Very enjoyable - the main character was just the right amount of quirky. I can't wait to read the next one! ( )

This book is so popular that I had to wait months before being able to get a copy from my local library.
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The heroine in Nita Prose's "The Maid" is a twenty-five-year-old woman, Molly Gray, who is quite literal-minded and cannot read social cues accurately. She may be on the autism spectrum, although she never received an official diagnosis. Molly is employed in the posh Regency Grand Hotel, where she cleans rooms efficiently and meticulously, proudly returning them "to a state of perfection." Unfortunately, some her colleagues taunt her because they think of her as a goody two-shoes and a "weirdo." Another big problem is her lack of money. Her grandmother, who died nine months earlier, left her a nest egg that is now gone. Therefore, Molly is having trouble paying the rent in the run-down walk-up where she lives.

When a thoroughly unpleasant guest staying at the hotel is murdered, Molly finds the body and alerts the authorities. The victim was a wealthy and sadistic scoundrel who stayed at the Regency frequently. The detective in charge questions Molly and the other hotel employees about what they saw and heard. Soon, it becomes clear that certain devious people would love to pin the crime on the naïve and innocent Molly.

The beginning of the novel is charming and poignant. We feel protective towards this lonely, trusting, and hard-working maid, who is justifiably proud of her professionalism. Her grandmother, Flora, was the only person in the world who truly loved and understood her, but after Flora dies, Molly struggles to keep her spirits up. The second half of the book, alas, does not hold up well. Too many of Prose's characters turn out to be either incredibly kind and understanding or disgustingly mean-spirited and spiteful. "The Maid" had potential, but its plot grows increasingly far-fetched and convoluted as the story progresses, and the author wraps things up with a sentimental and contrived conclusion. ( )

Not very good. I read 22%. It felt like the main character was very much "other" and her point of view wasn't very interesting or compelling.

In a Nutshell: An engrossing story with endearing characters. My first true-blue super-duper soul-satisfying read of 2022. Couldn’t keep it aside for a minute!

Story:

Molly Gray, who works as a maid in a five star boutique hotel, is all alone in the world. With a father she’s never known and a mother who left her, Molly grew up only with her loving Grandma. But now that Grandma is dead, Molly has no one to tell her how to function in social interactions. Because you see, Molly isn’t like a typical person. She struggles with social communication.
The day Molly discover a dead guest in the hotel room she is cleaning is the day her life turns upside down. Somehow, the perfectionist Molly finds herself the key suspect in the murder. And Molly, who lives every single day with her strong sense of discipline and perfection in every task she attempts, has no idea how to get out of this mess. How will Molly “clean” her name as effectively as she once kept her hotel rooms clean?

The story comes to us from the 1st person perspective of Molly herself.

If you need only one reason to read this book, that reason is Molly Gray. What an uncommon yet loveable protagonist! Molly is like a strange combination of Eleanor Oliphant and Monica Geller. The reason for her behaviour is never specified in the book and I appreciated this decision by the author. That way, Molly doesn’t get locked into any pre-defined slots of our mind. Instead, we learn more about her nature as the story progresses. The manner in which her character is sketched makes this journey of discovery an incredible experience. It is amazing how she sees important clues but because of her personality flaw, misinterprets the reason behind them. You, as the reader, need to keep your eyes open because there are many clues thrown offhand in the story but not immediately resolved. This isn’t a casual speed-read kind of book.

Need some more reasons to love Molly?
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