The Maid

What an utterly delightful novel this was! Part cosy mystery, part dark comedy, part life lessons, this novel really caught me by surprise. I enjoyed it so much I missed reading it once I was finished. There was something so satisfying about sinking into the pages of this one and it’s got the honour of being my first five star read for 2022.

Molly works as a maid at a fancy hotel, living alone since her beloved grandmother died, struggling to make ends meet, and isolated socially by those around her who think she’s odd, amongst other insults. Molly’s social skills differ from the ‘norm’ and without her grandmother to interpret things for her, she finds herself in a vulnerable position, unable to see the danger lurking right in front of her and unable to read the not so good intentions of those who want to take advantage of her goodness. People assume that because her social skills are less honed, that she is stupid – so not the case!

I really enjoyed this novel and loved Molly as a character. There are many take home messages from this story, and while it is ultimately a feel-good novel, it dips in and out of these important themes with ease. Above all, never assume, you know the old adage: ASS-U-ME. The Maid is a top-notch story and I believe the film rights have already been snapped up. It would make a terrific film with the right actor in the role of Molly. A funny, heart-warming, original story that I recommend widely.

5/5

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

The Maid follows the story of Molly Gray who works at Regency Grand Hotel as a maid. She is still mourning the loss of her Gran when her world gets turned upside down in a bad way. Molly comes across a dead body when she is on her cleaning rounds, the body of Mr Black. Mr Black is a VIP of the hotel and a very successful business man. Molly becomes a suspect in the murder inquiry and gets the help of a few “true” friends to get down to the bottom of what actually happened.

Molly is not like everyone else, she is unique and is very trusting. I honestly felt like jumping through the book to shake her a few times. I needed her to open her eyes to see what was really going on at the hotel. We meet some nice characters and some really terrible ones along the way. It is definitely not like the crime thrillers I normally read. It was fun and quirky, a story outlining true friendship and finding love.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, wow, wow. Nita Prose's 'The Maid' is the cozy thriller I've been longing for - quirky, captivating, and hard to put down.

The novel is told from the perspective of Molly Gray - a twenty-five year old maid who struggles reading social cues and finds difficulty in interpreting the intentions of others. Her off-beat, straight-to-the-point delivery makes for a truly captivating read and had me rooting for her right from the start.

Being quick to trust others, Molly suddenly finds herself in the middle of a major conspiracy, quickly becoming the lead suspect in the murder of Charles Black, a socialite who often stays in the Regency Grand Hotel. What follows is a brilliant unfolding of twists and turns, with Molly slowly learning that others may not always have her back and see things the way that she does.

Molly is a real gem, making 'The Maid' a must read in 2022. What a sensational debut from Nita Prose!

Thanks to HarperCollins for access to this ARC via NetGalley - a real treat and absolute pleasure to read!

‘My uniform is my freedom. It is the ultimate invisibility cloak.’

Meet the Maid, twenty-five-year-old Molly Gray. Molly enjoys her work as a hotel maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, cleaning to return hotel rooms to a state of perfection. Molly is different: she struggles with social skills, takes things literally and often misreads the intentions of others. Which, now that her gran is no longer able to give her guidance, leads Molly into a difficult situation.

Molly’s life is turned upside down on from the day she enters the suite of Charles Black and finds him dead in his bed Molly becomes caught up in a conspiracy, involving some people she thought were friends and her responses to questioning by the police make her a suspect. There are quite a few twists and turns as the mystery unfolds: who killed Mr Black, and why? And who will help Molly?

This is a wonderful story. It is a mixture of mystery and life lessons for Molly, leavened with humour (at times). Because we are taking the journey with Molly, most of us will be aware of the hazards before she is. Molly is a delightful character, and this is a sensational debut novel.

‘We’re all the same in different ways.’

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Nita Prose’ debut novel The Maid is one of the most highly anticipated 2022 new releases. Book rights have already been sold in 29 territories and the film rights snapped up by Universal pre-release; Florence Pugh set to play the title character. And yes, I am very pleased to report that this title certainly lives up to the hype.

