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The Maid (Review, Book Summary & Spoilers)

By nita prose.

Book review, full book summary and synopsis for The Maid by Nita Prose, a heartwarming story wrapped up in a cozy locked-room-type mystery.

In The Maid , Molly Gray is maid who has difficulty in social situations, but who takes great pride in her work. She works at the upscale Regency Grand Hotel, taking pride in her neatly tucked bed corners and wiping every spot of dirt and dust from every surface.

Then, one day she finds the dead body of Mr. Black, a wealthy real estate tycoon, in one of the guest rooms, sending her life into disarray and revealing the messy, gritty activities going on beneath their noses that the hotel.

In this cozy murder mystery, Molly must find Mr. Black's killer or risk getting entangled in a dirty plot. And to do so, Molly must rely on those she trusts so they can clean up this mess.

(The Full Plot Summary is also available, below)

Full Plot Summary

The two-paragraph version of this: Molly Gray is a maid at a hotel who finds a the dead body of Mr. Black, a wealthy real estate tycoon, in a guest room. Meanwhile, Molly has been doing favors for Giselle, Mr. Black’s (second) wife, and the hotel’s head barman Rodney. When Molly is arrested for Mr. Black’s murder, Molly realizes she’s been framed.

She soon learns that Giselle and Rodney are lovers who were planning on running away together and that Rodney was working for Mr. Black by running a drug operation (which Molly unwittingly had assisted in) through the hotel. With help from others, Molly concocts a plan so that Rodney is caught red-handed with the drugs and is arrested for the murder (Giselle wasn’t involved, so Molly encourages her to run away). In the Epilogue, it’s revealed that Molly knew all along that the real killer was Mr. Black’s first wife, whose daughter Victoria had been trying to clean up his company.

Molly Gray , 25, is a maid at an upscale boutique hotel, the Regency Grand Hotel, where she’s worked for four years. Molly is socially awkward, has difficulty interpreting body language and social situations, and her Gran who raised her passed away 9 months ago. Charles Black , a real estate magnate, and his (second) wife Giselle Black are frequent guests of the hotel. Giselle is friendly and generous with Molly and has told Molly about her unhappy marriage.

On Monday , Molly finds the dead body of Mr. Black in his hotel suite. Giselle was upset earlier that day, and Charles’s company, Black Properties & Investments , has been in turmoil lately due to a tussle over ownership and control with his daughter, Victoria Black . Victoria’s mother is Charles’s first wife, and Victoria owns 49% of the shares of the company.

At the scene, Molly notices an open bottle of Giselle’s pills next to the body, money missing from the room’s safe, a flight itinerary for two one-way tickets to the Cayman Island in Giselle’s purse, and she had seen Mr. Black holding a deed of some sort earlier that day. The police question Molly, but Molly withholds a lot of information to prevent incriminating Giselle, who she considers a friend. Giselle has previously told Molly about Charles’s cheating and abusive behavior, but Molly keeps all of it to herself.

On Tuesday , Molly’s landlord Mr. Russo reminds her of her late rent payment. At work, the head bartender Rodney asks to meet up with Molly after her shift to talk about what she witnessed. Molly eagerly agrees since she’s infatuated with Rodney, and she views this as their second date.

Over a year-and-a-half ago, Molly had walked in to clean a room where she was stopped by two large men, and she saw Rodney and Juan Manuel (one of the kitchen dishwashers) in the room, too. Rodney had asked to talk with her afterwards, which Molly had interpreted to be a date. Over dinner, he’d asked her not to tell anyone else what she saw involving the men, a package and a duffle bag. Rodney claimed that he was helping Juan Manuel, an undocumented worker. He also asked for Molly’s help in getting keycards for empty rooms that Juan could use each night and to clean those rooms afterwards. Molly had agreed and had been giving Juan Manuel keycards each day since then.

In present day, Molly meets up with Rodney who asks her what she witnessed yesterday and how the police questioning had gone. She starts to get irritated and suspicious when he asks if the police said anything about him. However, she dismisses those thoughts when he asks to exchange phone numbers. Afterwards, Mr. Preston the doorman sees them together, and he warns Molly to be careful with Rodney.

Molly has only ever had one ex-boyfriend, Wilbur . Molly and her grandmother had saved up money so that Molly could attend college, and Molly had met Wilbur, a soon-to-be accounting student, at college orientation just before she was supposed to start her hospitality management program. They’d been dating until one day Wilbur went with her to deposit a check in her account and saw her key in her PIN number. He cleaned out her account, and she never heard from him again. Molly didn’t report it since she didn’t want her grandmother to know what had happened.

When Molly gets home, she finds Giselle waiting outside her apartment building. (Giselle is currently staying at another room in the hotel). Inside, Giselle fills Molly in on what’s been going on. She says that she and Charles had gotten in an argument yesterday when she asked to have a piece of property (a villa in the Cayman Islands) in her name because their prenup means she gets nothing. However, Giselle insists she didn’t kill Charles, and Molly believes her.

Giselle also asks Molly about what she saw and told the police. Hearing that Molly tried to be discreet, Giselle hugs Molly and gives her $200. Then, Giselle asks Molly for a favor. She says she left a gun in the bathroom fan in the crime scene suite and asks Molly to fetch it for her. Molly agrees to get it.

On Wednesday , the police are done inspecting the Black suite, and Molly is assigned to clean it up. Rodney suggests that Juan Manuel should stay there for a while once it’s clean since the hotel is unlikely to be renting it out for a while anyway. He gives Molly a duffle bag to put in there. That morning, Molly cleans up the suite, places the duffle bag there and fetches Giselle’s gun from the bathroom. Molly puts the gun in her extra vacuum filter to hide it.

Molly also finds Mr. Black’s wedding band in the room. Molly decides to pawn it at a pawn shop over lunch. When she returns back to the hotel, the police are there looking to question Molly again. They confront her about not having been forthcoming about what she knows about Giselle and Charles.

That night, Molly uses the money from the pawnshop to pay the remainder of her late rent. Afterwards, she’s feeling upset, and she calls Rodney. She confides in him about Giselle’s gun and about pawning Mr. Black’s wedding band.

On Thursday morning, Molly is arrested for Mr. Black’s murder and the police know everything that Molly had told Rodney. By now, it’s been established that Mr. Black died of asphyxiation. Molly calls Mr. Preston for help. His daughter, Charlotte, is a lawyer. Charlotte offers to represent Molly and helps to put up the bail so Molly can be released.

They review the details of what happened, and they talk to Juan Manuel as well. It turns out that Mr. Black had been running a drug operation through the hotel and that Rodney was working for him. The duffle bags that Rodney had asked Molly to place in the empty rooms that Juan Manuel was in every night were filled with cocaine. Rodney had also been forcing Juan Manuel to work for them. (Rodney had introduced Juan Manuel to a layer to get his work permit extended, but the lawyer had taken Juan Manuel’s money and left him with an expired permit. Rodney had then threatened Juan Manuel and his family unless he cooperated.) It also turns out that Rodney and Giselle were lovers, and Giselle had wanted them to run away to the Cayman Islands to start a new life.

In present day, the group discusses and comes up with a plan to help Molly. That night, they trick Rodney into going up into the Black suite to fetch a duffle bag of cocaine. When he does, the police apprehend him red-handed and he’s arrested for the murder of Mr. Black. Molly is cleared of all charges. (Giselle would have been arrested, too, except that Molly called her and Giselle swore that she knew about the drugs, but had nothing to do with the murder or framing Molly. Molly decides to tell Giselle to get her passport and run away.)

That night, Molly thinks about her Gran’s death and how her Gran (in her final days of dying of pancreatic cancer) had asked Molly to smother her with a pillow to stop the pain. Molly had done it.

On Friday , Molly’s boss Mr. Snow offers her and Juan Manuel their jobs back.

Several Months Later , Molly and Juan Manuel are now dating, and Molly has recently been promoted to Head Maid. Juan Manuel has recently moved in with Molly, and she is slowly rebuilding her savings so she can attend a hospitality management program while she works. Today, Molly receives a $10,000 deposit into her account from “Sandy Cayman”, who she realizes must be Giselle and that Giselle is now in the Cayman Islands by herself.

Molly also thinks back to the testimony she gave yesterday when Rodney was convicted of murder. She had told the court about how when she found the body, she’d fainted because she’d seen a shadowy figure holding a pillow. She says that she didn’t say anything before since she wasn’t entirely sure what she’d seen.

In the Epilogue , Molly explains that she really did see a shadowy figure. She fainted because the image of them holding a pillow reminded her of herself when she smothered her Gran (at Gran’s request). However, at court it was implied that it could’ve been Rodney. Instead, Molly knows exactly who it was — the killer was the first Mrs. Black (Charles’s first wife and the mother of Victoria Black).

Mrs. Black had helped Molly up after she fainted and explained that she’d gone there to talk to Mr. Black, but he had gotten physical with her. She told Molly about how her daughter Victoria had been trying to clean up the company, but Mr. Black had resisted. She suggested that Molly help her to “turn the tables” on bad men like Mr. Black by not telling anyone about her (Mrs. Black) being there. Molly had agreed.

For more detail, see the full Chapter-by-Chapter Summary .

If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ( $2 , $3 , or $5 ) or joining the Patreon !

Book Review

The Maid by Nita Prose first caught my eye a few months ago because an author I follow on twitter had read an early copy of it and recommended it. I was immediately drawn to it’s colorful book trailer (see the video embedded above) and the premise of a cozy murder mystery set in a posh hotel.

The book has already been well-received, having been selected as a book club pick by the GMA Book Club. It’s also been optioned for a possible movie adaptation with Florence Pugh having signed on for the lead role.

While this is Prose’s debut novel, Prose is the vice president and editorial director at Simon & Schuster Canada. So, it should come as no surprise that the book feels highly polished and that that pacing of it is feels precisely right for the story that it’s telling.

