Have you read The Maidens by Alex Michaelides and have questions about the ending? Need a plot summary for The Maidens? Want to discuss the suspects? You are in the right place, because this is my Spoiler Discussion for The Maidens.
Written and edited by Jen Ryland. Last updated on:
Table of Contents for the Plot Summary and Discussion of the Maidens
- Plot Summary for The Maidens
- List of Characters in The Maidens
- Approximate Timeline in the Maidens
- Clues Left in the Killer’s Chapters
- List of Suspects in the Maidens
- Who was the Killer in the Maidens?
- Spoiler Discussion Questions
- A Link to My Post About Crossover Characters and Places in The Maidens and The Silent Patient
- Movie Adaptations of The Silent Patient and The Maidens (opens a new page)
Please feel free to skip to the parts that you need and PLEASE join the discussion!
And PLOT TWIST Mariana appears (briefly) in Alex Michalides’ 2024 book, The Fury. Check out my review of The Fury with protected spoilers!
Plot Summary for The Maidens – Mariana’s Narrative
Mariana Andros, a therapist, is mourning her husband Sebastian, who died about a year ago. After a group therapy session one day, she confronts a participant, Henry, who is disrupting the group and behaving strangely.
Mariana’s niece Zoe calls. The body of a woman has been found in the Paradise Woods near Cambridge University, where Zoe is a student. Mariana offers to come. On the train to Cambridge, a young man named Fred awkwardly flirts with her. On the train, Mariana reflects on all the tragedies she (and Zoe) have faced. Mariana’s mom died when she was young, her sister and brother in law (Zoe’s parents) died in a car accident, Mariana’s father died of a heart attack, and Sebastian drowned fourteen months ago during a vacation they took to Naxos, a Greek island.
At Cambridge, Mariana goes to her former college, St Christopher’s, to look for Zoe. She runs into Julian, a former classmate and fellow psychotherapist. Mariana learns the the victim is Tara, her niece Zoe’s best friend.
How Does Mariana come to suspect Fosca of murder?
Mariana finds Zoe, who blames herself. Tara told Zoe that she was sleeping with a professor, Edward Fosca. Tara threatened to tell the college, and Fosca threatened her. Mariana urges Zoe to go to the police with her suspicions, but they say Fosca has an alibi and Tara has a boyfriend with a criminal record.
Zoe and Tara run into Fosca who claims that Tara was failing classes and told Edward if he didn’t cover for her she’d accuse him of sexual harassment. He denies being involved with her.
Mariana asks around about Fosca. He’s new, and an American. Mariana meets with her former tutor, Clarissa. She hears gossip from Morris, the college porter, about Fosca’s entourage of women and the group’s wild parties.
Mariana talks to Elsie, Tara’s “bedder” or assigned housekeeper. Elsie dislikes Fosca’s group of women and says they bullied Tara. Elsie seems suspicious of Zoe. Elsie agrees to let Mariana see Tara’s room, where Mariana finds a postcard of a Titian painting with a quote from Euripides about the sacrifice of a maiden, a nobleman’s daughter, to Persephone.
Mariana meets Fred, the man from the train, for a drink. He doesn’t think Conrad killed Tara and offers to help her solve the murder. But when he mentions visiting Naxos, Mariana is alarmed and leaves. Someone follows her home and she hides in an alley. She runs into Morris who lets her into the college.
The Killer of the Maidens Strikes Again!
Zoe calls Mariana and tells her another victim has been found. Fred and Mariana go to the site and see Julian, who offers to let her see the body. It is Veronica, slashed and holding a pine cone. Julian tells her that Conrad was in custody and has been eliminated as a suspect. Mariana finds Serena’s postcard from the killer, with a quote from Iphigenia by Euripedes.
Mariana has dinner with Fosca. He serves her rare lamb (more on that!) Fosca tells her that he has an alibi for the night of the murder. He thinks the murders are ritualistic and the killer is a showman. He leaves to make coffee and she finds a copy of Iphigenia with Serena’s postcard passage underlined. She is convinced he is the murderer and is taunting her.
Fred Says There Could Be TWO Killers!
Mariana asks Fred to meet her. She tells him about Fosca’s alibi and he suggests the killer could have an accomplice. Fred tells her to be careful. She receives a threatening, anonymous call and assumes it’s her patient Henry.