This novel has so many intriguing and intelligent layers. On one level this is a clever cozy crime mystery. On another, it is a compelling character study. Molly Gray, aka Molly the Maid, finds comfort and satisfaction in black and white rules, but is all at sea in the ‘grey’ of human interactions.

Her quirks and prospensity to take things literally spawns light-hearted moments of course. But as we know, those that are different walk paths more difficult than most. Continue reading full review at BookloverBookReviews.com

Already a publishing sensation, this book is destined to be on many readers' 2022 Favourites lists, and deservedly so. Both clever and charming, it also crosses a number of different genres, which will give it broad appeal.

Arguably the best maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, young Molly Gray has not had the easiest life. Raised and protected by her beloved Gran, Molly struggles to read expression and to comprehend social cues, which has made her the target of bullies both in the school system and now in the workplace. But she does her best and even now that her Gran has died, she still has a small number of trusted friends she can rely on for help with these things. Like Rodney the Bar Manager, who she once 'dated', and Giselle Black, a frequent guest of the hotel. But when Molly discovers Giselle's husband dead in his bed, and she is taken in for questioning, Molly knows enough to understand that trust has to be earned. Over the course of a week, with her life spiralling out of control, Molly has to find an inner strength she didn't know she had, to clean up this particular mess.

Littered with aphorisms and sprinkled with gentle humour, this is a murder mystery that will leave you smiling and feeling pretty good about the world.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!”

Another delightfully cosy whodunit! Molly spends her days cleaning up other people’s mess as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. When a guest is found dead and Molly is accused of murder, she finds herself in a mess that even she can’t clean on her own.

Molly the maid is utterly charming. Quirky and endearing, Molly struggles with social skills and often misreads situations, cues and tones of others. The way Prose gives readers insight and clues about other characters through Molly’s lack of social awareness is just brilliant, and made for a totally unique reading experience for me.

This book covered a multitude of topics that surprised me including domestic abuse, drug use, immigration and grief. Although this sits in the mystery/crime category, the murder component felt secondary to Molly’s character exploration and this list of social issues. Whilst this would usually irk me, I found myself less invested in solving the crime, and more interested in watching Molly forge stronger connections and realise that she isn’t truly alone in the world.

The Maid is heart-warming and sweet, and I highly recommend this book if you’re after a little bit of mystery and a whole lot of heart 💚

Thank you @harpercollinsaustralia and @netgalley for the e-ARC of this delightful read ✨

I looked up a review for this book before I read it and it was classified as a cosy crime. That description almost put me off. I like real crime not cosy old lady stuff. But then I figured I love the Thursday Murder club books and they are “cosy” right? I am very glad I read this book, it is so good and it is all thanks to the main character Molly.
Molly works as a maid at a 5 star hotel. She takes extra special pride in her work and her attention to detail. She likes to leave the rooms in a state of perfection. Raised by her Gran, she sees the world in a different way to everyone else. She takes things literally and fails to see the worst in people. She misses social cues and often misinterprets the intentions of others. Her beloved Gran helped her steer a course through life and now she is gone, Molly must do the best she can.
When she finds a wealthy and well known guest dead in one of the rooms, Molly becomes the prime suspect. Because of her naivety at reading situations she finds it hard to understand that she could have been framed for the murder.
The who dunnit aspect of the book, for me, was the side character of the story, the main character was Molly, the one you are rooting for. She is so well written and although never stated maybe has a form of autism? The reader can clearly see what is going on around her as she falls victim to foul play.
It’s a wonderful easy read and I will be recommending it to lots of people.

#TheMaid #NetGalley

A charming story that is easy to devour in a couple of days. Molly the Maid is quirky, endearing, and a joy to read. She has an Eleanor Oliphant vibe about her, and I loved experiencing life through her unique lens. The story was far from what I expected, I found the prologue a little misleading to what the book is about but nevertheless I enjoyed it. Even though it carries themes of crime and violence it’s ultimately a feel-good story that’s full of heart. It’s eventful and funny, with intriguing characters that really come to life. What would have elevated the story for me is if there was more suspense throughout it or a twist to where things ultimately finished up. Because I was comparing it to Eleanor Oliphant a little, I was expecting a bombshell ending which unfortunately didn’t happen.