The story opens with the discovery of a dead body in a hotel suite by Molly Gray, a maid who works at an upscale boutique hotel. Molly is trusting and good-hearted, with great passion for her work. She’s also someone who appears to be neuroatypical, and she has trouble reading things like body language, facial expressions and social cues. Her personality lends the book a lot of its charm.

In general, I felt like The Maid was well-paced and generally a solid novel. The message of the book is a well-meaning one — about being kind and accepting for people who are different from you. It’s the type of book that has plenty of mass appeal that most people can enjoy.

Some Criticisms

So, I feel like these criticisms are a little nit-picky, but I’ll point them out anyway, just because I think it’s helpful for potential readers to know what things they might not like about the book so they can judge for themselves if this is a good pick for them.

First off, I should mention that this was marketed as a closed-room mystery, though I’d say it’s questionable whether this would be considered a closed-room mystery. In terms of the plot, it’s fairly straight-forward and large parts of it guessable. Of course, it’s still a perfectly serviceable mystery that basically makes sense and doesn’t have huge logical flaws, so I feel like it’s still above average as far as mystery novel plots go.

A bigger issue that I noticed it that the characterization of Molly Gray, our protagonist, seemed a little inconsistent. In the first half of the book, Molly seems to act like a little bit of a simpleton, just blindly doing whatever anyone tells her to and seemingly incapable of exercising basic sense. To be honest, I found the first half of the book a little frustrating in this regard — I kept wanting to reach into the book’s pages and shake some sense into her. In the second half, she suddenly becomes much more mentally aware for no particular reason and displays much more cunning and individual thought. I found the shift to be a little jarring.

Of course, this is all fairly easy to overlook. Overall, Molly makes for a generally likeable and easy-to-root-for protagonist, and I imagine most readers will appreciate her guilelessness personality.

Finally, I’ll just mention that the resolution is possibly just a little bit too impossibly optimistic — but since this is a cozy mystery I feel like that’s to be expected. So whatever.

Read it or Skip it?

The Maid is a warm-hearted and very “cozy” book, and I think most people who like these types of novels will really enjoy it. It’s a well-meaning novel that’s free of cynicism, with a naïve but well-meaning protagonist and an uncomplicated mystery at its center.

The weather where I live has been dreary and chilly, and I’ve been getting over a cold, so for me this novel was precisely the comfy escape that I was looking for. It was fast read with a cute cast of characters. While I do wish Molly would’ve been characterized more consistently and that ending was a little too “neat” for my tastes (with everything wrapped up in a perfect bow), overall, I enjoyed this guileless and warm-hearted cozy mystery.

P.S. If you liked this book, you should also check out The Thursday Murder Club , which is a cozy mystery that I thought was excellent.

P.P.S. For more books with neuro-atypical protagonists, also check out Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and The Rosie Project .

See The Maid on Amazon.

The Maid Audiobook

Narrated by : Lauren Ambrose Length : 9 hours 37 minutes

Hear a sample of The Maid audiobook on Libro.fm.

The Maid, Explained!

SPOILERS BEGIN HERE . You’ve been warned!

Where can I find a full plot summary of The Maid?

Right here! You can find a quick recap and a lengthier version of the summary over here.

Where/what location is The Maid set?

The Maid is set in a fictional hotel called the Regency Grand Hotel. It’s not specified what city it takes place in.

Is the protagonist of The Maid, Molly Gray, autistic?

It’s not specified exactly that she is autistic, but there many indication (her needing help with social cues and reading expressions and body language, etc.) that she is neuro-atypical.

How does The Maid end? What’s the ending of The Maid?

In the end, Mr. Preston, Charlotte and Juan Manuel help Molly come up with a plan to ensure that Rodney is caught red-handed with the duffle bag full of cocaine that he asked Molly to place in Suite 403. As a result, Rodney was arrested, and Molly’s name was cleared. Later, Molly and Juan Manuel testified about what Rodney had done and Rodney was convicted of the crime.

In the Epilogue, we find out that the real killer was Mrs. Black and that Molly knew that all along since she’d seen her when she found the body.

Is Mr. Preston Molly’s grandfather?

This is left somewhat ambiguous, but the novel seems to hint that Mr. Preston is Molly’s grandfather. Mr. Preston explains that he and Flora (Molly’s Gran) had dated, but weren’t permitted to marry. Soon after, Flora had become pregnant. Mr. Preston offers up little details about the man who impregnated Flora except to say that the man has a family he loves very much. This seems to hint that Mr. Preston was that man, and in the book his daughter Charlotte looks at him funny when he says all this, which seems to imply that she picked up on it as well.

Book Excerpt

Read the first pages of The Maid

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In The Maid , 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?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

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Did Rodney get convicted of murder?

I think that Molly murdered Mr Black to help Giselle, because Mrs Black couldn’t kill him without anyone see her coming and leaving the hotel. Molly told us, readers, who the person reflected in the mirror looked like her and acted as Giselle. Giselle send $ 10.000,00 to Molly! Both acted collusion. Remember, Molly killed her grandmother asphyxiated.

This honestly makes more sense. I wasn’t happy with the ending.

It’s a cute mystery book… there are several moral issues to think about: Molly did a “mercy” killing of her grandmother. What a burden her grandmother out in Molly, who is a bit simple in the first half and suddenly cunning in the second half. She lets a msn get convicted for a murder she knew he did not commit! Granted her is a bad guy, but… She takes money from Mr Black’s second wife that came from drug sales and she did not turn in the first wife, whom she knows is the murderer! So the theme of friendship and love are only part of the story. Revenge is certainly one of the other themes.

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Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

Kirkus Reviews' Best Books Of 2022

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

by Nita Prose ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 2022

A compelling take on the classic whodunit.

The shocking murder of a public figure at a high-end hotel has everyone guessing who the culprit might be.

Twenty-five-year-old Molly Gray, an eccentric young woman who's obsessed with cleaning but doesn't quite have the same ability to navigate social cues as those around her, loves working as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Raised by her old-fashioned grandmother, who loved nothing more than cleaning and watching Columbo reruns, Molly has an overly polite and straightforward manner that can make her seem odd and off-putting to her colleagues despite her being the hardest worker at the hotel. After her grandmother's death, Molly's rigid life begins to lose some of its long-held balance, and when the infamous Mr. Charles Black, a rich and powerful businessman suspected of various criminal enterprises, is found murdered in one of the rooms she cleans, her whole world gets turned upside down. Before Molly knows what's happening, her odd demeanor has the police convinced she's guilty of the crime, and certain people at the hotel are a little too pleased about it. With the help of a few new friends (and while fending off new foes), she must begin to untangle the mystery of who really killed Mr. Black to get herself off the hook once and for all. Though the unusual ending might frustrate some readers, this unique debut will keep them reading.

Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-35615-9

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022

MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | THRILLER | CRIME & LEGAL THRILLER | GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | GENERAL FICTION

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PERSPECTIVES

SEEN & HEARD

THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD

by Stuart Turton ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 21, 2024

“Don’t go in the water” takes on new meaning in Turton’s brainy thriller.

It’s doomsday eve on a small Greek island where the last post-apocalyptic community on earth will be destroyed unless a murdered scientist’s secret research can be uncovered.

The rest of the world ended 90 years ago, just as humankind was close to overcoming climate change. Now, a lethal black fog is approaching the island, where 122 villagers live peacefully, albeit with an unreliable female AI voice inside their heads. All but the rebellious woman Emory are content not to question geographical boundaries they are not allowed to cross or mysterious programming that can wipe their memories, make them fall asleep at 8:45 p.m. every night, and die at 60—a bum deal considering the extraordinarily long lives of the three elders, including Niema, the murder victim. A brilliant scientist who in another lifetime was awarded two Nobel Prizes and later devised the barrier blocking the fog, she was 173. Hours after announcing she would reveal hidden truths about the island and the extreme experiments she was conducting to safeguard its future, she was stabbed to death. Solving her murder is key to saving the island. Turton, who specializes in odd, raging conflicts in closed settings—a London manor in The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (2018); a cursed 17th-century ship in The Devil and the Dark Water (2020)—here takes on a bunch of big themes including the nature of existence and the value of life. H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau , without the monsters, comes to mind. Long and talky and light on characterizations, Turton’s latest is a bit mechanical in the telling, perhaps owing to the AI’s role as narrator. But it’s a fresh twist on dystopian fiction with its share of surprises.

Pub Date: May 21, 2024

ISBN: 9781728254654

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024

THRILLER | PARANORMAL FICTION | CRIME & LEGAL THRILLER | LITERARY FICTION | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | GENERAL FICTION

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BOOK REVIEW

by Stuart Turton

A CONSPIRACY OF BONES

by Kathy Reichs ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2020

Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.

Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.

A week after the night she chases but fails to catch a mysterious trespasser outside her town house, some unknown party texts Tempe four images of a corpse that looks as if it’s been chewed by wild hogs, because it has been. Showboat Medical Examiner Margot Heavner makes it clear that, breaking with her department’s earlier practice ( The Bone Collection , 2016, etc.), she has no intention of calling in Tempe as a consultant and promptly identifies the faceless body herself as that of a young Asian man. Nettled by several errors in Heavner’s analysis, and even more by her willingness to share the gory details at a press conference, Tempe launches her own investigation, which is not so much off the books as against the books. Heavner isn’t exactly mollified when Tempe, aided by retired police detective Skinny Slidell and a host of experts, puts a name to the dead man. But the hints of other crimes Tempe’s identification uncovers, particularly crimes against children, spur her on to redouble her efforts despite the new M.E.’s splenetic outbursts. Before he died, it seems, Felix Vodyanov was linked to a passenger ferry that sank in 1994, an even earlier U.S. government project to research biological agents that could control human behavior, the hinky spiritual retreat Sparkling Waters, the dark web site DeepUnder, and the disappearances of at least four schoolchildren, two of whom have also turned up dead. And why on earth was Vodyanov carrying Tempe’s own contact information? The mounting evidence of ever more and ever worse skulduggery will pull Tempe deeper and deeper down what even she sees as a rabbit hole before she confronts a ringleader implicated in “Drugs. Fraud. Breaking and entering. Arson. Kidnapping. How does attempted murder sound?”

