The Maid by Nita Prose
I am your maid.
I know about your secrets. Your dirty laundry.
But what do you know about me?
Molly the maid is all alone in the world. A nobody. She’s used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime, dust and secrets of the guests passing through. She’s just a maid – why should anyone take notice?
But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his bed. This isn’t a mess that can be easily cleaned up. And as Molly becomes embroiled in the hunt for the truth, following the clues whispering in the hallways of the Regency Grand, she discovers a power she never knew was there. She’s just a maid – but what can she see that others overlook?
Escapist, charming and introducing a truly original heroine, The Maid is a story about how the truth isn’t always black and white – it’s found in the dirtier, grey areas in between . . .
About the author
NITA PROSE is a long-time editor, serving many bestselling authors and their books. She lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is only moderately clean.
www.nitaprose.com
@NitaProse
Review
Oh my how I fell in love with Molly the maid! I actually felt bereft when the book ended and it truly captured my heart. This is of the more accomplished debuts I have read recently and it clearly shows that Nita is a long term editor in publishing, as ‘The Maid’ is highly polished, the words sparkle off the pages and there are fully made up interconnecting narratives that end up giving a five star reading experience! Phew got all my maid and hotel descriptors out my system in that last sentence.
Molly knows all your secrets but do you know hers? Why would you though as it's her job to be invisible, to help create a 5-star experience for all the guests that pass through the hotel’s revolving doors? But when she finds a notorious regular guest, Mr Black, dead in his suite her life starts to unravel from her normal routines as she become determined to find out what happened to him. But is she really ready for the answers?
Someone recently asked me whether they knew of any neuro-diverse characters that investigated crime and I instantly recommended this book. Molly is special, pure and innocent in a way, but easy to manipulate due to her trusting ways as she has a child-like quality to her character. I would say she falls on the spectrum and Nita has created a character that readers will fall in love with and want to champion as she is written with empathy, care and love. It is a testimony to Nita’s standard of writing that so many people have taken to Molly and feel very protective of her. I haven't seen a review yet that is critical of Molly’s characterization. Of course, now that I typed that last sentence I went to look at 1 star reviews on Goodreads. Yes, I am not on the spectrum and I probably shouldn't be commenting on opinions people’s that come from their own irl experiences.
I don't think this book was actually about a murder. I think it was about how the world treats and understands people like Molly. We see how people are disrespectful to her and prejudices and judgements being made against her. Maybe the author has used certain ‘stereotypes’ as the world perceives them in this way to show the struggle is for people is real and how Molly doesn't always 100% present like this. Always, that's my two pennies worth on this part of the narrative.
I really enjoyed this book and I hope that you do too!
