BOOK REVIEW- The Maid by Nina Prose

Molly is a meticulous and dedicated maid at a hotel. She absolutely loves her job and enjoys the order and structure of returning rooms to a state of perfection. Molly presents on the autistic spectrum and through her difficulties in interpreting situations and people, she finds herself embroiled innocently in something way bigger than her.

Loved this book! Absolutely loved it! This book has it all for me, a clever and intriguing storyline with incredibly well written characters. Especially the wonderful Molly.

Told entirely from Molly’s innocent viewpoint you get to see how those who understand and interpret the world differently are misunderstood, discriminated against and taken advantage of. Seeing that from Molly’s perspective made her innocence feel all the more heartbreakingly endearing.

Mollys deceased grandmother had done a wonderful job of trying to teach her life skills, how to understand people and had tried to set her up for her future. Her influence made her feel like a strong presence who walks alongside Molly, I thought this was incredibly well written.

Wow, I really loved this book. It was so much fun, and it is one of the best books I have ever read. I highly recommend it! Molly the maid works at the Regency Grand Hotel, and she is perfect at her job. One day she finds Mr Black dead in his bed, and there is a big investigation into it. Molly gets into a lot of trouble by accident, and she has to find her way out of it, with some help from her friends. But who can she trust? And will she be able to solve the mystery and free herself from blame? This is an amazing murder mystery, which has some humorous moments too, and I loved the fact that Molly was so endearing, quirky and sweet. I just loved her so much. The audiobook narrator was amazing, and she was perfect at conveying Molly's awesome personality, and her Gran's dignity. This is a book that will stay with me forever, as it really touched my heart!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Is this book supposed to be making Molly the maid to be on the spectrum or is that the artistic nuance of the reader??
I wasn’t sure based on the audiobook and it started to grate on me because either way the author or the narrator had missed the point and the character felt as though it was being mocked by them in the style of the story. The character names were all a little weird with colour surnames and again I wasn’t sure if it was to make a point. I felt sorry for Molly and hated every character in the book but more than that I found listening to whole paragraphs of cleaning rituals and methods to be a little too much….really not relevant to the story but again was it making a point about the character and her way of coping.
All seemed to be reading between the lines and mocking I just couldn’t get on with it or understand what the hype was about

So so pleased I got a chance to listen to this, and that I got to hear the audiobook before I read a text version!

The narrator for this audiobook did such a good job of bringing Molly to life, as well as all of the other characters, I always knew exactly who was speaking at any given time, and I just thought the writing combined with the narration did such a great job of conveying all of the sub-text. While the book is written from Molly's point of view, as someone on the outside of her way of thinking, the writer was able to to convey to me the other characters' perceptions of her so well, so that simultaneously we could sympathise with Molly, yet recognise how her words and actions were seen by those around her, love Molly the Maid and what a great way to experience a mystery!

I love a hotel setting for a mystery, the fact that hotel guests automatically have a sense of anonymity, the staff, a sense of invisibility, and yet it remains a public setting, so so much of what goes on is seen by so many, just leaves so many opportunities for clues, villains, and tragedy, but on the other side a wealth of human emotion that can pave the way for kindness, friendship, and sympathy. The world in a microcosm. I think Nita Prose made full use of all of these opportunities, and I loved the way things were revealed slowly, what was reality, and what was either Molly's perception or the perception of those around her was worked brilliantly.

The ending was neat and, while not a full-on gasp-of-shock moment, was both surprising, and chilling in it's potential; really well executed, and shock factor wasn't really the point.

I loved how witty the writing was, there were some laugh out loud moments, some that made me cringe, some that made me well up, but all had me riveted. I've started listening again from the beginning, and I'm already noticing a few well-placed phrases that I missed the first time round.

Thank you so much to HarperCollinsUK for realising that I hadn't had chance to listen to this before it was archived! Loved it!

*SPOILERS*

Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with this audiobook!

I’m writing this review after binge-listening to the last three hours of this story. I thought it was a great read, and the narration brilliant.

I think that if you take a step back from the novel and look at it as a whole, the plot isn’t particularly intricate or groundbreaking, but the way it’s told, alongside the characters (particularly Molly) and the setting is what makes it so great. I went through so many emotions reading this - I was so angry at how Molly was treated because of her differences, I was so upset at her Gran’s passing and how Molly was left to navigate the world by herself, and I was exasperated when Molly found herself in difficult situations she couldn’t fully comprehend.

I loved the character of Molly, and Mr Preston, Juan-Manuel, and Charlotte, and was so happy she got the happy ending she deserved.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a gripping thriller and I really liked the main character. The story played out at a nice pace, although it was a little predictable.

