The Hotel Maid by Michelle Dunne is a slow build but ulimately fast paced psychological thriller that is made even more compelling in its plausibility.

The story focussses on the invisibilty of people in the service industry, sometimes by choice, sometimes by the ignorance of patrons. Either way, when June finds her client dead in her hotel room with a note professing to know who she (June) is, she is compelled to ensure that her identitiy and history remains secret, and she invisible from the world

A fantastic thriller that while slower to start, blossoms with a cornicopia af fascinating characters and a well structured storyline that kept me guessing. Brilliant and I am looking forward to seeing more from Michelle Dunne

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Select & Storm Publishing and the author Michelle Dunne for this ARC

The Hotel Maid by Michelle Dunne is an intriguing tale full of twists and turns, leaving the listener unsure of what is coming next.

The Hotel Maid by Michelle Dunne

Gripping and fast-paced story plot. The narrator presented the story very well which made me hooked from the beginning! The Hotel Maid had a distinctive plot and characters which made it stayed in my mind for awhile.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Aug 30, 2024

Pretty good story, this is an author I will try again. Reminds me a little of the Freida Mcfadden series.

A hotel maid is often unseen, a quiet presence in the background. Invisible to the world, yet privy to everything that happens behind closed doors. Such is the life of June, a maid at a resort hotel in Cork. She prefers it this way—unnoticed, blending into the shadows. Unlike her coworkers, she’s paid in cash, not checks, keeping her distance from the others. June has her own secrets, secrets she’s determined to keep hidden.

In an alternate story line is Mia, a 10 year old girl who is emotionally and physically abused by her Mammy. She looks forward to the times when her Mammy is gone for a night and it is just her and her father. They eat what her likes and watch television next to each other, she remains quite, though. Never wanting to upset the fragile momentary peace.

These worlds collide the moment June opens the door to a hotel suite and finds a woman lying dead in a pool of blood. Secrets can't remain secrets forever.

This is a dark disturbing tale with twist right through to the end. Narrator Jacqueline Milne does a wonderful job conveying the emotion of all the characters. I will definitely be looking for more works by Michelle Dunn.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was the 1st book by this author that I have done. Twisty and interesting in some parts, but I also found myself losing focus on the story while listening because I got bored. I will try this author again though.

This book provided so many twists, turns, and thought-provoking scenarios throughout the dual stories taking place. Such a different approach to many of the thrillers I have recently read, which kept me intrigued and always wanting to read more. Having listened to the audio, this is one book where I wished I had a physical copy to go back and confirm some of the events, character, etc. The ending was suspenseful and kept me guessing until the very end.

I’ve read multiple books within the last few years with similar storylines, but I still enjoyed this book. It had its own twists and turns, some that I predicted and others that I did not. I really enjoyed the narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for allowing me to listen to an ALC of this novel. #NetGalley #TheHotelMaid

Absolutely loved this audiobook and narrator.
I highly recommend it. It was intriguing from the start to the finish. If you love psychological thrillers… this one is for you.

This was such a good book. You are definitely surprised with how this turned out. Many twist and turns buts so very good.

Initially, the book felt somewhat reminiscent of The Maid. However, it took on a shape all its own and came with many twists!

This book keeps the reader guessing! Lots of dark, intense situations. Certainly worth reading.

"The Hotel Maid" by Michelle Dunne is a captivating and thought-provoking novel that provides a glimpse into the life of a hotel maid navigating the complexities of her job and personal struggles. The story is rich with vivid details, highlighting the often-overlooked lives of service workers. Dunne's protagonist is relatable and resilient, and her journey reveals themes of class disparity, ambition, and the search for identity. The narrative balances moments of heartache with instances of hope, making it a compelling read. With its insightful commentary on society and human connection, "The Hotel Maid" is an engaging and heartfelt story that resonates long after the last page.

I was initially really drawn into this by the main character who is very quirky and enjoyable. As the story continued on the suspense built with her "father" and her and I was afraid I knew where it was headed. Where this lost me was last 20% of the book. I just didn't think the energy matched the rest of the book and I was left a bit unsatisfied. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Self Harm, Child Physical/Sexual Abuse

Something this author seems to do quite well is writing unlikable characters. They’re usually quite dark, their motivations are relatively believable, and even the secondary characters feel well rounded enough to be enjoyable. This story is told from multiple POVs that slowly begin to come together as the book goes on.

Some of the reveals/twists felt kind of obvious to me, but I liked the rest of the book enough that it didn’t detract much from my experience. There is also some reliance on coincidental things to make the plot come together, but this is one of those books where it works better not to think too hard about it anyhow. This work is fast paced, with plenty of things happening that keep you turning the pages. I will say, some of the darker things that happened felt like a bit too much, almost too excessive to really be necessary for the story.

If you’re interested in a darker psychological suspense with tough themes, then this is certainly worth checking out. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great. The storyline was good- even though I’ve read similar books, the author put her own spin on this one and made it interesting. Highly recommend this one!

Mia enjoys the annaminty of being a hotel maid. She prefers to be obscure and inconspicuous. Mia doesn’t not want anyone to discover that she has secrets …. secrets that are deadly.
But when anonymous notes appear claiming that they know what Mia’s secrets are, she must do whatever it takes to keep those she is protecting safe including herself.

This book reminded me of The Maid, but it was written in a way that kept me hooked until the final page. The unpredictable twists had me constantly questioning Mia’s true identity and motives. I restlessly wanted to uncover how the two storylines connected and discover the mystery behind the little girl. A wonderful page turning thriller!

*Thank you to Elizabeth Lowham, Shadow Mountain Publishing | Shadow Mountain and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

The first 25% of this book, I was wondering if I was going to continue with it or not. I just wasn't clicking with the story and wasn't loving the writing style. I stuck with it and it hit its groove and I was able to enjoy the remainder of the book. I can't say I loved the book, but did like the path it took and how it played out. I would try this author again. I thought the narrator did a good job telling this story.

The Hotel Maid - Michelle Dunne

This one was a little dry but actually the last 3rd of the book was a wild ride. No one ever notices the maid… But someone seems to know her secrets and when an important guest is found dead at the hotel… Things all come to a head.

It was an interesting story. All the threads had some super cool elements to them and I enjoyed the build up but the story didn’t move very fast and there were some pretty repetitive parts in the book.

WARNING… Self harming triggers in the book and abuse.

All in all it was a decent read and the twisty end will have you breathless and chilled to your core.

4 stars

The writing is good and the characters are a little darker than I like but overall I enjoyed this book. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

June is invisible to most everyone. She works as a maid at Cedarwood Manor and stays to herself. I do have secrets and they should never come out. Now, a woman has been killed at the hotel and a missing girl. How is this all connected? A gobble-it-all-up-in-one-sitting kind of book