REVIEW: The Maid (★★★★★)
"My uniform is my freedom. It is the ultimate invisibility cloak."

𝘼 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 (𝙉𝙤 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨)…
𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯, 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘣 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘔𝘳 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 - 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴.

It is not often that such an anticipated book lives up to the hype, but 'The Maid' is a delightful exception. As I do with extremely hyped books, I entered the world of 'The Maid' with caution and braced myself for disappointment. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this was an easy 5 star read. It truly has it all - idiosyncratic and lovable characters, a refined plot, and delightful twists and turns. What an impressive debut! I will surely be looking out for more by Nita Prose.

A must-read for mystery fans - I haven't read a mystery novel that ties up all loose ends and has as many delightful twists as 'The Maid' in a while. On top of that, Prose manages to create nuanced and lovable characters - even the supporting characters are well-developed and realistic.

This being said, 'The Maid' defies genre. On the surface, it is indeed a cosy mystery, but it also borrows the best elements of many genres, including coming of age, fable, and humour. 

This book is sure to feature at the top of many readers' 2022 Favourites.

𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲...
ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE // GAIL HONEYMAN -  for another touching, humorous, and heart-breaking story about a lost soul struggling to find friends and piece of mind.
DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY // DOUGLAS ADAMS -  like 'The Maid', the central plot of this novel is a mystery, but the book should be appreciated for so much more than that. Strong backstories, eccentric characters, clever word-smithery… both books have it all.
THE WIFE,, THE MAID, AND THE MISTRESS // ARIEL LAWHON - for another mystery narrated by the unseen and the marginalised. This one is based on the true story of the disappearance of Justice Crater in 1930.

This is a book that is getting a lot of hype - and now I know why.
Molly Grey is a maid at the Regent Grand Hotel, there her role is to restore hotel rooms to a state of perfection. This is a job that suits her to the ground, however, Molly is not good at reading people and situations, taking things purely at face value. She finds herself, unintentionally, at the centre of the murder of a hotel guest and things start to go downhill for Molly from there.
Molly is alone, raised by her grandmother who is now deceased, she is navigating life solo and finding her situation more and more difficult. Then when matters come to a head, she finds it hard to know who to trust. But then again are there people who should be worried that despite her lack of social skills, she is in fact quite astute and more capable than they give her credit for.
I am looking forward to reading more by this very talented author. Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins Australia for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“We’re all entitled to a bad day now & again, but when they are all bad days, with no pleasant ones, then it’s time to reconsider things.”

Molly is a maid at the prestigious Regency Grand Hotel and is wholly consumed by her job. After losing her beloved Gran, her role as a maid is pretty much the only asset she’s most attached to. So, when she discovers the dead body of a VIP guest- Mr Black, she becomes the prime suspect. All odds are against her despite all the loyalty she’s had for the hotel. But is she really the one who’s behind the crime?

The Maid is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated books 2022 has to offer. Nita Prose has carefully carved her characters in this debut fiction, and I instantly warmed up to the lead character- Molly, for her innocence and oblivious personality. In a world that is constantly racing up to tear each other down, being a pure soul appears to be a crime. And you’ll find so much of that in Molly. Yes, she’s different and socially awkward. She is mainly on the receiving end of being deceived by the ones she has a big heart for, but that makes her even more special. She takes pride in her work and is a superstar employee who likes to do her tasks with perfection. She’ll grow on you within the first few pages of the book.

At some stages, the novel did give me Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine vibes. But I also can’t deny that Prose has delivered an extraordinary story at the first go with an equal measure of heroes and villains protruding in her novel. I was slightly disappointed by the revelations in the epilogue because I was thoroughly invested in the story, and I expected something better, but it overall makes for a great read. It also bears all the potential to get pivoted into some Netflix series real soon. So watch out!