It took me a bit to get into this book but I did end up reading the last half of it in one evening.

As all of the many reviews out there have said - Molly is one of those characters that you’ll remember. She’s endearing, charming and beyond sweet.

The murder mystery was good, definitely a cozy mystery type of read. I wish there was a bit more suspense, but that’s probably just related to my own tastes.

3.5⭐️

This was a cute book and I was thrilled to hear of the upcoming movie release with Florence Pugh (who I have come to adore). I struggled with how Molly was depicted in this story. As a therapist, I find it disturbing how the onslaught of Eleanor Oliphant-esque characters have somehow made it 'cute' to be neurodivergent and are represented poorly at times. I feel this was one such example.

This offbeat cross between "The Flight Attendant" and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" was at once both familiar and entirely original.

Rather than a traditional whodunit, the gripping sense of urgency in this tale instead comes from the conundrum of just how deeply entrenched our guileless protagonist can become in fallacious guilt over the murder of one of her hotel's most affluent guests.

I loved the heightened vocabulary Molly Gray avails, due to countless nights spent watching "Columbo" with her late gran, giving her a sense of decorum akin to an on-the-spectrum Jessica Fletcher.

Riveting, hilarious, and heartfelt, this new work from Nita Prose is bound to top several "best of" lists in 2022, including mine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of The Maid by Nita Prose.

Molly is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, where she proudly and diligently cleans the rooms that are left behind in various states by the patrons. What she does not expect is one of her patrons to be left behind, dead that is.

What follows is a fast paced but still warm and fulfilling mystery that has Molly trying to solve this murder to free herself. After losing her Gran who is her only family months before she also finds that there is still family for her out there, in the form of those closest to her at the hotel who want to be there for her.

I thought this book was a bit fast paced for me but I still think it flowed rather well and I liked the way that those around Molly rallied to her in her time of need, even if they didn't see the need for it before that. Molly's obvious social differences make it a bit awkward at times, though that seems intentional, but it was my least favourite part of the book while I still see it being as very important.

Overall a fun, quick read of a cozy mystery.

I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. Molly's character to me had so much depth. I loved the twist at the end, they certainly under estimated her. Really enjoy books that keep you guessing. I didn't want it end, what happens next? I wanted more... What's the back story with her grandmother / mother? Book 2?

Molly maid loves her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, misses her gran and hates liars and cheats.
When she finds the dead body of a VIP guest Molly quickly finds herself at the center of of the investigation and the lead murder suspect.

This was a great read. Molly is such an endearing character. I was cheering her one throughout the book.
The book itself is shockingly light, especially when you factor in that it hits on some pretty heavy topics.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Molly, Molly, Molly Maid. What a character that Molly! I really felt for the girl as she tried to navigate a normal life with being as different as she is. I cringed when I, as the reader, could tell people were taking advantage of her or laughing at her. It made me uncomfortable at times as I felt like I was in on the joke but didn't really want to be.

Overall I liked the story. It was a bit slow in the beginning but once Molly found her footing in the story, it took off. I would recommend this book to a friend.

This book was a unique one. Just to preface this, I've never dabbled into cozy mystery, which is what The Maid is. I went into it expecting your classic mystery/thriller, so I was a little thrown off by the format and the pace, which is what ultimately made me rate it a 3 stars. I feel like the pacing is pretty slow, the mystery only actually starts around the halfway point. The first 50% of the book is kinda contempory-ish, we follow the main character on a day to day basis and the author really takes her time to establish the status of all the characters involved and their relationship with Molly our main character, which is completely fine except I wasn't aware that this is how cozy mysteries are set up. It's totally on me and I think just knowing that beforehand would've eased the blow a bit.

The other unfortunate thing that lowered my rating was the ableism depicted in the book. I am not diagnosed as autistic and therefore cannot speak for the autistic and neurodivergent communities, but more often than not I do relate quite a lot to autistic characters, and Molly was no different. A lot of manerisms and habits of hers, even though they are not portrayed in a bad light to the viewers, are often harshly criticized by other characters in the book: the hotel manager, the police officers, Molly's colleagues. Her disability is actually quite central to the plot, and is used as a plot device in my opinion. That made me feel a little uncomfortable. I think there could have been a different way for the author to provide autistic representation and to prove her point without so much explicit ableism. I felt so bad for Molly and it gave me anxiety, which, again, is only my own experience. Sometimes I just get way too invested in the main character for my own good and it affects my reading negatively.

With hat said, I absolutely adored the second half of the book. This is where things start to pick up and Molly starts to take action and actively investigates the murder. I loved how the found family trope was included and I really wish the author had focused more on that part because it was truly heartwarming. For me the first half is a 2 star and the second half is a 4 star, so 3 is a good middle ground I think.

Such a charming, absorbing and fun book that totally warmed my heart. Molly was such an endearing and quirky character that I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with. I loved the mystery to the story and found myself a little bit surprised on more than one occasion. Would definitely recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the digital review copy. I also treated myself to the exclusive physical copy from Indigo/Chapters.

3.5 stars.

I liked this book! Didn’t love it, but still enjoyed it. This was an interesting fast-paced read that I devoured in a few hours. You can’t help but love the main character and all of her quirks. It was frustrating to read at times, only because you can see things happening that she can’t and you just want to shake her and tell her what’s going on around her. I liked that she still surprised people in the end and there were some twists I definitely didn’t see coming. Overall, a great mystery!

Thank you to NetGallery and Penguin Random House for this eARC!

Loved the show & loved the book even more! Like how in depth it went! I rate this book 4/5.. only because I watched the show prior to reading it, so I already knew what was happening

This book wasn't my cup of tea. It was a pain to read. The first half was really dull, and I had to force myself to read it.