Pub Date: March 17, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9821-3888-2

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020

GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | SUSPENSE | THRILLER | DETECTIVES & PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS | SUSPENSE | GENERAL & DOMESTIC THRILLER

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by Kathy Reichs

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Book Review: The Maid by Nita Prose-A Murder Mystery

Book:  The Maid The Maid by Nita Prose | Goodreads

Author:  Nita Prose

Publisher: Random House-Ballantine Books

Published Date:  January 4 th , 2022

Genre:  Mystery/Thriller

Rating:   ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

*I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. Book review thoughts and opinions are my own. *

Reminiscent of an Agatha Christie “whodunit” mystery, Prose’s The Maid follows Molly Gray as she navigates life after her gran dies. Molly is a quirky maid who has trouble reading social cues and finds herself in a precarious situation, unsure of who’s a friend and who’s a foe. Luckily, there are several co-workers at the hotel that are genuine friends and help her out. While she’s able to navigate the situation with help from her new friends, she still holds onto several surprising secrets.

My Thoughts:

I wholeheartedly enjoyed Molly as a character. While not explicitly stated, I feel she’s on the spectrum as she has a difficult time navigating social cues and often misinterprets what others are saying and doing. Because of this, she finds herself the scapegoat when she thinks those people are her friends.

Even though Molly struggles in that aspect, she often views things as others do not and notices minute details that are invaluable to solving the mystery. It was pretty easy to figure out some of the pieces of the mystery, there were a few surprises revealed in the end.

Check out my other Myster & Thriller book reviews here: Mystery & Thriller ~ Once Upon a Book Babe

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The Maid Book Review

• Author: Nita Prose
• Genre: Mystery
• Type: Novel
• Publisher: HarperCollins

In “The Maid” by Nita Prose, readers are introduced to amateur sleuth Molly Gray, a maid working at the luxurious Regency Grand Hotel.

When Molly stumbles upon the body of a dead guest, Mr. Black, she becomes entangled in a web of mystery and deception at the hotel. As Molly delves deeper into the investigation , themes of visibility and truth come to the forefront, challenging her perception of the world around her.

“The Maid” by Nita Prose is a riveting mystery novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The character of Molly Gray is both endearing and relatable, making her journey through the secrets of the Regency Grand Hotel all the more captivating.

Prose’s storytelling is gripping, with unexpected twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. The exploration of social class distinctions and power dynamics added depth to the narrative, making it a thought-provoking read.

I highly recommend “The Maid” to anyone who enjoys a well-crafted mystery thriller with strong character development and a compelling storyline. Nita Prose’s skilful writing and engaging plot make this book a must-read for fans of the genre.

Pick up a copy of “The Maid” and prepare to be drawn into a world of secrets, intrigue, and unexpected revelations.

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Nita Prose is a bestselling author known for her debut novel, “THE MAID,” which has achieved international success with over 1 million copies sold worldwide and published in over forty countries.

The book has been a #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and was selected for the Good Morning America Book Club . Prose’s writing has earned critical acclaim, winning the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction and being a finalist for the Edgar Award.

Review: The Maid by Nita Prose

Editorial note: I received a copy of The Maid in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

The Maid by Nita Prose is a charming murder mystery full of heart and depth.

So you don’t often see ‘heartwarming’ used to describe a murder mystery! However, the The Maid is such a unique take on the genre. There are elements of both Clue and Knives Out , with a little Agatha Christie mixed in. But the story really stands on its own. (BTW, this is one of my must-read book club books for 2022 selections so be sure to check out the full list if you haven’t seen it yet.)

The story is getting so much publicity from Good Morning America selecting it for their book club pick for January to news that actress Florence Pugh will star in the movie version (fantastic casting!). I’m here to say that the buzz is real—this book is fantastic! I was so absorbed with this novel and it truly took me on such a journey. It’s been a long time since I’ve read such an engaging and lively story. I already know this will be one of my favorites of the year. This one is well worth your time!

What’s the Story About

Our protagonist Molly Gray is a maid at a five-star hotel. She takes great pride in her work and ensures that each room she works on is left in a state of perfection. While it’s never explicitly said, it appears that Molly is on the autism spectrum and has difficulty understanding social cues while also misinterpreting the actions of others. Her beloved Gran would help interpret the world for her but she passed away several months ago and Molly is now on her own. So she becomes even more laser focus on doing a good job at work.

But everything changes for Molly when she finds a famous and wealthy hotel guest dead in his hotel room. Molly becomes the main suspect and it takes a cast of characters to help her uncover the truth behind the murder. And along the way, Molly learns so much more about herself and the world around her.

Molly is vivid and lovely. She’s quite misunderstood and there are some heartbreaking scenes as a result. It’s quite sad because it’s based in reality—it’s something that we know does happen. While this is a fiction story, you hope that reading from Molly’s perspective does help one focus a bit more on empathy.

Molly isn’t able to interpret beyond what people say to her. She takes everything at face value and is quite trusting and as a result, she lacks the ability to sense when someone is lying or misleading her. But she does learn quite a bit on this journey, especially when the police decide she’s the main suspect.

But I will say Molly is very strong and you’ll root for her throughout this journey.

Her character arc and growth is very well done and makes sense within the context of this story. And no spoilers here, Molly will surprise you. All in all, I really loved the Molly character and the other side characters as well. Her relationship with her Gran was special and sweet. I found myself choked up at many of their scenes—again not something you expect in a murder mystery!

The Mystery

As you can see, there’s quite a bit of character development in this novel. But let’s not forget that The Maid is a murder mystery. And the mystery is interesting! You know there’s more that meets the eye with what we’re told but I have to say there are several twists I did not see coming. I love when that happens.

It reminded me bit of the cozy mystery genre. Those are lighter takes on murder mysteries—amateur sleuth without the heavy content or graphic scenes. I wouldn’t say this is as light as most cozy mysteries but it does fall under that arena. It never felt too intense and instead, featured plenty of warm and wit.

I really adored The Maid ! It was the right book to read at the right time. It’s creative, original, fun, sweet, and engaging—all in one package. Don’t miss out on this novel—be sure to add it to your TBR.

For book clubs, check out my discussion questions here .

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The Maid: A Novel

• By Nita Prose
• Ballantine Books
• Reviewed by Tara Laskowski
• January 10, 2022

This cozy whodunit is a joy from the first page to the last.

The work that goes into an immaculate hotel room often goes unnoticed. One walks into the finished product and appreciates its elegant simplicity, everything crisp and delightful and new.

This is how I feel about The Maid , Nita Prose’s short-but-memorable debut crime novel. It’s such a pleasure to experience, readers won’t realize all the behind-the-scenes hard work that goes into crafting such a fun and surprising mystery.

Molly is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel and loves her job. And when I say loves, I mean loves . There’s nothing, it seems, that she adores more than to return dirty rooms to “a state of perfection.”

“Every day of work is a joy to me,” she tells us early on. “I was born to do this job.” And indeed, her descriptions of the wonders of cleaning make me want to bust open the cabinet under the sink and start disinfecting everything:

“There’s nothing quite like a perfectly stocked maid’s trolley…The crisp little packages of delicately wrapped soaps that smell of orange blossom, the tiny Crabtree & Evelyn shampoo bottles, the squat tissue boxes…And last but not least, the cleaning kit, which includes a feather duster, lemon furniture polish, lightly scented antiseptic garbage bags, as well as an impressive array of spray bottles of solvents and disinfectants, all lined up and ready to combat any stain, be it coffee rings, vomit — or even blood.”

Unfortunately for Molly, her attention to detail when it comes to cleanliness doesn’t extend to understanding social cues or knowing how to navigate the complex waters of conversations or relationships. Molly the Maid is seen as a “weirdo” by her co-workers, who don’t appreciate or comprehend her boundless desire to do her best at her job. Her closest friend was her grandmother, who has recently died, leaving her alone in the apartment they once shared. And she is easily duped by conniving people.

When she enters the penthouse suite at the Regency Grand one afternoon to return it to perfection, she finds very much the opposite: The most prized hotel guest, Mr. Black, is collapsed dead in his bed, murdered. Sadly, because of a series of unfortunate events that I won’t detail here because they’re incredibly amusing to uncover as a reader, Molly finds herself the prime suspect in his killing and the center of a swirling scandal threatening not only the reputation of the hotel she adores but also her own livelihood.

Channeling the quirky cast of “Clue” and gentle, wry humor of Douglas Adams, The Maid hits all the right notes in these crazy times. With the world seemingly in more disarray every day, it’s refreshing to meet a character who just wants to make everything orderly again. Molly’s voice is distinguishing from the very first page: “Every day in every way” and “Need a tissue for your issue?” I loved her unique take on life and her plucky optimism.

The Maid is such an enjoyable read that I was sad when it ended. Author Prose does a superb job of building this small but complete world. Even the secondary characters are interesting and memorable, from the cranky landlord to the weary but prudent hotel manager. It’s obvious from the outset who the friends and foes are and which are the wolves in sheep’s clothing, but we go along for the ride because we want to watch Molly figure it out for herself.

The Maid is, to use one of Molly’s favorite words, a “delight” from beginning to end.

Tara Laskowski is the author of the suspense novels The Mother Next Door and One Night Gone , the latter of which won the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards for best debut novel.

