Review: The Maid

I love when a book meets my high expectations. I had been looking forward to Nita Prose’s debut novel since the second it was announced. She’s an amazing editor and I was excited to see how she fared as an author. Fast forward several months and I finally had a copy of The Maid in my hands. I chose it as my first read of 2022 and, friends, it set the bar really high for all the books after it. I enjoyed it immensely!

Here’s the book’s description:

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?

The mystery in this one kept me guessing the entire way through. The twists Prose weaves into the story were so good and I was constantly surprised and delighted. As delighted as one can be when reading a murder mystery, of course. This wasn’t a gruesome murder mystery – it was…well I hesitate to call it fun. I’ve seen it referred to as a Clue-like story and it kind of is (though not as madcap as the movie). It’s a well written puzzle. It just so happens that at the heart of the puzzle is a very dead man.

Molly was a gem of a main character. She struggles socially and it’s led a lot of my book blogging/bookstagram friends to talk about whether or not she’s on the Autism spectrum. It’s never explicitly stated and I wonder about that. Is it because she’s not and is just an awkward young woman? Or is it because Prose is not on the spectrum herself and she and her editors wanted to avoid any “own voices” debates? Is it that Molly was never tested and has no idea? Or is it just because labels shouldn’t matter? I think I was contemplating this more than necessary because Molly and her perception of the world played such a large part in how the crime was discovered and solved. Those who have read this one – I’d love to know your thoughts!

One of the things I liked about this mystery was that it didn’t descend into ridiculous amateur sleuth territory. Molly wasn’t going rogue and trying to solve the murder on her own (though there were some questionable decisions). She works with her lawyer and her friends to figure out the truth because the police weren’t listening to her. The lead detective clearly didn’t understand how to work with Molly and she was exasperated and didn’t try to understand how best to get to know how Molly’s brain worked. The comeuppance that the detective got was, perhaps, a bit heavy handed but it was a nice reminder to everyone to take a second to figure out why communication may be failing with someone and not assume that everyone’s brains work the same way.

The Maid was just the kind of mystery I have realized I love reading and I’m so thrilled with Nita Prose’s debut novel. The book has already been optioned for a movie and I’m really looking forward to seeing it on screen. I think it’ll be so enjoyable. I can’t wait to read what Prose writes next!

*A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*