I enjoyed this book more as a cozy character story than as a gripping mystery. Not that the plot was bad by any stretch, it just really wasn’t the book’s strength. The urge to dive back into the story came from wanting to spend more time with the main character rather than the burning desire to see how the plot resolved and in this case that is perfectly fine.

As a former housekeeper and current socially awkward weirdo I really connected with Molly the Maid, despite some inconsistencies in her characterization. She is unable to read social cues and at times comes off as being on the spectrum, though this is never explicitly stated. She has lost her Grandmother, the anchor that has helped her navigate the finer points of life that she is unable to grasp. To me it is unclear if dear old Gran has nurtured Molly’s passion for cleaning as maybe a coping mechanism or if she just handed off her own neuroses to someone incapable of balancing them with other more healthy habits. Her adherence to rules and idioms to navigate situations that she has a hard time reading is endearing, but she frequently comes off as clueless beyond just missing social cues. As much as I enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes it wasn’t really believable for her to swoop in to save the day. The other characters are likeable/hateable in the right amounts but were just a little one note for my tastes.

Bottom line, this was a very enjoyable read, and if the ending had a little more spark it would have been great. As it stands, this was a very solid 4 stars.

3 stars. Cute cozy mystery. I really enjoyed the toke and characteristics of the main character. I’d be interested to see what other people think of the representation but for me it was great. Will continue with this author and any other stories with Molly maid. I hope there’s many!

3.5⭐

Thankyou Netgalley

This was a great debut! I loved the writing style and how it captured my attention right from the beginning. I didn't really like Molly as the main protagonist but I wasn't blown away from the murderer reveal. I'd definitely read from this author again in the future.

Molly is different, she is enthusiastic, friendly, and charming, but she doesn’t read the meaning behind people's words, she trusts everyone.
As a maid of a five star hotel, 25 year old Molly takes her job extremely seriously and she is very proud of herself. When she find Mr. Black, a regular guest and tycoon, dead in his bed in the hotel room, Molly becomes the prime suspect.
I love Molly, she is a such unique character . She is misunderstanding a lot, but she is capable of solving problems in her own way.
I finished this debut novel in 2 days. What a stunning cozy mystery. I love this book in multiple layers.
Nita Prose is a rising Canadian Author. and I can't wait to see the movie adaptation.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada give me the opportunity to read the book and gave an honest review

3.5 stars
An original, easy-to-read and entertaining mystery about a quirky, young woman working as a maid in a posh boutique hotel who finds herself caught up in a murder investigation after finding a dead businessman in one of the hotel's suites. Molly the Maid is different - she prides herself on her cleaning skills, struggles with social cues and misreads people's intentions - and as a result she is often subjected to ridicule and taken advantage of. Molly has been alone since her beloved grandmother's death but she's going to need help from others to solve this crime and clear her name.

The mystery itself is fairly simple with a few twists but the story works (even though it's not flawless) because Molly is a likable, delightful (to use one of her favourite words) narrator who endears herself to the reader. Nita Prose has created much more than a mystery though and that's what I liked best about it. The Maid combines the cozy mystery genre with feel-good fiction creating a heartwarming story with an underlying theme of acceptance about a lonely young woman who finds a group of people who appreciate her for who she is. Looking forward to the movie adaptation!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC.

Molly loves her job as a maid at the prestigious Regency Grand Hotel. She loves her job and takes great joy keeping this prestigious property clean. She is very diligent at her job and it brings her a great amount of joy. Molly lives in the same apartment that she used to live with her grandmother. Her grandmother passed away 9 months ago and Molly is now living on her own. It's been a challenging time for her as she has been living a pretty isolated life and she doesn't have many friends. Molly has always felt like an outsider for most of life, she has had a hard time understanding people and people made fun of her over the years. Things take a turn at work when Mr Black dies and Molly finds him in his room and things begin to spin out of control.

I really enjoyed this book and felt compassion for Molly and the loneliness she was feeling for being isolated and her financial struggles as she was going with her life after her gran's passing. The story had some twists to it that were unexpected from some reviews I had read so I knew there were going to be a few surprises. My heart kept breaking for Molly as I was reading and kept seeing this through her eyes and understanding. This book was so good - it had a bit of humor, a bit of suspense, and a bit of a thrill to it. The book was paced well and I was eager to finish it. I would rate this book 8.5/10

25 year old Molly Gray is an exceptional young woman. She works as a maid at the Grand Regency Hotel and absolutely loves her job organizing and cleaning. These are tasks that Molly understands and does well. You see Molly doesn’t always understand the social world and rules of engagement. Social norms are hard for her to grasp. Molly sees the world as black and white, she believes in honesty, hard work and integrity. As a result, Molly is often misunderstood and treated like a freak, and not accepted be her peers and coworkers. But in my opinion, Molly is one of my most favourite characters in a book. Her quirky, awkward ways are so heart warming and endearing.

Molly was raised by her grandmother who new Molly was extra special and tried to help Molly navigate the world and social nuances. But sadly Mollys’ grandma recently passed away and Molly is left alone to figure out how to survive on her own. Within months of her grandmother’s passing, things aren’t going so well for her. Molly’s coworker, who she thinks of as a good friend, starts taking advantage of Molly and her simple ways. But Molly does not see it as she always gives people the benefit of the doubt and sees the world through rose coloured glasses. Until one day Molly is framed for the murder of a VIP hotel guest and accused of running a drug ring at her place of employment. This is the day that Molly learns that people are not always who they say they are and that life is not always black and white.

I am so thankful to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for my advanced readers copy. Too be honest I am not sure that The Maid is a book I would have chosen to read on my own. But I am so glad that I was given an arc as The Maid was such a beautiful story and I fell in love with Molly’s awkward, quirky and endearing personality. I am so happy to have read The Maid. An unexpected 5 star read for me.