Review by taylorstbrshelf - The Maid

taylorstbrshelf 's review for:

The Maid by Nita Prose

4.5

emotional inspiring mysterious sad 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: Yes

Book: The Maid

Author: Nita Prose

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Maid is a fast-paced and compelling mystery novel that had me hooked right from the first chapter. It was Nita Prose’s debut novel and was the first book in The Maid series.

I was given the opportunity to read it and the second book in the series, titled The Mystery Guest, for a buddy read that was hosted by Tandem Collective Global.

It follows 25-year-old Molly Gray, the FMC, who is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Molly takes her job very seriously and knows that it is her duty to return each room she cleans to a state of perfection.

She unfortunately ends up in the middle of a murder investigation - after finding the hotel’s famous guest, Mr. Black, “dead is his bed”.

Molly discovers that although she insists she is innocent, she is wrongly accused of being the main suspect after trusting the wrong people.

With the knowledge that she carries with her from watching Columbo with her Gran (before she passed away), Molly realizes that she needs to employ her skills to clear her name and solve the mystery of what turns out to not just be a natural death - but a murder.

I enjoyed that the book was told through Molly’s perspective and that we got to see the world and story through her eyes. I thought that although the mystery was the main storyline, reading about Molly growing as a character and person was arguably just as interesting and ended up being incredibly heartwarming.

As a character, Molly was refreshing and easy to root for, and is a good representation of someone who is neurodivergent.

Additionally, the “secondary” (if you can even call them that since they all stood out) characters in the book add to the authenticity of the story and demonstrate that friends, allies, and found family can come along in the most unexpected of situations and ways.

Molly receives unexpected help while remaining true to herself, and the words of her Gran echo in her mind as her guiding compass throughout the entire time of working to clear her name.

I still can’t believe this was Nita Prose’s debut novel - as it was a great cozy mystery, delightful to read, and well-written. I laughed out loud more than once and quickly started reading the second book right away since I enjoyed the first so much!

Thank you to Penguin Books Canada for the copy of The Maid (and The Mystery Guest) and to Tandem Collective Global for hosting the buddy read!

Content Warnings