Support the Independent by purchasing this title via our affliate links: Amazon.com Or through Bookshop.org

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BOOK REVIEW: The Maid by Nita Prose

Title : The Maid Author : Nita Prose Publication : January 4, 2022 Publisher : Ballantine Books Genre : Mystery Pages : 280

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SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)

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?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

The Maid was labeled as a cozy mystery, which was a bit outside my usual reading. I love mystery novels, but I love when they are dark and gritty. I figured this one sounded interesting enough to give it a chance and I was not disappointed.

At first, Molly was a bit weird to read. Her demeanor and behavior definitely shows she is different, but not in a bad way. She is precise and doesn’t understand social cues the same. They never say, but I would guess maybe on the spectrum somewhere having personal experience. I quite liked her though. She is pretty blunt and says what she thinks because she doesn’t read social queues the same as most. Sometimes what she said had me laughing out loud because it was just so blunt the other people in the story didn’t react well. It was nice to read from a characters point of view that is different than most characters in a book. A breath of fresh air, if you will.

The story was also well organized and told. I love the attention to detail Prose used in descriptions and explanations. I loved the “gran always said” moments. I also had a fondness for many of the other characters and a hard suspicion about many as well. The point is, Prose drew out strong feelings regarding things in this book and I love when an author does that.

The ending wasn’t as shocking, as I saw who was the bad guy, but then the very end gave me a little enlightenment and I was mind blown. Molly is not as different as you’d think.

Either way, I quite enjoyed this book. The initial pick up was a little slow, but when it did get moving, it moved smooth and kept me interested. I look forward to reading more from Prose and encourage anyone who likes a nice clean, page-turning mystery to pick up The Maid now!

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Over 1 million copies sold worldwide # 1 New York Times bestseller Sunday Times bestseller, UK Good Morning America Book Club Pick

“I am your maid. I know so much about you. But when it comes down to it: what is it that you know about me?”

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and often misreads people’s intentions. But no matter—she still she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid at the five-star Regency Grand Hotel. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning and returning guest rooms to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended when she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find Mr. Black dead— very dead—in his bed. Perplexed by Molly’s unusual behavior, the police immediately suspect her of murder. She’s soon caught in a web of deception with no idea how to untangle herself.

Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had join her in a search for clues about what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

“The reader comes to understand Molly’s worldview, and to sympathize with her longing to be accepted—a quest that gives The Maid real emotional heft.” — The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

“Think Clue . Think page-turner.” — Glamour

“What begins as a sprightly murder mystery turns into a meaningful, and at times even delicate, portrait of growth.” — NPR

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The Maid: The Sunday Times and No.1 New York Times bestseller, and Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for best mystery thriller (A Molly the Maid mystery, Book 1) Kindle Edition

*molly the maid returns in the mystery guest – available to buy now*.

_________________________________________________________________

Curl up with the million-copy bestseller . . .

*THE NO.1 NEW YORK TIMES & SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER *WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST MYSTERY/THRILLER *WINNER OF THE NED KELLY AWARD FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL CRIME FICTION *A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME PICK

‘An escapist pleasure ’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘An instantly gripping whodunnit’ STYLIST ‘Smart, riveting, and deliciously refreshing ’ LISA JEWELL _________________________________________________________________

It begins like any other day for Molly Gray, silently dusting her way through the luxury rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel.

But when she enters suite 401 and discovers an infamous guest dead in his bed , a very messy mystery begins to unfold. And Molly’s at the heart of it – because if anyone can uncover the secrets beneath the surface, the fingerprints amongst the filth – it’s the maid . . .

_______________________________________________________

Everyone’s getting swept away by The Maid :

‘Excellent and totally entertaining . . . the most interesting (and endearing) main character in a long time’ STEPHEN KING

‘This is phenomenal thriller. Maid or murderer or victim? Find out in the book’ READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Gripping, deftly written, and led by a truly unforgettable protagonist in Molly. I'm recommending it to everyone I know' EMMA STONEX

‘I loved everything about this book’ READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I didn’t think I could love a character any more than I loved Eleanor Oliphant but along comes Molly the Maid. God, I love her’ READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Fresh, fiendish and darkly beguiling. The Maid is so thrillingly original, and clever, and joyous. I just adored every page’ CHRIS WHITAKER

‘Felt like a modern day homage to Agatha Christie’ READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Lots of twists and turns and highly gripping’ READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Sunday Times No.4 bestseller for w/c 24/01/2022

A New York Times No.1 bestseller for w/c 31/01/2022

Nita Prose's book 'The Maid' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2023-05-01.

• Book 1 of 3 Molly the Maid
• Print length 349 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher HarperCollins
• Publication date 20 Jan. 2022
• File size 2968 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
• See all details

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Product description

‘Excellent and totally entertaining… the most interesting (and endearing) main character in a long time’ Stephen King

‘A smart, riveting, and deliciously refreshing debut. Prose knows how to pen a murder mystery with tremendous heart’ Lisa Jewell

‘The book’s endearing central character and atmospheric hotel setting make it an escapist pleasure ― a mini-break between the pages’ Sunday Times

‘Finally booksellers have a concrete answer to the question 'I loved Eleanor Oliphant – what should I read next?'’ Bookbrunch

‘A gripping and heart-warming whodunnit narrated by an intriguing and original heroine. Skilfully layered and masterfully told. I loved it’ Santa Montefiore

‘An endearing debut . . . Prose threads a steady needle with the intricate plotting’ New York Times

‘The Maid is elegant, warm-hearted and wry, and Molly the most winningly off-beat narrator since Eleanor Oliphant. An absolute joy’ Louise Candlish

‘An instantly gripping and delightful whodunnit’ Stylist

‘I enjoyed every minute of this twisty yet tender thriller. The Maid is gripping, deftly written, and led by a truly unforgettable protagonist in Molly. I'm recommending it to everyone I know' Emma Stonex

‘Nita Prose has created a true 21st Century heroine in a brilliantly-written, transformative story’ Janice Hallett

‘Molly the Maid has captured my heart! I loved this charming and utterly original whodunit . . . Put this on your to-read pile immediately’ Sarah Pearse

‘Unlike anything else I’ve read, this kept me up way past lights out’ Katie Fforde

‘This is going to be HUGE! A heroine as loveable and quirky as Eleanor Oliphant, caught up in a crime worthy of Agatha Christie. Loved it!’ Clare Pooley

‘A contemporary murder mystery with a unique heroine who will appeal to Eleanor Oliphant fans’ Daily Mail

From the Back Cover

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

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

I am well aware that my name is ridiculous. It was not ridiculous before I took this job four years ago. I’m a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, and my name is Molly. Molly Maid. A joke. Before I took the job, Molly was just a name, given to me by my estranged mother, who left me so long ago that I have no memory of her, just a few photos and the stories Gran has told me. Gran said my mother thought Molly was a cute name for a girl, that it conjured apple cheeks and pigtails, neither of which I have, as it turns out. I’ve got simple, dark hair that I maintain in a sharp, neat bob. I part my hair in the middle—­the exact middle. I comb it flat and straight. I like things simple and neat.

I have pointed cheekbones and pale skin that people sometimes marvel at, and I don’t know why. I’m as white as the sheets that I take off and put on, take off and put on, all day long in the twenty-­plus rooms that I make up for the esteemed guests at the Regency Grand, a five-­star boutique hotel that prides itself on “sophisticated elegance and proper decorum for the modern age.”

Never in my life did I think I’d hold such a lofty position in a grand hotel. I know others think differently, that a maid is a lowly nobody. I know we’re all supposed to aspire to become doctors and lawyers and rich real-estate tycoons. But not me. I’m so thankful for my job that I pinch myself every day. I really do. Especially now, without Gran. Without her, home isn’t home. It’s as though all the color has been drained from the apartment we shared. But the moment I enter the Regency Grand, the world turns Technicolor bright.

As I place a hand on the shining brass railing and walk up the scarlet steps that lead to the hotel’s majestic portico, I’m Dorothy entering Oz. I push through the gleaming revolving doors and I see my true self reflected in the glass—­my dark hair and pale complexion are omnipresent, but a blush returns to my cheeks, my raison d’être restored once more.

Once I’m through the doors, I often pause to take in the grandeur of the lobby. It never tarnishes. It never grows drab or dusty. It never dulls or fades. It is blessedly the same each and every day. There’s the reception and concierge to the left, with its midnight-­obsidian counter and smart-looking receptionists in black and white, like penguins. And there’s the ample lobby itself, laid out in a horseshoe, with its fine Italian marble floors that radiate pristine white, drawing the eye up, up to the second-­floor terrace. There are the ornate Art Deco features of the terrace and the grand staircase that brings you there, balustrades glowing and opulent, serpents twisting up to golden knobs held static in brass jaws. Guests will often stand at the rails, hands resting on a glowing post, as they survey the glorious scene below—­porters marching crisscross, dragging suitcases behind them, guests lounging in sumptuous armchairs or couples tucked into emerald loveseats, their secrets absorbed into the deep, plush velvet.

But perhaps my favorite part of the lobby is the olfactory sensation, that first redolent breath as I take in the scent of the hotel itself at the start of every shift—­the mélange of ladies’ fine perfumes, the dark musk of the leather armchairs, the tangy zing of lemon polish that’s used twice daily on the gleaming marble floors. It is the very scent of animus. It is the fragrance of life itself.

Every day, when I arrive to work at the Regency Grand, I feel alive again, part of the fabric of things, the splendor and the color. I am part of the design, a bright, unique square, integral to the tapestry.

Gran used to say, “If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life.” And she’s right. Every day of work is a joy to me. I was born to do this job. I love cleaning, I love my maid’s trolley, and I love my uniform.