As she leaves for London the next day, she sees Fosca giving an envelope to Morris. She follows Morris and finds herself in an abandoned cemetery. Morris arrives and Mariana watches him and Serena have sex.
Mariana goes to London to see Ruth, her supervising therapist. She wonders if Serena and Morris are blackmailing Fosca. She feels like someone is following her.
Mariana meets with Ruth, who suggests she treat the Maidens as a group. She also asks Mariana if Fosca reminds of her father. Hmmm… daddy issues, Mariana? This bothers Mariana, who denies it. She suggests that Mariana speak to Theo Faber, a psychopathologist who was another one of her students. (And the main character of The Silent Patient.)
Theo Tells Mariana To Find The Maidens Killer’s Motive
Theo doesn’t like Julian. Theo also says that Mariana needs to figure out the killer’s motive. That the postmortem violence is staged and that the killer is calm and in control. Theo is looking for a job and Mariana suggests he apply for an open job at the Grove, a London psychiatric hospital. They briefly discuss Alicia Berenson, an artist sent to the Grove after the murder of her husband (more The Silent Patient references – when you’re done with this post, be sure to check out my post about The World of The Silent Patient and The Maidens)
Mariana returns from London to find her room ransacked. Mariana asks Fosca if she can hold a group session with the Maidens. At the session the group mocks her for not inviting Zoe, as she is also a Maiden. Mariana is shocked at this revelation but decides to confront Zoe later.
Mariana runs into Fred. He proposes and she asks him to leave her alone. Fred leaves and Henry appears bloody and holding a knife. Morris comes and overpowers Henry.
One More Maidens Victim, and Mariana is Next!
The next morning Elsie comes to Mariana’s door. Serena was found murdered. Also there’s a postcard outside Mariana’s door with a quote from Electra in Greek. Mariana sees Fosca standing in the courtyard and goes over and shows him the postcard. He translates the Greek as “the gods have willed your death.” Mariana goes crazy and starts attacking Fosca. DCI Sanger shows up with Julian. Mariana explains that she thinks Fosca is the killer. The girls are under his spell. He was clearly involved with Tara and killed the others to cover. DCI Sanger says Fosca was given an alibi by Morris. The police seem to suspect Morris. Julian says that Mariana seems paranoid and unwell. DCI Sanger orders her to leave Cambridge or face charges for obstruction of justice.
The police take Morris away. Mariana meets with Clarissa and Zoe. Zoe denies being a Maiden. She says she went to the folly for the initiation and was given a drink spiked with GHB. Fosca touched her throat with a knife and then hid it, but she got away. Zoe announces she has now received a postcard (with an image of Iphigenia) from the killer. Mariana is alarmed and wants to take Zoe to London.
Mariana Finds The Main Clue to the Identity of the Killer!
Mariana is in Zoe’s room and finds a typewritten note hidden in her stuffed zebra. It’s a love letter to Zoe from someone who says he wants them to be together. Mariana is positive it’s from Fosca. Zoe shows up and tells Mariana she is ready to go find the knife she saw Fosca hide. They head to the Folly by boat, ending up at a building with a swan emblem. Zoe pulls out the knife and tells Mariana they are going for a walk. Mariana shows Zoe the letter she found in her room. Zoe says Fosca didn’t write the letter.
Who was the serial killer going after the Maidens?
According to Zoe, Mariana’s husband Sebastian is the one who wrote the letter to Zoe.
Zoe says she and Sebastian fell in love and consummated their relationship when Zoe was fifteen.
Sebastian killed Mariana’s father when he discovered that Sebastian was involved with Zoe.
Sebastian told Zoe that Mariana was in the way of them being together and had to die. Also, with Mariana out of the way, Sebastian and Zoe could have her money. But Sebastian said they needed a distraction from Mariana’s murder, something to throw the suspicion from them. Zoe told him about the Maidens and he planned the Maidens’ murders as cover. But then Sebastian drowned and Zoe decided to carry out the murder plan without him. Zoe threw suspicion on Fosca by getting Mariana to suspect him.
Zoe says she’s now going to kill Mariana and frame Fosca.
Fred shows up. Zoe rises up with the knife and Fred stabs him. Zoe is about to stab Fred again but Mariana hits her with a rock. Zoe falls on the knife, screaming hysterically . Mariana calls the police (finally).
DCI Sanger shows up and tells her that Fosca got fired for sleeping with all the Maidens. Morris was blackmailing him. Zoe and Fred get taken to the hospital.
