The Maid by Nita Prose

The Maid by Nita Prose

Molly Gray is twenty-five years old and works as a maid (housekeeper) at the posh Regency Grand Hotel, presumably somewhere in the United States. One day, she walks into one of the bedrooms to find a guest dead in the bed, which leads to a murder investigation.

The Maid must be one of the most talked about books of 2022. Sarah J. Harris describes it enticingly as ‘Eleanor Oliphant meets Thursday Murder Club’ – and who could resist that combination?

The book is written in the first person from Molly’s point of view. She is a very precise person, does her job well and expects others to also strive for high standards. She is an amazing character who we get to know through the story. She is somewhere on the autistic spectrum, as you can see by the way she speaks, how she struggles to understand jokes or facial expressions, and her attention to detail, amongst her other idiosyncrasies. Even though the novel is set in modern times, with mentions of Instagram and Netflix, Molly feels like a character from decades before, like she is out of her natural time.

Molly shows how maids are almost invisible. You stay at a hotel, you go out and come back to a clean room with the bed made and everything tidied for you. You rarely see the person who has done these jobs. The job itself and the uniforms mean Molly is rarely noticed. Maids are quiet, in the background. However, they know a lot about those staying in the rooms by the state of the beds, the mess they leave and their possessions. This means Molly has useful information to give in a murder investigation.

I loved reading about the relationship Molly had with her grandma. It was very warm and loving and I enjoyed Gran’s many sayings that were dotted throughout the book. But the whole book has some beautiful characters in it and excellent relationships.

The Maid is a wonderful, uplifting, unique and captivating story. I have a feeling it’s one that will stay with me a long time. I adored it!

9.5 out of 10