There’s nothing quite like a perfectly stocked maid’s trolley early in the morning. It is, in my humble opinion, a cornucopia of bounty and beauty. The crisp little packages of delicately wrapped soaps that smell of orange blossom, the tiny Crabtree & Evelyn shampoo bottles, the squat tissue boxes, the toilet-­paper rolls wrapped in hygienic film, the bleached white towels in three sizes—­bath, hand, and washcloth—­and the stacks of doilies for the tea-­and-­coffee service tray. And last but not least, the cleaning kit, which includes a feather duster, lemon furniture polish, lightly scented antiseptic garbage bags, as well as an impressive array of spray bottles of solvents and disinfectants, all lined up and ready to combat any stain, be it coffee rings, vomit—­or even blood. A well-­stocked housekeeping trolley is a portable sanitation miracle; it is a clean machine on wheels. And as I said, it is beautiful.

And my uniform. If I had to choose between my uniform and my trolley, I don’t think I could. My uniform is my freedom. It is the ultimate invisibility cloak. At the Regency Grand, it’s dry cleaned daily in the hotel laundry, which is located in the dank bowels of the hotel down the hall from our housekeeping change rooms. Every day before I arrive at work, my uniform is hooked on my locker door. It comes wrapped in clingy plastic, with a little Post-­it note that has my name scrawled on it in black marker. What a joy it is to see it there in the morning, my second skin—­clean, disinfected, newly pressed, smelling like a mixture of fresh paper, an indoor pool, and nothingness. A new beginning. It’s as though the day before and the many days before that have all been erased.

When I don my maid uniform—­not the frumpy Downton Abbey style or even the Playboy-­bunny cliché, but the blinding-­white starched dress shirt and the slim-­fit black pencil skirt (made from stretchy fabric for easy bending)—­I am whole. Once I’m dressed for my workday, I feel more confident, like I know just what to say and do—­at least, most of the time. And once I take off my uniform at the end of the day, I feel naked, unprotected, undone.

The truth is, I often have trouble with social situations; it’s as though everyone is playing an elaborate game with complex rules they all know, but I’m always playing for the first time. I make etiquette mistakes with alarming regularity, offend when I mean to compliment, misread body language, say the wrong thing at the wrong time. It’s only because of my gran that I know a smile doesn’t necessarily mean someone is happy. Sometimes, people smile when they’re laughing at you. Or they’ll thank you when they really want to slap you across the face. Gran used to say my reading of behaviors was improving—­ every day in every way, my dear —­but now, without her, I struggle. Before, when I rushed home after work, I’d throw open the door to our apartment and ask her questions I’d saved up over the day. “I’m home! Gran, does ketchup really work on brass, or should I stick to salt and vinegar? Is it true that some people drink tea with cream? Gran, why did they call me Rumba at work today?”

But now, when the door to home opens, there’s no “Oh, Molly dear, I can explain” or “Let me make you a proper cuppa and I’ll answer all of that.” Now our cozy two-­bedroom feels hollow and lifeless and empty, like a cave. Or a coffin. Or a grave.

I think it’s because I have difficulty interpreting expressions that I’m the last person anyone invites to a party, even though I really like parties. Apparently, I make awkward conversation, and if you believe the whispers, I have no friends my age. To be fair, this is one hundred percent accurate. I have no friends my age, few friends of any age, for that matter.

But at work, when I’m wearing my uniform, I blend in. I become part of the hotel’s décor, like the black-­and-­white-­striped wallpaper that adorns many a hallway and room. In my uniform, as long as I keep my mouth shut, I can be anyone. You could see me in a police lineup and fail to pick me out even though you walked by me ten times in one day.

Recently, I turned twenty-­five, “a quarter of a century” my gran would proclaim to me now if she could say anything to me. Which she can’t, because she is dead.

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08R8SH69Y
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins (20 Jan. 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2968 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 349 pages
• 1 in Humour & Satire
• 2 in Literary Satire Fiction
• 2 in Women's Humorous Fiction

About the author

Nita Prose is the author of THE MYSTERY GUEST and THE MAID, which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide and was published in over forty countries. A #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and a GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick, THE MAID won the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction, the Fingerprint Award for Debut Novel of the Year, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First Mystery. THE MAID was also an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel. Nita lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is moderately clean.

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The Maid Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide

There are some dirty doings lurking behind the stately facade of the Regency Grand Hotel. Molly the Maid’s job is to clean things up, returning the rooms to “a state of perfection”. But even her efforts are thwarted by the ill intentions of other guests and staff.

Molly is a remarkably unique (and quirky) character whose innocent demeanor and social awkwardness place her at the white hot center of this murder mystery. That alone should give you plenty to talk about for your book club. But reviews for The Maid are quite binary, with some loving the book and others hating it. And that’s what will give you great book club fodder.

We’ll help you get the conversation started with our book club questions for The Maid . We’ve got 10 discussion prompts, a book synopsis and four wildly divergent review snippets that you can use to provide structure for your book discussion

(This article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase, I’ll make a small commission.)

The Maid Synopsis

The Maid , Nita Prose

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?

A  Clue -like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit,  The Maid  explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

10 The Maid Book Club Questions

These questions have been tailored to this book’s specific reading experience, but if you want more ideas, we also have an article with 101 generic book club questions .

• Is Molly simply social awkward, or is she neurodivergent, or even on the spectrum? What aspects of her behavior lead you to that conclusion one way or another? What you do you think was the author’s intent?
• “With Gran gone, much of the time I feel like a blind person in a minefield.” What are some ways that Molly’s innocence and poor social skills do her a disservice?
• Molly has such a particular way of speaking. Such as declaring that she will be “returning the room to a state of perfection” What did you think about her manner of speech? How was it important to her character development?
• “Truth isn’t always the highest ideal; sometimes it must be sacrificed to stop the spread of pain to those you love.” Do you agree?
• The book hints that Mr. Preston may be Molly’s grandfather, but the question is left unanswered. What do you think?
• The book never states a city or even country for the hotel? What city were you visualizing when you read the book?
• Who were you thinking had wielded the deadly pillow. Were you surprised by the reveal?
• The book has a few plot holes– Molly should get in trouble for pawning the ring (but doesn’t). The theft of the Faberge caused her great stress, but she could have easily recovered the money with a police filing and FDIC claim. What was Charlotte doing questioning Molly on the stand in what was clearly a criminal courtroom? Were there other plot holes? Did you get hung up on these inconsistencies, or did you simply go with the flow?
• Molly is such a sympathetic character in many respects. She is enthusiastically quirky, she’s grieving, she’s bullied and she has the stress and financial burden of a low wage job. But then, she also stole and pawned a ring, lied and told partial truths to the police and in court, and allowed a killer to go free while another person may have been falsely convicted of the crime. She’s complicated. How did you feel about Molly in the end?
• Molly sees her uniform as an invisibility cloak and in the opening line, she says, “I’m your maid. I’m the one who cleans your hotel room, who enters like a phantom when you’re out gallivanting for the day, no care at all for what you’ve left behind, the mess, or what I might see when you’re gone.“ She also says that, “You can be so crucial, so important to the fabric of things and yet be entirely overlooked.” Does the book’s descriptions of maid service make you rethink how you see or treat service workers such as janitors and hotel staff?

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Selected Reviews of The Maid

“The more I read, the less I wanted this story to end; such was my engagement with the character set. So my applause goes to Prose for pulling off such a thought-provoking, yet emotionally astute and satisfying conclusion.” – Booklover Book Reviews, check out their full review of The Maid .

“This is a cozy mystery with depth, and Molly is truly a memorable character that you can’t help but love […] The scandalous mystery and its players aren’t that shocking, and yet it is fun figuring everything out through Molly’s POV. It was a joy to see her blossom throughout the 1-week timeframe. This provided laughs, intrigue, and a  locked room -style mystery where anyone could be guilty.”

“It’s clear that the author cherry-picked the autistic characteristics that would best serve her story, then exaggerated them to the point of making Molly seem infantile, and created a whole plot out of it. So what’s the problem? Well, there’s something off about a neurotypical author crafting an adorably stupid but inauthentic autistic character, all for the sake of entertaining a predominantly neurotypical audience. In fact, it feels decidedly icky.”

“Unfortunately, the author felt a need to throw in a kitchen sink of social issues along the way, which took away from the charm of the story. Illegal immigration, domestic abuse, drug running, euthanasia, with the latter being the most egregious and out of character. I suspect it was added as an agenda of the author’s. She should have restrained herself.”

“I just wanted to wrap my arms around Molly in a hug and wrap my hands around the necks of those that took advantage of her trust and desire for friendship. Thank heavens it turns out she does have a few real friends. The ending was absolutely perfect.”

3 Books like The Maid

The Maid was a Good Morning America book club pick. If you like their recommendations, we also have a number of reading guides for GMA books including: The Lions of Fifth Avenue , The Vanishing Half , The Personal Librarian , The Violin Conspiracy , and The Midnight Library .

For more courtroom drama and whodunnit, try our guide for I Have Some Questions for You . And if you want more maids and mystery, use our book club guide for The Housemaid .

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine , Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a good comp if you liked Molly’s social awkwardness and the “is she neurodivergent or isn’t she?” part of the character development.

Eleanor Oliphant is a solitary, intelligent, and mistreated woman who insists she is “completely fine.” Spoiler alert: she’s not fine!

Eleanor’s awkward social interactions and misunderstandings result from past trauma and the unkindness of people around her. When she and a new colleague save an elderly man’s life, things begin to change. The challenging but hopeful book explores themes of isolation, intimacy, and trauma while advocating sympathetically for warmth and understanding.

Read it for book club and use our discussion guide for Eleanor Oliphant . And if you’ve already read and loved this one, check out our list of books similar to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine .

The Thursday Murder Club , Richard Osman

This series is a good pick if you want more cozy mysteries featuring a quirky cast of characters.

Who wants to sit around knitting and playing bridge? Not these four amateur sleuths. Rather, they spend their time reviewing cold cases and chasing up criminals. Meet The Thursday Murder Club , Cooper Chase Retirement Home’s most deadly social group. These retirees each bring a unique set of skills to solving the murder of their retirement home developer.