This novel came around with massive hype… and while it had some interesting moments, I never really got engaged with the characters or the story. Whilst the main character Molly is endearing in a Sheldon Cooper type of way, the gimmick gets old very quickly and in the end you’re just left waiting to see what the story is all about. This was on audiobook, and the narrating was really good, which is mainly why I kept at it to the end. But overall, not impressed. 2 out of 5

At the heart of The Maid is Molly. Molly the maid is all seeing and all knowing in her role in the hotel where she works. Molly is different, possibly on the autism spectrum, and she knows this. When a guest, Mr Black, is found dead in his room, Molly becomes the prime suspect for one reason and another. Those around her take advantage of her and you are taken on a journey of whether Molly will be able to prove her innocence and the guilty will be apprehended.

One thing that struck me about Molly is her close relationship with her grandmother - that's really moving, tender and sweet, all against a backdrop of a world Molly doesn't know how to fully engage with in traditional ways.

I did listen to the audiobook version of The Maid. I have to admit I did find the narrator annoying, although it was in first person from Molly which gave a sense of immediacy and all of her internal thought processes.

The Maid isn't quite what I had envisaged in my head as a traditional locked room mystery and that misinterpretation is entirely my fault. I thought it would be more traditional stylistically and setting wise - I hadn't done my homework.

Overall The Maid was enjoyable, but didn't wholly grip me throughout in terms of plot, character development and plot which is why it's a three star read for me.

I really enjoyed this sweet and cosy mystery. I was just what I needed in these worrying times. Recommended.

What a book! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

The plot and character development really lent itself perfectly to being narrated in this format. It was so compelling i finished the book in just over 24 hours. The narrator really brought the character Molly the Maid to life. In summary, hugely entertaining and very a engaging listen, thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for my review copy.

The audio narration of this book was excellent. The story about Molly started out well. The author clearly hints that Molly is different without using any neurodivergent or autism terminology. Molly is clearly used and manipulated at times in the story, being very black and white at some points but also surprisingly insightful at others. This inconsistency with the characterisation made elements of the story not ring true. The end was a bit too sweet.

I was looking forward to reading this book, despite not knowing too much about it, other than people mentioning they'd enjoyed it. I did too, so much.

For me, it reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine which I adored. The character of Molly the Maid really pulled on my heart strings. It's so good to be reminded that not everyone is the same, or sees things the same way most people do. She was a lovely character and the narrator really brought her to life.

I hated listening to her being taken advantage of by some of the less upstanding members of staff at the hotel and it pained me to hear how much she missed her Gran.

The story of Mr. Black's demise was very much a mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed all the elements that came together at the end. I adored Mr. Preston too.

Again the narrator was fantastic, playing every character perfectly. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to listen to this excellent book and will definitely seek out more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked on this book just from the description. Molly, the maid (yes, really), works in a hotel and comes across one of their guest dead. For the rest of the book we learn who Molly is, her unique characteristics and traits, as well as so much about other hotel employees and guests. As everything is told as Molly perceives it we can see the evolution of the crime in a way that Molly isn't able to. With a small cast of main characters and the hotel setting this reads almost like a locked room mystery. It was so fun to listen to - the narrator did an excellent job of being Molly with her unique phrasings and manner of speaking. I am so looking forward to another novel by the author - hopefully soon!

One of the best books I’ve read so far in 2022. Molly is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel a job that she is proud of and a job that she faithful to. Molly knows that she is different to other people she struggles with social interactions. Molly lived with her Gran and her Gran supported her greatly to understand what is socially expected, Molly only had her Gran for family and friend and sadly her Gran died a few months ago.

When Molly goes into a hotel guests Mr. Black's room to clean it. She thought he was napping. Then she notices that there is a medication bottle on the bedside table that had fallen and blue pills spilled onto the table and onto the floor and were crushed into the carpet. She tries to wake up Mr. Black and notices that he is dead. She calls they front desk and introduces herself and lets the person know that she works housekeeping and to contact Mr. Snow the hotel manager to let him know that Mr. Black who is in the penthouse and is in Suite 401 is very dead. Dead in his bed. Have him call emergency services immediately.

The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different. If you have read and enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely fine you will also enjoy this.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I really enjoyed listening to this book, i liked the writing style, the storyline was mysterious and suspenseful and the characters were well developed and I found some of them really likeable. It was twisty, unpredictable and gripping. I found myself just sinking into the bed and listening to it. I may even have listened to it during lectures - I mean what is a bookworm to do. I really enjoyed it.

