and the last is the memory of her deceased husband, Sebastian, whose drowning death she has never recovered from. Although Demeter and Persephone suggest a mother-daughter theme, the narrative is more related to father figures – both benevolent and harmful. Mariana’s history suggests she needs her own therapy.

There are short, sharp chapters and the narrative races to a conclusion with the mother of all twists. A cracking, explosive read.

Reviewed by Bob Moore