Michaelides' second novel, The Maidens, was published on 10 June 2021 by Orion Publishing (UK)[10] and on 15 June 2021 by Celadon Books (US).[11] It is a psychological detective story about a series of murders at a Cambridge college.[3] The novel debuted at number two on The New York Times fiction best-seller list for the week ending 19 June 2021.[12]