The book is surprisingly light in tone and not too long. But there are enough twists and turns to give your book group a lot to talk about.

Use our book club guide for The Thursday Murder Club to get the convo started.

Hotels of North America , Rick Moody

If you want more insight into the dark underbelly of hotels and the sad guests who inhabit them, then Moody’s tragicomic book will be perfect for you.

Have you ever found yourself marooned in some dodgy hotel asking yourself, “How did I get here?” Yep, me too. Such is the conundrum faced by Moody’s Reginald Morse. Reginald is the top reviewer for a hotel booking site. As his life spirals away from him, his hilarious hotel reviews reveal the blow-back from his terrible life choices.

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The Best Books of the Year (So Far)

The nonfiction and novels we can’t stop thinking about.

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By The New York Times Books Staff

• May 24, 2024

Fiction | Nonfiction

We’re almost halfway through 2024 and we at The Book Review have already written about hundreds of books. Some of those titles are good. Some are very good. And then there are the following.

We suspect that some (though certainly not all) will be top of mind when we publish our end-of-year, best-of lists. For more thoughts on what to read next, head to our book recommendation page .

James , by Percival Everett

In this reworking of the “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Jim, the enslaved man who accompanies Huck down the Mississippi River, is the narrator, and he recounts the classic tale in a language that is his own, with surprising details that reveal a far more resourceful, cunning and powerful character than we knew.

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Good Material , by Dolly Alderton

Alderton’s novel, about a 35-year-old struggling to make sense of a breakup, delivers the most delightful aspects of romantic comedy — snappy dialogue, realistic relationship dynamics, funny meet-cutes and misunderstandings — and leaves behind clichéd gender roles and the traditional marriage plot.

Martyr! , by Kaveh Akbar

A young Iranian American aspiring poet and recovering addict grieves his parents’ deaths while fantasizing about his own in Akbar’s remarkable first novel, which, haunted by death, also teems with life — in the inventive beauty of its sentences, the vividness of its characters and the surprising twists of its plot.

The Hunter , by Tana French

For Tana French fans, every one of the thriller writer’s twisty, ingenious books is an event. This one, a sequel to “The Searcher,” once again sees the retired Chicago cop Cal Hooper, a perennial outsider in the Irish west-country hamlet of Ardnakelty, caught up in the crimes — seen and unseen — that eat at the seemingly picturesque village.

Wandering Stars , by Tommy Orange

This follow-up to Orange’s debut, “There There,” is part prequel and part sequel; it trails the young survivor of a 19th-century massacre of Native Americans, chronicling not just his harsh fate but those of his descendants. In its second half, the novel enters 21st-century Oakland, following the family in the aftermath of a shooting.

Headshot , by Rita Bullwinkel

Set at a women’s boxing tournament in Reno, Nev., this novel centers on eight contestants, and the fights — physical and emotional — they bring to the ring. As our critic wrote: This story’s impact “lasts a long time, like a sharp fist to your shoulder.”

Beautyland , by Marie-Helene Bertino

In 1970s Philadelphia, an alien girl sent to Earth before she’s born communicates with her fellow life-forms via fax as she helps gather intel about whether our planet is habitable. This funny-sad novel follows the girl and her single mother as they find the means to persevere.

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder , by Salman Rushdie

In his candid, plain-spoken and gripping new memoir, Rushdie recalls the attempted assassination he survived in 2022 during a presentation about keeping the world’s writers safe from harm. His attacker had piranhic energy. He also had a knife. Rushdie lost an eye, but he has slowly recovered thanks to the attentive care of doctors and the wife he celebrates here.

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis , by Jonathan Blitzer

This urgent and propulsive account of Latin American politics and immigration makes a persuasive case for a direct line from U.S. foreign policy in Central America to the current migrant crisis.

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook , by Hampton Sides

By the time he made his third Pacific voyage, the British explorer James Cook had maybe begun to lose it a little. The scientific aims of his first two trips had shifted into something darker. According to our reviewer, the historian Hampton Sides “isn’t just interested in retelling an adventure tale. He also wants to present it from a 21st-century point of view. ‘The Wide Wide Sea’ fits neatly into a growing genre that includes David Grann’s ‘ The Wager ’ and Candice Millard’s ‘ River of the Gods ,’ in which famous expeditions, once told as swashbuckling stories of adventure, are recast within the tragic history of colonialism .”

The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon , by Adam Shatz

This absorbing biography of the Black psychiatrist, writer and revolutionary Frantz Fanon highlights a side of him that’s often eclipsed by his image as a zealous partisan — that of the caring doctor, who ran a secret clinic for Algerian rebels.

Fi: A Memoir , by Alexandra Fuller

In her fifth memoir, Fuller describes the sudden death of her 21-year-old son. Devastating as this elegant and honest account may be — it’s certainly not for the faint of heart — it also leaves the reader with a sense of having known a lovely and lively young man.

Explore More in Books

Want to know about the best books to read and the latest news start here..

John S. Jacobs was a fugitive, an abolitionist — and the brother of the canonical author Harriet Jacobs. Now, his own fierce autobiography has re-emerged .

Don DeLillo’s fascination with terrorism, cults and mass culture’s weirder turns has given his work a prophetic air. Here are his essential books .

Jenny Erpenbeck’s “ Kairos ,” a novel about a torrid love affair in the final years of East Germany, won the International Booker Prize , the renowned award for fiction translated into English.

Kevin Kwan, the author of “Crazy Rich Asians,” left Singapore’s opulent, status-obsessed, upper crust when he was 11. He’s still writing about it .

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .

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A brief history of muscles and their meaning

Michael Andor Brodeur’s “Swole” is a semiotic history that doubles as an autobiography in lifting.

What are big muscles for? They were sidelined long ago by the industrial revolution; engines drive plows and hammer steel more cheaply and less complainingly. Somehow, though, they retain an ambiguous prestige — suggesting eros and authority to some viewers, and exhibitionism and political atavism to others. To sift their meaning, or meaninglessness, Michael Andor Brodeur , a longtime music critic for The Washington Post, has written “Swole,” a semiotic history that doubles as an autobiography in lifting.

So suspect are big muscles today, Brodeur observes, that many celebrities known for their brawn make a habit of tempering its appeal with humor. An early pioneer in this self-deprecating style was Arnold Schwarzenegger . When the Whitney Museum of American Art invited him to pose on a revolving stage in 1976, he “pumped irony,” Brodeur writes, by curling a fist under his chin to evoke Rodin’s statue “The Thinker,” and in 1993 he assured the New York Times that bodybuilding couldn’t be considered a serious endeavor: “Fifty guys standing around in their little posing trunks with oil slapped on their body. Showing off and posing in front of 5,000 people. It’s a joke.”

Brodeur is in on the joke, he is quick to let his readers know. “Runnin’ wild, brother! I like it!” a man painting Brodeur’s building hails him on the book’s first page, after spotting Brodeur, age 48, pumped and dripping with sweat from a recent workout. Brodeur explains that he was wearing a “shreddy purple string tank” and “silken polyester short shorts” at the time, and writes that the compliment may have been “the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Part of the joke here is that Brodeur makes his living as a writer, and “writers are supposed to be soft and squishy,” as he puts it. And part is that Brodeur is gay and middle-aged. What purer tribute to his physique could there be than one from a male stranger who seems to have no romantic designs on him? Also audible is the yelp of pleasure that accompanies any happy crossing of a class barrier: Brodeur writes witty, allusive prose about an enthusiasm not today considered highbrow.

It used to be. According to Brodeur, progressive resistance training goes back to at least ancient Greece, when the athlete Milo of Croton picked up and carried a calf every day, growing by increments so much stronger that in the end he was able to shoulder the bull the calf became. From the classical sculptor Polykleitos, who set forth in a statue and in a treatise the proportions considered ideal for the human form, Brodeur traces a lineage that passes through sculptures and engravings of the mythic hero Hercules, nationalist fitness crazes of the 19th century, and celebrity strongmen of the mass-media age such as Eugen Sandow and Charles Atlas. The final flowering of the tradition came in Schwarzenegger’s phenomenal career, Tom of Finland’s buxom homoerotic cartoons and the performance wear-clad superheroes of the Marvel Comics universe.

Much as Alison Bechdel did in her thoughtful graphic memoir “ The Secret to Superhuman Strength ,” Brodeur weaves into the historical narrative chapters from his own life story — brandishing He-Man’s Power Sword for the camera at age 7, getting punched by a classmate shortly after achieving zero pull-ups during the Presidential Fitness Test in high school, being inspired to take up weightlifting by the punk singer Henry Rollins’s 1993 testimonial in Details magazine (Rollins: “I have found the iron to be my greatest friend”). In the 1950s, magazines like Physique Pictorial, Brodeur writes, established a link between bodybuilding and homosexuality that “has never been severed,” and he candidly admits that in his own case, muscles have set up “a feedback loop of defense and desire,” as they do for many gay men. Eros doesn’t seem to be the whole story, however. Flexing in front of a mirror, the adult Brodeur describes himself as thinking, “I hope no one is looking. I hope they can see me,” a double bind that sounded familiar to me, a middle-aged gay man who took up Cross Fit a few years ago and is similarly both proud of his new body and mortified by his needy wish to show it off. Working on one’s body seems to bring up issues that are pre-Oedipal, to use a psychoanalytic term; it can feel like a belated attempt to secure or repair the self. In Reagan’s America, after all, it was difficult for a gay person to grow up without incurring psychic injury.