Mariana is left completely shocked by the truth about Sebastian. Zoe has a complete mental breakdown and gets put into the Grove. Theo is her therapist. Mariana refuses to speak to Zoe. Mariana visits Fred and thanks him for saving her life. Months later she receives a letter from Theo, asking her to come to the Grove. Mariana tears up the letter. She finally agrees to go the Grove and see Zoe.
List of Characters in the Maidens
Mariana Andros – a 36 year old therapist who lost her husband 14 months ago. She’s been the guardian of her college-aged niece, Zoe, since Zoe’s parents died when Zoe was 10-12 years old. Mariana’s mother died when she was a baby and her father died of a heart attack five or six years ago. Lives in Primrose Hill, London.
Sebastian – Mariana’s late husband.
Zoe – 20 year-old student at Cambridge University and niece of Mariana.
Henry – Mariana’s troubled therapy patient.
Fred – 29 year-old theoretical physics student at Cambridge. (See more about Fred in suspect clues.)
Clarissa – Mariana’s former tutor at Cambridge
Mr. Morris – the porter at St. Christopher’s College, Cambridge.
Edward Fosca – a charismatic
Inspector Sangha – investigating Tara’s murder.
Julian Ashcroft – a forensic psychologist who studied in London with Mariana.
Ruth – Mariana’s training therapist
Theo Faber – studied psychology with Mariana, now a forensic psychologist
Tara – Zoe’s friend and the first murder victim
Conrad – Tara’s boyfriend, who is initially arrested for her murder.
Veronica – an American student and aspiring actress. Second murder victim.
Elsie – Zoe and Tara’s “bedder” or assigned housekeeper
Serena – the third murder victim
The Maidens – a group of female students who meet with Fosca. Natasha, Carla, Diya, Serena, Veronica, Lillian
Approximate Timeline for The Maidens
When I was going over the clues in The Maidens one more time, I found an interesting one: the timeline.
36 Years Ago – Mariana was born and her mother died.
17 Years Ago – Mariana met Sebastian at Cambridge when they were both 19. At some point they married.
7-8 years ago – Zoe’s parents died and Mariana and Sebastian took Zoe in. (Mariana says Zoe was away at boarding school when her parents died and that after her parents died, Zoe “finished her adolescence,” so I’m guessing she was 12-13 when this happened.)
5 years ago – Mariana’s father died of a heart attack (or murder) AND according to Zoe, she and Sebastian consummated their relationship when she was fifteen.
14 months ago – Sebastian drowned.
October 7 – the date of the killer’s chapters. Mariana says that Zoe calls her “that night in October.” If Sebastian did write the chapters and died 14 months ago, he would have had to have written them two years ago.
Clues Left in the Killer’s Chapters
The killer has left us a lot of clues (well, a few) in his chapters. Let’s run through them:
The journal/letter that makes up the killer’s chapters is dated October 7 and seems to be published in sections. I talk more about this in the timeline section above. The events in question also take place in October.
The killer is male – he says his parents wished for a girl
The killer says “there is more than one of me.” Does this refer to an accomplice, or a case of dissociative identity disorder? Perhaps the latter, as the killer also describes being “split in two” and wanting “to be whole.”
The killer kept a brown leather journal when he was twelve, the year he “lost” his mother.
The killer lives on a farm with lambs that are slaughtered.
His father is abusive to him and his mother. The killer says his father “punished” him – possibly sexual abuse.
His father killed his beloved dog.
When he’s twelve, his mother says she is leaving and will send for him. She asks him to keep her secret. He is furious, and dreams of cutting off her head.
The night his mother left, he wrote in his journal. Today he noticed two pages were missing. They were destroyed because they were dangerous. So he possibly killed his mother, or told his father she was leaving, and his father killed her.
He declares his love for Zoe and says he had a premonition they would be together and that she was his destiny.
The letter is signed “X.”
Who is the Killer in the Maidens? My Suspect List
Mariana Andros. Lately I’ve read a fair number of Big Twist thrillers in which an unreliable main character/narrator is the killer. Mariana has a) ties to Cambridge and b) seems little unhinged. But her bio doesn’t seem to match the killer’s. And she’s a woman.
