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funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Plot twist: This book that was billed as a murder mystery is really the story of the main character framing someone for murder to clear her own name. (But it's okay because he framed her first. Why? Just because he's THAT bad a person. Duh.)
Plot twist: And the main character actually did kill someone. Just not who you think. So it's okay.
Plot twist: Oh and by the way, the main character was actually an accessory in the murder she was originally accused of.
This book was a mess. An enjoyable, cozy mess, but a mess for sure. Between the plot holes, wildly unnecessary plot twists, and caricature-like portrayal of a neurodivergent main character by a neurotypical author (a portrayal that I can't help but feel was leaned into just to shoehorn the aforementioned plot issues into working), this is a book that you read for ✨vibes✨ not for quality.
Going forward, I think I'm going to steer clear of books written by publishing higher-ups. It's no surprise that the buzz their books get is disproportionate to their books' quality... But it is disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship
challenging
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very voice-y and absolutely brilliant. Best of the year so far!
Not a 5 star because it felt like the book ended twice. It was very strange.
*revising to a 5 star. I keep thinking about it. It's just so good!
Not a 5 star because it felt like the book ended twice. It was very strange.
*revising to a 5 star. I keep thinking about it. It's just so good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a paid ad by Olive Garden
Another day, another mismarketed, overhyped book that I fell for. I didn't like the characterization, and how some characters' defining points boiled down to superficial/stereotypical things, or how heavily the plot relied on them. E.g. Molly's "odd" behavior, the POC characters
Molly fainted, had a whole conversation with Mrs. Black, wiped the room clean and still no one showed up? No one at the hotel thought of checking on one of their biggest clients being supposedly dead?? WHAT
No investigator thought of asking the first wife how she's doing, about Mr. Black's kids...etc? The story is so full of holes it could be a net.
The "message" behind the story being spoon-fed to the readers was so? What ...
Another day, another mismarketed, overhyped book that I fell for. I didn't like the characterization, and how some characters' defining points boiled down to superficial/stereotypical things, or how heavily the plot relied on them. E.g. Molly's "odd" behavior, the POC characters
No investigator thought of asking the first wife how she's doing, about Mr. Black's kids...etc? The story is so full of holes it could be a net.
The "message" behind the story being spoon-fed to the readers was so? What ...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Cursing
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship
Minor: Terminal illness
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
lighthearted
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Death, Misogyny, Grief, Gaslighting
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Note: I received an eARC of this book in order to provide an honest review.
Book TW: assisted suicide, murder, ableism, IPV, physical abuse, drug trafficking, drug use, manipulation, police interrogation, immigration, infidelity, terminal illness, abandonment
The Maid is sort of an interesting mystery that tows the line between a traditional mystery and a cozy one. As you can see from the TWs, it deals with a variety of serious topics, but it’s generally in a fairly detached way, with certain exceptions. Another piece that makes this unique among mysteries is that our MC, Molly, has trouble interpreting and processing social situations. While no specific diagnosis is mentioned in the book, if you want a general idea, I would say that Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder would be a decent fit. So what that means for the story is that you as a reader will probably catch most of the plot threads early on and have to watch in mild horror as all the bad guys take advantage of Molly’s differences in functioning and betray her trust repeatedly. You will know this almost immediately... Molly won’t. This left me pretty uncomfortable for a good portion of the book, even though the tone gave me a pretty good feeling that it would all work out in the end. The general theme of the book is a good one (and is clearly stated): don’t assume what is “normal” functioning for you is how everyone perceives the world.
Fortunately there are redeeming characters that watch out for Molly and Molly herself has a lot of agency and does her best to continue learning. She is extremely caring and detail oriented and rule-following. She is also still grieving the death of her grandmother, her only close relationship, prior to the start of the story. It’s nice to have a character that does have differences in how they function also be dynamic and interesting.
I should note that because Molly’s social impairments are at the heart of the story, there’s a lot of ableism and derogatory statements and intentions toward her throughout, which are more intense because it is narrated in first person. Additionally, the police interrogations in particular (I think) have the potential to be triggering as the detective in the story views Molly’s mannerisms/differences with deep suspicion. So if that is a sensitive topic for you, it might be good to choose a different book. However, it may help you continue if you know that like most mysteries, it has a happy ending and the overall theme is to uplift Molly’s differences.
Where I think sometimes the story struggled was in formatting/placement of flashbacks, as they would often make the reading experience a bit confusing. Also, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the final twist, which makes Molly seem a bit more like an unreliable narrator than I think she was meant to come off as.
That being said, it was a pretty quick read and different enough from a normal mystery that I think I could recommend it to other mystery lovers. However, it definitely had a few problems, so it’s not a new favorite for me by any means. It’s just a decent, quick mystery and if that’s what you want (and pay attention to the TWs) then give it a read.
Book TW: assisted suicide, murder, ableism, IPV, physical abuse, drug trafficking, drug use, manipulation, police interrogation, immigration, infidelity, terminal illness, abandonment
The Maid is sort of an interesting mystery that tows the line between a traditional mystery and a cozy one. As you can see from the TWs, it deals with a variety of serious topics, but it’s generally in a fairly detached way, with certain exceptions. Another piece that makes this unique among mysteries is that our MC, Molly, has trouble interpreting and processing social situations. While no specific diagnosis is mentioned in the book, if you want a general idea, I would say that Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder would be a decent fit. So what that means for the story is that you as a reader will probably catch most of the plot threads early on and have to watch in mild horror as all the bad guys take advantage of Molly’s differences in functioning and betray her trust repeatedly. You will know this almost immediately... Molly won’t. This left me pretty uncomfortable for a good portion of the book, even though the tone gave me a pretty good feeling that it would all work out in the end. The general theme of the book is a good one (and is clearly stated): don’t assume what is “normal” functioning for you is how everyone perceives the world.
Fortunately there are redeeming characters that watch out for Molly and Molly herself has a lot of agency and does her best to continue learning. She is extremely caring and detail oriented and rule-following. She is also still grieving the death of her grandmother, her only close relationship, prior to the start of the story. It’s nice to have a character that does have differences in how they function also be dynamic and interesting.
I should note that because Molly’s social impairments are at the heart of the story, there’s a lot of ableism and derogatory statements and intentions toward her throughout, which are more intense because it is narrated in first person. Additionally, the police interrogations in particular (I think) have the potential to be triggering as the detective in the story views Molly’s mannerisms/differences with deep suspicion. So if that is a sensitive topic for you, it might be good to choose a different book. However, it may help you continue if you know that like most mysteries, it has a happy ending and the overall theme is to uplift Molly’s differences.
Where I think sometimes the story struggled was in formatting/placement of flashbacks, as they would often make the reading experience a bit confusing. Also, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the final twist, which makes Molly seem a bit more like an unreliable narrator than I think she was meant to come off as.
That being said, it was a pretty quick read and different enough from a normal mystery that I think I could recommend it to other mystery lovers. However, it definitely had a few problems, so it’s not a new favorite for me by any means. It’s just a decent, quick mystery and if that’s what you want (and pay attention to the TWs) then give it a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship
Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment