The Maid by Nita Prose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Title: The Maid
Author: Nita Prose
Series: n/a
Pages: 304
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date: January 4, 2022
Summary:
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.
Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.
But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?
Review:
I have read a few books in which the main character does not relate well with people to the extent that it makes them seem odd or mentally disabled. The Maid is another of these books.
Molly does an excellent job as a maid in an upscale hotel. Her boss values her, she has friends (and an enemy) that she works with, and she has a friend that turns out to be using her. In other words, she is like a lot of us.
I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. The plot and writing are excellent. There are things I saw coming and others which were a complete surprise. To me, that’s a mark of a well-written book.
What I didn’t love was how Molly was treated. She was made fun of and looked down on. In other words, the author was realistic. It hurt me to see how lonely she was. She had work friends, but she did not have anyone she could hang out with outside of work. It was just so sad.
Would I recommend this book? Definitely! I think it would be a wonderful book club book.
Will I read it again? I doubt it. Even though things worked out well, it hurt to get there.
This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Elaine Reads . . . constantly! 