Zoe. I was suspicious of her as she seemed like the last person I was supposed to suspect. Also, Elsie seems to suggest Zoe is sketchy. But Zoe’s bio/timeline didn’t match the details in the killer’s POV chapters, as she was orphaned as a young child. Plus, Zoe just seems to me to be too petulant and inept to carry out multiple murders without getting caught
Edward Fosca. I mean, Mariana TOTALLY thinks he did it, but he also seemed like an obvious red herring. He does tell Mariana that his father “brutalized” his mother. And serves Mariana rare lamb for dinner.
Henry. (Mariana’s troubled patient.) His father abused him, he self-harms with sharp objects, and he had a knife. But I decided he was also a red herring.
Theo. Mariana’s former classmate. As the main character in The Silent Patient, probably not! But maybe…
Conrad. He also seemed like a red herring and eventually was eliminated.
Morris, the porter. No real clues connecting him to the crimes.
SUSPECTS I WAS STILL CONSIDERING:
Julian. Mariana’s former classmate, also a psychotherapist who is consulting on the murder. But we aren’t told anything about him.
Fred. He seemed to pop up all the time and that definitely made me suspicious. There were a LOT of clues that pointed to Fred:
- He repeatedly says he has “premonitions,” just like the killer’s chapters.
- He is a strong swimmer and diver and visited Naxos, where Sebastian was killed.
- When Mariana visits his room, it’s filled with pages and pages of “scribbled writing.”
- He tells Mariana that he’s writing something about his mother who “left him” (then he says she died) when he was a young boy.
- He tries to give Mariana some sort of letter, but she refuses to take it.
Spoiler Discussion Questions for The Maidens:
I had a long discussion with someone who argued that The Maidens had WAY too many unresolved loose ends and red herrings. I can’t disagree, so here we go with some of my questions:
Was Sebastian really the mastermind?
Zoe says so. But we only have her word for it. Is she credible? I’m not so sure.
Clues that suggest that Sebastian planned the murders:
Mariana says her father hated Sebastian and didn’t want her to marry him. Did her father think that Sebastian was in love with Zoe? If so, why didn’t he say something?
Mariana also says that after Sebastian’s death, she found out that he had some major debts that he’d hidden from her. So he needed money, was hiding that from Mariana, and killing her would have been a way to resolve both problem.
Evidence against Sebastian planning the murders:
Mariana really seemed convinced that she and Sebastian were happy. She says Sebastian wanted them to have a baby during the time he was allegedly sleeping with Zoe.
Could Sebastian really have carried on an affair with Zoe for FOUR YEARS without anyone knowing? Sneaked to Cambridge repeatedly to be with her?
Could the Greek police really have mistaken Mariana’s father’s death by strangulation as a heart attack?
Did Sebastian really write the killer chapters?
Up until the part he declares his love for Zoe, the killer chapters fit Fred much better. Do we KNOW that the pages in the zebra are really part of the killer chapters and not just from some random secret admirer that Zoe had?
Mariana immediately thought the “letter” to Zoe was written by Fosca. But she was obsessed with Fosca, who (maybe) was the one who reminded her of her father.
Could Fred have written the killer chapters?
He does fit the profile of the killer chapters the best. Maybe the killer chapters (up to the ones in the zebra) were written by Fred and he tried to give them to Mariana to confess his mother’s murder to her.
Could Fred have killed Sebastian?
Wacky, but bear with me. Fred is 29 and is presumably doing an advanced degree at Cambridge. What if he:
While a student at Cambridge, saw Mariana and Sebastian visiting Zoe, and also saw Zoe and Sebastian cheating on Mariana
Killed Sebastian in Naxos.
Followed Mariana to Cambridge to protect her from Zoe/propose to her? And his confession is in the letter her tried to give Mariana? THE ONE SHE DID NOT READ!
Did Zoe and Sebastian really have an affair?
Again, we only have Zoe’s word for it, and after she says it she has a complete breakdown. Could it all have been in her head?
Did Zoe and Sebastian sleep together more than that one time? Mariana says she and Sebastian used to visit Zoe “often” n at Cambridge (though if Zoe has been at Cambridge only two years and Sebastian died 14 months ago in August, I’m not sure that’s even possible.) Was he sneaking to Zoe’s boarding school to sleep with her? Was he going to Cambridge to meet her? Did Elsie know about this and that’s why she seems to dislike Zoe?
Zoe DOES seem fixated on Sebastian. Mariana talks about how close they were. After the first murder, Zoe says “I wish Sebastian were here. He’d know what to do.” Mariana wants to go back to London but Zoe tells her “Sebastian would want her to stay.”
