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A review by justinkhchen
The Maid by Nita Prose
4.0
4 stars
Cosy mystery with a twist; The Maid might be slight on mystery, but the unique, nuanced protagonist offers an interesting point of view to the murder mystery formula.
While never explicitly called out, the titular character, Molly the maid, can be easily interpreted as an individual on the autism spectrum. Told in first person, the story immerses the reader in the head of someone who interacts with her world in a vastly different way. Along with Molly's amusingly antiquated, overly proper vocabulary and one-liners, it's easy to be sympathetic and understanding towards her actions, and the novel also takes the opportunity to comment on the larger theme of social exclusion, whether it's is based on personality, occupation or class.
With its atypical protagonist, The Maid takes time to sink in. Momentum and suspense typical to murder mystery stories is absent, instead its first half is mostly consisted of an oblivious Molly being blatantly manipulated and used by others for their devious intents. Though completely intentional and aligns with its setup, this objective, clinical storytelling approach can be a bit grating to get into. Fortunately as story progresses, with character growth and a thickening plot, things really pick up in the second half, and concludes with a strong closure and a few poignant, emotional scenes thrown in the mix.
Overall, The Maid is refined and thoughtfully assembled, its characters, hopeful sentiment and casual humor makes the slightly alienating beginning well worth going through.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
Cosy mystery with a twist; The Maid might be slight on mystery, but the unique, nuanced protagonist offers an interesting point of view to the murder mystery formula.
While never explicitly called out, the titular character, Molly the maid, can be easily interpreted as an individual on the autism spectrum. Told in first person, the story immerses the reader in the head of someone who interacts with her world in a vastly different way. Along with Molly's amusingly antiquated, overly proper vocabulary and one-liners, it's easy to be sympathetic and understanding towards her actions, and the novel also takes the opportunity to comment on the larger theme of social exclusion, whether it's is based on personality, occupation or class.
With its atypical protagonist, The Maid takes time to sink in. Momentum and suspense typical to murder mystery stories is absent, instead its first half is mostly consisted of an oblivious Molly being blatantly manipulated and used by others for their devious intents. Though completely intentional and aligns with its setup, this objective, clinical storytelling approach can be a bit grating to get into. Fortunately as story progresses, with character growth and a thickening plot, things really pick up in the second half, and concludes with a strong closure and a few poignant, emotional scenes thrown in the mix.
Overall, The Maid is refined and thoughtfully assembled, its characters, hopeful sentiment and casual humor makes the slightly alienating beginning well worth going through.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**