I highly recommend you check out reviews by readers on the autism spectrum, as they will surely be better suited than me at addressing this. However, I cannot — in good conscience — not talk about the elephant in the room: I think Molly is on the autism spectrum, but never once in the book is the word autism or neurodivergence used. Now, I am not saying things must be labeled at all times, but seeing as the whole book rested on this fact and that Molly seemed to me like the butt of the joke most of the time, I would have liked if the whole thing was better handled.
Other than that, it also felt like the author just decided to google “autism” and build her character around what came up. Maybe it’s just me, but it didn’t read like a kind of rep written in earnest; I hate when in thrillers and mysteries mental health and/or neurodivergence is used to further the plot, so I don’t know… It didn’t sit right with me.
The character of Juan Manuel (which the narrator read as One Man Well, and it took me like half of the book to get what the heck they were saying) was also something that didn’t sit right with me. I cannot explain, as usual because of spoilers, but let’s just say… How convenient and how stereotypical of a white author. I’ll leave it at that.
Now, onto the actual plot: it was basic and extremely predictable, except the very last twist, which I didn’t like because it was out of the blue and I would have preferred a different one, which I actually thought was gonna be the shocking reveal. In general, I feel like the reader knew from the start what was happening, while Molly didn’t, so it became quite boring to just sit there and wait for her to figure it out. It isn’t Molly’s fault that she did not understand she was being used, of course, but the whole book was weirdly structured, for me. I was not engaged to see what was gonna happen, because I knew the solution from very early on and I did not care about the characters or what happened to them. Not that I thought anything too bad was going to happen to them, because it didn’t seem likely.
As I was saying, I did not care very much for the characters, nor did I feel particularly worried for any of them. They all seemed a bit one dimensional, maybe because we only saw them through Molly’s narration. Also, can we please talk about the fact that the surnames in this freaking book were like Gray, Black, Brown and Snow? And that the only Latinx character was named Juan Manuel? What is it? A joke? I can move past the sad joke of Molly the maid, as it was indeed a joke, but… Black? Brown? Are we playing Clue or what?
Style-wise, the book was okay. It wasn’t an outstanding style, in my opinion, but it conveyed Molly’s character quite well, all in all. I much prefer other styles, but there was nothing inherently wrong with it.
So, I don’t recommend this book, because in my opinion the fact that the author (and not only her characters, mind you) only ever referred to Molly as quirky, strange, special and so on is borderline problematic, if you ask me. There’s nothing wrong with the words neurodivergent and autism, so if you wanted to “use” an autistic character you should have said so, at least in interviews and Q&As, if not on page.

The Maid


It’s impossible not to love Molly Gray! This was such a heartwarming mystery and I quickly fell in love with Molly. She’s such a kind, innocent, eccentric and delightful character.

Molly the maid takes her job very seriously and is ridiculed my most of the staff at the five star hotel she works at for being robotic and meticulous, but she doesn’t let that stand in the way of her being herself.

The mystery ensues when Molly finds Mr Black dead in his hotel room..

I listened to this book on audio and I loved the narration. For me this makes or breaks an audiobook. I found that I couldn’t put this book down as it’s cozy, light and just delightful.

The Maid is a compelling, enjoyable and twisty mystery which kept me hooked until the very end. From the opening lines it is very clear that there is something a little bit different about Molly the maid and it was fantastic to see her little quirks and character develop as the book went on.

The storyline feels a little bit predictable at times but I enjoyed that aspect in a way because I could almost see what Molly was about to do or say and wanted to dive in ahead of time and stop her. It made me really invested in Molly and her adventures.

I listened to the audiobook and really loved Lauren Ambrose as the narrator, her voice and mannerisms really captured Molly and brought her to life for me.

A fun, gripping whodunnit which also makes you think about how about how easily we often jump to conclusions and misconceptions and little too quickly about people, their personalities and their abilities.

Thank you Net Galley for this audibook style copy of 'The Maid.'

I went into this book with completely different opinions on what it was going to be about. I pictured a manipulative, dastardly woman posing as a maid who has been treated quite badly by rich hotel guests at her place of work. What we were actually given was a lovely young lady, possibly on the Autsim spectrum, being a role model for many of us and being used because those around her thought she was, how can i say it, not so bright.

Molly the maid is a fab character and I found her quite endearing. This story took her on a discovery of her self worth and how clever and amazing she can really be once she was opened to having belief in herself. It was important that the relationship between herself and other characters in the book was explored because I believe alot of those relationships helped Molly to become the woman she is at the end of the story.

It was an interesting plot line and I spent the whole book adament I knew who Mr Black's killer was. Well, let me tell you, I was wrong and although I wasnt that shocked by the reveal, I still found it a good twist.

I really enjoyed how the book was told. The narrator did a fabulous job of each characters voices being different to those before it.

Thank you so much for allowing me to listen to this book.

A heart-warming little murder mystery featuring the most delightful protagonist, Molly the Maid. Molly’s unique approach to the world draws you gently into the story and gives you an empathic insight into the characters. The audiobook version is highly recommended as the narrator enhances the nature of Molly. A great read.
Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.