Elsie clearly does not like Zoe at all. She suggests that Zoe is arrogant and rude.
Loose Ends I Would Have Liked Tied Up:
- Some kind of independent confirmation of either Zoe’s confession or of the author of the pages.
- What happened to the killer’s brown journal? If Sebastian wrote the killer POV, did he kill his own mother?
- Why did Zoe and Sebastian decide to frame Fosca?
- What was the letter that Fred tried to give Mariana?
- What happened to the rest of the killer’s journal (besides the pages in the zebra.)
- More details/ confirmation on the Zoe-Sebastian relationship.
Check out my post on Crossover Characters and Places in The Silent Patient and the Maidens!
So Theo and two other characters from The Silent Patient pop up in The Maidens.
Are you wondering if Mariana and Zoe are in the Silent Patient? I am here to reveal all!
My World of the Silent Patient and the Maidens Post has all the answers: I list the crossover characters and places in The Silent Patient and The Maidens, plus I made a joint timeline showing you how the books fit together. It’s spoiler free!
Movie and TV Adaptations of The Silent Patient and The Maidens. What do we know? Will either of them make it to the screen?
Join our Spoiler Discussion for the Maidens in the comments!
What are your thoughts about The Maidens? Our discussions are lively and friendly and all opinions are welcome. Be sure to leave a comment and (IMPORTANT) if you want to be notified of my (and other readers’ responses to your comments, subscribe to comment replies. You can subscribe to all future comments on this post OR just replies to your own comment.. You can unsubscribe anytime!
Thanks so much for stopping by my Spoiler Discussion and Plot Summary for The Maidens – if you love discussing thrillers, check out all my discussion posts here on my Armchair Book Club!
If Theo was found guilty in the silent patient , since Alicia disclosed him in her diary, how is it that he is free and a practicing therapist possibly going to work at the grove ?
I think these two stories are happening simultaneously, with the Maidens even a little ahead in time. In the Maidens, didn’t Theo say he just recently got the job at the Grove?
I think that Mariana is the one who suggests Theo look into the job at The Grove.
Yes, you are right! Doesn’t she mention the job to him and then he tells her he got it?
Was Zoe really in the Silent Patient?
No, I don’t think she was. But someone we suspect is Alicia from TSP is in the Maidens.
I think the killer POV part was a letter he wrote to Zoe. That was found in her stuffed zebra. So he’s dead but we are reading the letter.
I’m going to try to track down a copy of the book as I’m a little fuzzy on what happened with the “letter” beyond Mariana finding it in the zebra. To me the first part of the killer POV read more like a journal (very rambling about his childhood etc). It was also weird to me that Zoe ended up with this entire long rambling “confession.” Did she find it after he died? I wished that loose end had been tied up a little. Also what did Fred write to Mariana?? Was that supposed to be suggest that he was the killer?
I believe they were journals? The part found in the zebra mentions that those two pages were torn out from the others.
Ooh thanks. I will have the book again today but it makes sense that it’s only two pages from a longer journal.
I’m just wondering about one thing. I remember at the beginning of these killer POV chapters, the man said something about a box with old letters he never sent to girls and I think he said his dairy was there as well. So if it really was Sebastian, how is it that Mariana didn’t find this box for all the years they’ve been together. I don’t think it’s possible that she didn’t know.
I have a comment about Fred. In the book Fred talks about “parallel universes” as his topic for his thesis. Fred also says in another universe he and Mariana are already married. What if the next book is about Mariana and Fred traveling through time to another universe….I know it sounds crazy. Fred and his premonitions and his psychic abilities may have something to do with him having traveled from the past….he knew a lot about Mariana.
Just a theory I have.
Haha Barbara – I love it! Fred certainly is an interesting guy. Though his premonitions didn’t help him identify the killer. I was so suspicious that he WAS the killer.
I found the whole thing with Fred so weird. His studies, his thesis, the book he’s writing, the notes he wanted Mariana to read.. And all these premonitions, oh God!
But I actually have thought about him travelling through parallel universes. So what if, Fred is in fact Sebastian (evidence 1: he said to Mariana they are already married in another universe; evidence 2: he’s a good diver/swimmer and he’s been to Naxos) but reincarnated or something like that, knows that Zoe wants to kill Mariana and wants to prevent that in an attempt to atone for his previous sins? Crazy, but why not? =D
omg I sort of love this theory. No, I LOVE it. Fred did say both of those things. Or maybe the ghost of Sebastian sort of body snatched Fred’s body to communicate with and protect Mariana. Or, alternately, to help Zoe kill Mariana because he knows how useless Zoe actually is.