A stigmatized identity is far from the only kind of damage people have hoped to heal with weights. Brodeur reports that one study found that 21 percent of bodybuilders were bullied in childhood; among them were Lou Ferrigno, Sylvester Stallone and Atlas. American men today suffer from mental illness, substance abuse and suicide at higher rates than women, and Brodeur is nervously aware of the high-profile online hucksters who sell lifting to these men as a nostrum, usually along with supplements and a revanchist sexual ethos. “The hole in men’s souls,” he writes, “doubles as a gap in the market.” He is agnostic about the steroids that also circulate in the “manosphere.” Although he isn’t tempted to use them himself, he believes no one should be denied gender-affirming care—not even people assigned male at birth who want to venture further into masculinity.

Brodeur may be more worried than he needs to be about defending lifting from guilt by association; it isn’t problematic just because the online hucksters are. There’s mounting evidence, for example, that resistance training improves the fitness of older adults as much as aerobic exercise does . As a bodybuilder, Brodeur usually works out alone, but late in the book, he finds a gym where, to his surprise, men encourage and praise one another, rather than glare in ear-budded isolation, and where the work the men are doing together seems to be helping a number of them move forward from places where they had got stuck — drift, addiction, jail, loneliness. Brodeur speculates that the project of acquiring big muscles has become for these men “a way to authorize a level of affection and support that might otherwise be impossible.”

I recognize the vibe. There’s a similar one at the gym I go to, where there are women and nonbinary people in the classes as well as men, and also — this may sound a little incongruous — a similar one among my fellow birdwatchers in the local park, who share their finds as openly, record them as fastidiously, and compare them as emulously as gymgoers do their lifts. Maybe the men at the gym Brodeur found bond, in other words, not because muscles give them cover for departing from conventional male brusqueness but because lifting, independent of any gender coloration it may or may not have, is something they are able to both share in and compete in, thanks to norms — such as respect, fairness, honesty, mutuality and excellence — that the gym’s leaders and members maintain. An experience like that would make anyone stronger.

Caleb Crain is the author of “Overthrow” and “Necessary Errors.”

The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle

By Michael Andor Brodeur

Beacon Press. 244 pp. $28.95.

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The Maid: A Novel (Molly the Maid) Hardcover – January 4, 2022

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Book 1 of 3 Molly the Maid
• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Ballantine Books
• Publication date January 4, 2022
• Dimensions 6.3 x 1 x 9.5 inches
• ISBN-10 0593356152
• ISBN-13 978-0593356159
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Amazon.com review, about the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved..

I am well aware that my name is ridiculous. It was not ridiculous before I took this job four years ago. I’m a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, and my name is Molly. Molly Maid. A joke. Before I took the job, Molly was just a name, given to me by my estranged mother, who left me so long ago that I have no memory of her, just a few photos and the stories Gran has told me. Gran said my mother thought Molly was a cute name for a girl, that it conjured apple cheeks and pigtails, neither of which I have, as it turns out. I’ve got simple, dark hair that I maintain in a sharp, neat bob. I part my hair in the middle—­the exact middle. I comb it flat and straight. I like things simple and neat.

I have pointed cheekbones and pale skin that people sometimes marvel at, and I don’t know why. I’m as white as the sheets that I take off and put on, take off and put on, all day long in the twenty-­plus rooms that I make up for the esteemed guests at the Regency Grand, a five-­star boutique hotel that prides itself on “sophisticated elegance and proper decorum for the modern age.”

Never in my life did I think I’d hold such a lofty position in a grand hotel. I know others think differently, that a maid is a lowly nobody. I know we’re all supposed to aspire to become doctors and lawyers and rich real-estate tycoons. But not me. I’m so thankful for my job that I pinch myself every day. I really do. Especially now, without Gran. Without her, home isn’t home. It’s as though all the color has been drained from the apartment we shared. But the moment I enter the Regency Grand, the world turns Technicolor bright.

As I place a hand on the shining brass railing and walk up the scarlet steps that lead to the hotel’s majestic portico, I’m Dorothy entering Oz. I push through the gleaming revolving doors and I see my true self reflected in the glass—­my dark hair and pale complexion are omnipresent, but a blush returns to my cheeks, my raison d’être restored once more.

Once I’m through the doors, I often pause to take in the grandeur of the lobby. It never tarnishes. It never grows drab or dusty. It never dulls or fades. It is blessedly the same each and every day. There’s the reception and concierge to the left, with its midnight-­obsidian counter and smart-looking receptionists in black and white, like penguins. And there’s the ample lobby itself, laid out in a horseshoe, with its fine Italian marble floors that radiate pristine white, drawing the eye up, up to the second-­floor terrace. There are the ornate Art Deco features of the terrace and the grand staircase that brings you there, balustrades glowing and opulent, serpents twisting up to golden knobs held static in brass jaws. Guests will often stand at the rails, hands resting on a glowing post, as they survey the glorious scene below—­porters marching crisscross, dragging suitcases behind them, guests lounging in sumptuous armchairs or couples tucked into emerald loveseats, their secrets absorbed into the deep, plush velvet.

But perhaps my favorite part of the lobby is the olfactory sensation, that first redolent breath as I take in the scent of the hotel itself at the start of every shift—­the mélange of ladies’ fine perfumes, the dark musk of the leather armchairs, the tangy zing of lemon polish that’s used twice daily on the gleaming marble floors. It is the very scent of animus. It is the fragrance of life itself.

Every day, when I arrive to work at the Regency Grand, I feel alive again, part of the fabric of things, the splendor and the color. I am part of the design, a bright, unique square, integral to the tapestry.

Gran used to say, “If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life.” And she’s right. Every day of work is a joy to me. I was born to do this job. I love cleaning, I love my maid’s trolley, and I love my uniform.

There’s nothing quite like a perfectly stocked maid’s trolley early in the morning. It is, in my humble opinion, a cornucopia of bounty and beauty. The crisp little packages of delicately wrapped soaps that smell of orange blossom, the tiny Crabtree & Evelyn shampoo bottles, the squat tissue boxes, the toilet-­paper rolls wrapped in hygienic film, the bleached white towels in three sizes—­bath, hand, and washcloth—­and the stacks of doilies for the tea-­and-­coffee service tray. And last but not least, the cleaning kit, which includes a feather duster, lemon furniture polish, lightly scented antiseptic garbage bags, as well as an impressive array of spray bottles of solvents and disinfectants, all lined up and ready to combat any stain, be it coffee rings, vomit—­or even blood. A well-­stocked housekeeping trolley is a portable sanitation miracle; it is a clean machine on wheels. And as I said, it is beautiful.

And my uniform. If I had to choose between my uniform and my trolley, I don’t think I could. My uniform is my freedom. It is the ultimate invisibility cloak. At the Regency Grand, it’s dry cleaned daily in the hotel laundry, which is located in the dank bowels of the hotel down the hall from our housekeeping change rooms. Every day before I arrive at work, my uniform is hooked on my locker door. It comes wrapped in clingy plastic, with a little Post-­it note that has my name scrawled on it in black marker. What a joy it is to see it there in the morning, my second skin—­clean, disinfected, newly pressed, smelling like a mixture of fresh paper, an indoor pool, and nothingness. A new beginning. It’s as though the day before and the many days before that have all been erased.

When I don my maid uniform—­not the frumpy Downton Abbey style or even the Playboy-­bunny cliché, but the blinding-­white starched dress shirt and the slim-­fit black pencil skirt (made from stretchy fabric for easy bending)—­I am whole. Once I’m dressed for my workday, I feel more confident, like I know just what to say and do—­at least, most of the time. And once I take off my uniform at the end of the day, I feel naked, unprotected, undone.

The truth is, I often have trouble with social situations; it’s as though everyone is playing an elaborate game with complex rules they all know, but I’m always playing for the first time. I make etiquette mistakes with alarming regularity, offend when I mean to compliment, misread body language, say the wrong thing at the wrong time. It’s only because of my gran that I know a smile doesn’t necessarily mean someone is happy. Sometimes, people smile when they’re laughing at you. Or they’ll thank you when they really want to slap you across the face. Gran used to say my reading of behaviors was improving—­ every day in every way, my dear —­but now, without her, I struggle. Before, when I rushed home after work, I’d throw open the door to our apartment and ask her questions I’d saved up over the day. “I’m home! Gran, does ketchup really work on brass, or should I stick to salt and vinegar? Is it true that some people drink tea with cream? Gran, why did they call me Rumba at work today?”

But now, when the door to home opens, there’s no “Oh, Molly dear, I can explain” or “Let me make you a proper cuppa and I’ll answer all of that.” Now our cozy two-­bedroom feels hollow and lifeless and empty, like a cave. Or a coffin. Or a grave.

I think it’s because I have difficulty interpreting expressions that I’m the last person anyone invites to a party, even though I really like parties. Apparently, I make awkward conversation, and if you believe the whispers, I have no friends my age. To be fair, this is one hundred percent accurate. I have no friends my age, few friends of any age, for that matter.

But at work, when I’m wearing my uniform, I blend in. I become part of the hotel’s décor, like the black-­and-­white-­striped wallpaper that adorns many a hallway and room. In my uniform, as long as I keep my mouth shut, I can be anyone. You could see me in a police lineup and fail to pick me out even though you walked by me ten times in one day.

Recently, I turned twenty-­five, “a quarter of a century” my gran would proclaim to me now if she could say anything to me. Which she can’t, because she is dead.

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books; First Edition (January 4, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593356152
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593356159
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.11 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.3 x 1 x 9.5 inches
• #425 in Domestic Thrillers (Books)
• #597 in Murder Thrillers
• #1,545 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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About the author

Nita Prose is the author of THE MYSTERY GUEST and THE MAID, which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide and was published in over forty countries. A #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and a GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick, THE MAID won the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction, the Fingerprint Award for Debut Novel of the Year, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First Mystery. THE MAID was also an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel. Nita lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is moderately clean.

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Books We Love

20 new books hitting shelves this summer that our critics can't wait to read.

Meghan Collins Sullivan

June is around the corner, meaning summer is almost here! As we look forward to travel and staycations, plane rides and trips to the beach, we've asked our book critics for some advice: What upcoming fiction and nonfiction are they most looking forward to reading?

Their picks range from memoirs to sci-fi and fantasy to translations, love stories and everything in between. Here's a look:

Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope

I was hooked when I first saw the gorgeous cover for Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope. But the novel's premise put it at the top of my summer reading list. Penelope is known for unforgettable characters, world-building, beautiful writing and robust storytelling. Her latest work, inspired by actual events — the drowned Black towns of the American South — promises a magical, mythical and powerful tale of a young woman's quest to save her town. A historical fantasy must-read. (June 4) — Denny Bryce

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The Future Was Color by Patrick Nathan

The Future Was Color by Patrick Nathan has everything I look for in a book: a unique and startling voice, a queer protagonist and a deep understanding of a particular time and place. George — once György — is a gay Hungarian immigrant working as a screenwriter in McCarthy-era Hollywood, occasionally fantasizing about his officemate, Jack. When a once-famous actress named Madeline invites George to stay and write at her spacious Malibu house, she won't take no for an answer — and so George finds himself in a hedonistic milieu where pleasure, politics and strong personalities intermingle. (June 4) — Ilana Masad

Mirrored Heavens: Between Earth & Sky, Book 3 by Rebecca Roanhorse

Rebecca Roanhorse is one of my auto-read authors — and one major reason is because of her fire Between Earth and Sky series. That trilogy comes to a stunning, fevered conclusion with Mirrored Heavens . All of the characters you love, hate and love to hate will converge on the city of Tova. Get ready for an epic battle between ancient gods, their human avatars and the mortals caught in between. (June 4) — Alex Brown

Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water by Amorina Kingdon

You may know about 52 Blue , whose vocalizations likely go unheard by some other whales; it captured worldwide sympathy and became a pop-culture metaphor. But did you know all whale song is critically disrupted by ships? If that gets you wondering, keep an eye out for Sing Like Fish , which promises to illuminate the fragile symphony of the deep. (June 4) — Genevieve Valentine

Consent: A Memoir by Jill Ciment

I look forward to reading Jill Ciment's Consent and to the discussions it's sure to provoke. In this follow-up memoir to Half a Life, Ciment reconsiders what she wrote 25 years ago about her teenage affair and marriage to her art teacher, 30 years her senior. Half a Life was written before the #MeToo movement, and before her husband died at the age of 93 after 45 years of marriage. Consent promises a fuller picture. (June 11) — Heller McAlpin

Do What Godmother Says by L.S. Stratton

As we continue to experience the frenzy of Harlem Renaissance celebrations, commemorations and historical resonance, Do What Godmother Says by L.S. Stratton is the perfect addition to the litany of works set in this artistic period this year. It examines the intense and frequently degenerating relationship between patrons and artists during this intellectual and cultural movement. In this dual-timeline gothic thriller, a modern writer discovers a family heirloom painting by a Harlem Renaissance artist, which connects her family to a mysterious past. This historical novel is one I'm eager to read because it deftly exposes the layers of creative ownership, especially when race and wealth are involved. (June 11) — Keishel Williams

Horror Movie: A Novel by Paul Tremblay

Paul Tremblay is one of the most entertaining and innovative voices in contemporary fiction regardless of genre. Horror Movie , a story about a cursed movie that never came out and is about to get a remake, is a love letter to horror novels and horror movies, as well as a tense narrative that will redefine the cursed film subgenre. Tremblay is one of the modern masters of horror, and this new novel promises to be packed with the author's distinctive voice, knack for ambiguity and intrigue, and superb atmosphere. (June 11) — Gabino Iglesias

Cue The Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

Every so often there's a nonfiction title I covet like it's the next installment in my favorite mystery series. This summer it's Cue the Sun! Based on in-depth interviews with more than 300 sources from every aspect of the production process, this book is a cultural history of the genre that ate American entertainment, from New Yorker critic Emily Nussbaum. It combines the appeal of a page-turning thriller and the heft of serious scholarship. Juicy and thoughtful, it's a must-read for anyone interested in television or popular culture. (June 25) — Carole V. Bell

The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen

In this return to the delightfully wacky world established in one of my personal top-five romance novels of all time, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy , Megan Bannen takes on the friends to lovers trope with a combination of madcap joie de vivre and the exhausted practicality of a mom who's had enough. Also, there are dragons! (July 2) — Caitlyn Paxson

The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Savaş

I am eagerly awaiting Ayşegül Savaş' The Anthropologists . Born in Istanbul, Savaş has lived in England, Denmark and the U.S. also and now resides in France; in this novel she takes up themes of cultural migration through focus on a young couple seeking an apartment in a foreign city. I'm intrigued to discover how Savaş gifts her characters with an anthropological lens of exploration. (July 9) — Barbara J. King

Elevator in Saigon by Thuân, translated by Nguyen An Lý

Elevator in Saigon is a literal and structural exquisite corpse , capturing Vietnam's eventful period from 1954 to 2004. Mimicking an elevator's movement, the novel heightens our yearning for romance and mystery, while unflinchingly exposing such narrative shaft. Channeling Marguerite Duras and Patrick Modiano, the book also offers a dead-on tour of a society cunningly leaping from one ideological mode to the next. As if challenging Rick's parting words to Ilsa in Casablanca , Thuận's sophomore novel in English implies that geopolitical debacles might have been mitigated if personal relations were held in more elevated regard than "a hill of beans." (July 9) — Thúy Đinh

Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida, translated by Haydn Trowell

Atsuhiro Yoshida's Goodnight Tokyo begins with a film company procurer who's tasked with finding fresh kumquats for a production. From there, interlinked tales of Tokyo residents unspool in unpredictable directions. Characters range from a cabdriver to a star of a detective TV series who might be an actual detective. Readers will be reminded of Jim Jarmusch's 1991 movie Night on Earth , which also takes place in the wee hours of the morning and threads together the stories of strangers. (July 9) — Leland Cheuk

Navola: A novel by Paolo Bacigalupi

I love when a beloved author — especially one known mostly for a certain type of book — throws us a daring curveball. Navola is exactly such a pitch. Paolo Bacigalupi, who has won pretty much every major award in the science-fiction field with his climate-conscious dystopianism, is veering hard left with his new novel. It doesn't take place in the future, and it isn't a cautionary tale. Instead, it's a hefty tome of high fantasy set in a dreamed-up world akin to Renaissance Florence. Only with, you guessed it, dragons. But also high finance, political intrigue, and de' Medici-esque opulence. Bacigalupi is one of today's most gripping spinners of speculative fiction, and I can't wait to dive into this surprising magical foray. (July 9) — Jason Heller

The Lucky Ones: A Memoir by Zara Chowdhary

In 2002, two train carriages were set on fire in Gujarat, India. Within three weeks, more than 2,000 Muslims were murdered in response by Hindu mobs. By the end of the year, more than 50,000 Muslims became refugees in their own country. The Lucky Ones is a unique memoir in English of this largest-ever massacre in independent India . It is also about a communal crisis bringing a fractured family together. A must-read in our warring world today. (July 16) — Jenny Bhatt

Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist by Jasmin Graham

Author Jasmin Graham is a marine biologist specializing in smalltooth sawfish and hammerhead sharks. Who are the real sharks in this story? Graham had to face the sharp-teethed truths of academia, while creating a world of curiosity and discovery around the complex lives of sharks. To combat the racism she encountered in academia, Graham created an "ocean of her own" to become an independent scientist and a champion of social justice, a journey she unspools in this new memoir. (July 16) — Martha Ann Toll

Liars by Sarah Manguso

I have long been a fan of Sarah Manguso's crystalline prose, from her fragmented illness memoir The Two Kinds of Decay to her tightly constrained 2022 novel Very Cold People . Her second novel , Liars , marries restraint with rage — in it, Manguso traces the full arc of a 15-year relationship between Jane, a successful writer, and John, a dilettante artist-cum-techie, in aphoristic vignettes. The result is a furious, propulsive meditation on wifehood, motherhood and artistic ambition. (July 23) — Kristen Martin

The Horse: A Novel by Willy Vlautin

Musician and Lean on Pete author Willy Vlautin captures the American West like few other writers. His prose is always excellent, his characters always beautifully drawn, and that promises to be the case with his next novel, about an isolated Nevada man in his 60s who is visited by a blind horse that refuses to leave. (July 30) — Michael Schaub

Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up With the Universe by Ken Krimstein

Art and science collide in Ken Krimstein's new graphic biography . In this book, the author of the brilliant and whimsical The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt similarly translates careful research into scenic, emotive comics — in this case tracking the potential effects of an adventitious meeting in Prague between two geniuses on the cusp of world-changing discoveries. (Aug. 20) — Tahneer Oksman

Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde by Alexis Pauline Gumbs

I'd probably be interested in a new biography of Audre Lorde if it focused on the eating habits of the brilliant thinker, poet, feminist and activist. But biographer Alexis Pauline Gumbs promises to more than exceed that bar. An award-winning poet, writer, feminist and activist in her own right, Gumbs is among the first researchers to delve into Lorde's manuscript archives. The resulting book highlights the late author's commitment to interrogating what it means to survive on this planet — and how Lorde's radical understanding of ecology can guide us today. (Aug. 20) — Ericka Taylor

Et Cetera: An Illustrated Guide to Latin Phrases by Maia Lee-Chin, illustrated by Marta Bertello

To those claiming Latin is dead, I say res ipsa loquitur — the thing speaks for itself — in children's cartoons , Hollywood cartoons and enduring epics . As a fan of both Mr. Peabody and the Muses, the idea of combining Maia Lee-Chin's thoughtful scholarship and Marta Bertello's dynamic artistry is captivating. Their new book reimagines the world of Latin's invention and tops my summer reading list. (Aug. 27) — Marcela Davison Avilés

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