My thoughts – almost exactly!
I enjoyed the book but the ending seemed kinda abrupt and forced. If Sebastian wanted to eventually kill Mariana, why did he want kids when she didn’t? The entire elaborate and dramatic plan involving the maidens is a little far fetched if all he wanted was to kill Mariana.
I definitely loved the crossover, maybe if there’s a third book, it will tie the loose ends up a bit.
I agree with you. I never suspected Sebastian in a million years (I did side-eye Zoe quite a bit but decided she was too mopey and self-absorbed to be a murderer) but when you think about it, what we are told about him didn’t make sense. They were so happy, he wanted kids, but wait no, he’s actually a murderer who actually wants to cheat on his wife with his teenage niece.
A third crossover book (hopefully not with Julian as the main character) would be fun!
At the end of Silent Patient, after all of the chaos, there is talk of someone waiting on a bench to see their loved one. I don’t have the copy in front of me so I can’t go back and compare but this person was waiting in the hall and then gone when they went out to find her. Would that have been Marianne, and was there any link between her and Alicia?
I’m going to do a new spoiler post on The Silent Patient so if I find that part I will let you know!
Hi. Alicia is mentioned in the Maidens once, if not twice. The first, is when Mariana tells Theo about the position at the Grove. He asks her if that’s where the famous painter that killed her husband and then refused to speak was being treated. Then, I think she is supposed to be the red haired woman behind Theo’s office door at the end of the Maidens.
Yes, the first mention is definitely Alicia and the second must be!
Could the journal entries or killer POV be Fred? Mariana finds the picture of a small boy with a dog in his room as described in one of the chapters. There is nothing conclusive that the killer POVs are Sebastian.
Thank you for this! I always had my eye on Fred because he just kept popping up everywhere.
I’m picking up a copy today and I’m going to actually read the killer POV, the zebra pages etc. again. Audiobooks just don’t work for me with thrillers.
But why is this all so murky? Fred, the killer POV chapters which don’t really match Mariana’s memories of Sebastian. Going to come back with some more thoughts.
So, I think the letters are definitely from Sebastians perspective. If you go back and only read the letters it seems to flow as one long letter. I think that Zoe only kept the last page where he professes his “love” but as the reader we were given that additional insight into his brain. Also I felt that one of the letters suggested that Sebastians father perhaps sexually abused him as a boy. Perhaps this is where he finds the tendency to unfortunately prey on Zoe. Also I think that his mention of being split in two solidifies the probably sexual abuse he received as a child. Often children with trauma will manifest a safe place to go when things are too difficult to process. Perhaps his “dream” about his mother wasn’t actually a “dream” at all and when he discusses the revisions he made to his journal, and wanting to rewrite the story he took out the part where he actually killed his mother for abandoning him with his abusive father.
Hi Jessica! I definitely think we are meant to think that. I spent a few hours doing a deep dive into both Maidens and The Silent Patient, and I’m not entirely convinced. I’m going to write up a post on the story world of both books and my theories. In short, the timeline feels a little strange to me to have the letters be from Sebastian. I know it sounds crazy but I’m leaning toward Team Fred. (However if this is the case, we need a follow up book.)
Throughout the whole book, I have convinced those letters were Freds. Especially when they mentioned the dog picture…🤔 Only in going back did I figure the letters could possibly be Sebastians. If they are his then he must of been very good at lying and hiding his true self and origin. I must admit I haven’t read “The Silent Patient” plan to do that ASAP. I am intrigued to see if future books tie us back to Fred.
I am revising this post with my new theories. There is SO little evidence that links the letters to Sebastian; all we have is Zoe’s word for it and she had a complete mental breakdown.
I think either A) the author did everything possible to make us think the letters were written by either Fosca, Henry or Fred, leaving NO way we’d think of Sebastian (and, um, he’s dead!) or B) it was Fred, though that theory is admittedly a little outlandish.
I hope you do read The Silent Patient and then come back and read my new post on Crossovers Between The Silent Patient and The Maidens AND the Spoiler Discussion for The Silent Patient I’m working on. To me, The Silent Patient had less atmosphere/suspense. It was more like a murder investigation but the plotting was better. Curious to see what you think!