This is my favourite audiobook in ages. I absolutely loved it and found myself racing through it over the course of a weekend, deliberately choosing activities that meant I could keep listening. A delightful heroine surrounded by a fab cast of characters, you cannot help but fall in love with Molly the maid as she navigates a world full of social cues, clues and language that she doesn't always understand. On the surface this is a simple whodunnit with a neurodiverse detective heroine, but it's also a witty, refreshing look at society, how we communicate and what we prioritise. Highly recommended.

A fabulous and gripping mystery thriller with a brilliant and unique protagonist- Molly the maid. The story was thrilling and endearing and felt completely captivated throughout.

The audiobook is fantastic! The narrator really brings out the best of Molly and her neurodivergent ways. The side characters were also great!

Overall, a great read/ listen.

4.75 stars

Let me start by saying I love the cover of this title. It’s striking, intriguing and it drew my attention immediately. The second thing is the narration; it’s superb throughout. Thoughtful, measured and absolutely captivating. It captures the essence of the main character, Molly.

I think this is one of the most unusual books I’ve come across in a long time. It’s difficult to define; there’s an unexpected death of a hotel guest and the plotting revolves around those most closely involved in the event. But it’s incredibly clever in that the entire narrative is from the perspective of Molly, a maid at the top class hotel and she’s an oddball. Brought up by an aunt, her language is quaint and dated. Her turn of phrase wouldn’t be out of place in the mid 1800s, but as she goes about her work, quietly observing, we soon realise that she’s shrewd and intelligent. As a maid, she’s insignificant and largely ignored but her insights are quietly humorous and very perceptive. It’s difficult to pinpoint what takes this story into a league of its own, but I was absolutely captivated and have listened to it all in a couple of sittings. Molly is someone to root for but just when you think it’s concluded, there’s a killer twist. Blew me away and now I’m going to get the ebook to see if there are hints of the final denouement earlier in the take. An incredible debut, a book that works at so many levels and one which will stay with me for a long time. Absolutely brilliant; 5* tripled.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

I’m going to start by saying there are content warnings in this - if you want to know more check out at the end, and there are some spoilers in this review. You have been warned ⚠️

Let’s cut to the chase - is it worth the hype? For me, it’s a definite yes! I really like Molly - her rather unique point of view really pulled me in and had me hooked throughout. Even when, after the big reveal had been… err… revealed, there was still another hour to go. I will say that I don’t think everyone will like Molly - as I said earlier, she’s unique. She’s very literal, a loner, doesn’t read social cues and social situations very well. Her viewpoint can be a tad uncomfortable. For me, she definitely exhibits traits of ASD, but there’s only hints of her unique way of perceiving the world around her.

But I feel real sympathy for her - she’s all alone following the recent death of her beloved gran, and is grieving in her own way - but not really working through it, and there are certain characters in this story take such advantage of her naïveté. I am very angry with those characters. Very angry! There is a heartbreaking bit in here (I don’t want to spoil it), but it definitely brought a tear to my eye and it made her grief even more…. more.

So this is an amazing debut for Prose - I’m looking forward to reading more from her. And Ambrose does a fab job on narration duties giving a voice to Molly’s unique point of view.

Thanks to NetGalley, the team at Harper Collins Audio, and the author for the opportunity to read this review copy.

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⚠️Content warning/potential spoilers: there’s reference to terminal illness, death and the aftermath ⚠️

I loved this book! I was slightly worried that it wouldn't be for me as some reviewers that I respect were not in love with it. However I fully fell in love with Molly, our main character. She's so interesting and complex. I loved how she justified her sometimes morally ambiguous actions to herself, especially as I agreed with her decisions.

It's not a thriller, it's not much of a mystery, but I found it to be a fascinating insight into someone's mind when they're thrown into different and challenging situations. I also thoroughly enjoyed the narration. I'll definitely be sampling other books from this author in the future.

This is an amazing debut🤌🏾
I enjoyed it so much, the pace is just right. And the main character is so endearing, she kinda reminds me of Eleanor Oliphant. Everything about this mystery novel is wholesome, I want to hug it🤗

Molly is a maid at the Regency grand hotel and she a specific routine how she cleans rooms and does things on a daily basis and plans journeys down to the second
A central figure in her life is her grandmother but when her grandmother dies Molly has nobody who can advise her and Molly is a bit too trusting and nieve which can lead to her being advantage of by others
The story is told by Molly and Molly finds a dead body in a room the trouble starts for Molly
I found this book a heartwarming story and it could be the perfect locked door crime book and will definitely be one of my highlights of the year I highly recommend this book
Thank you netgalley and Harper Collins for a review copy of this book

Was für eine Story! Normalerweise bin ich ja nicht so der Cosy-Crime Fan, aber diese Geschichte ist einfach unwiderstehlich!
Wir lernen die 25-jährige Molly Gray kennen, die als Zimmermädchen in einem Londonder Nobel-Hotel arbeitet. Schnell merkt man, dass Molly nicht so ist, wie alle anderen. Eine ihrerer größten "Schwächen", wenn man das so nennen mag, ist es, alles wortwörtlich zu nehmen und die Wahrheit als höchstes Gut zu betrachten. In einer Welt, wie wir sie kennen, stößt man damit schnell auf Schwierigkeiten. Nicht anders ergeht es Molly. Und in welche Schwierigkeiten sie gerät! Auf ihre liebenswerte Art und Weise versucht sie, ihr Leben wieder einigermaßen auf die Reihe zu bekommen. Sie begenet Menschen, die sie ausnutzen, aber auch Menschen, die es gut mit ihr meinen.
Eine berührende und äußerst unterhaltsame Geschichte, die mich öfter zum Schmunzeln brachte!
Besonders hervorzuheben ist auch Anna Thalbach, die mich mit ihrer wunderbaren Stimme fesselte!

Lieben Dank #NetGalley #Argon Verlag AVE GmbH, Argon Hörbuch für eine Vorab Audio Version

I was so lucky to Reserve the english version too and both are wonderful!! Lauren Ambrose does a great Job with narrating Molly's story!
Thanks again #Netgalley #HarperCollins UK Audio, HarperCollins

1 star ~ [1.57/10]

On the surface The Maid is a frivolous, cosy mystery. It's the kind of book you can lose a couple of hours to on a Sunday afternoon and then never think of again. You can enter and leave this book without having to ever engage with it other than what is presented on the page and you might be satisfied.

However, I could not shake a lingering feeling of irresponsibility when it came to the way that Molly the Maid was written. I've done a little bit of wider reading before writing this review because I wanted to get my facts straight and the fact is that Nita Prose has written a character who exhibits many characteristics of being neuro-divergent in the most stereotypical, infantilising and obtuse way. There is never any on-page confirmation of Molly being ND, just vague references to 'being different' whilst both Prose and the reader get to be entertained by this character being framed for a murder because she 'doesn't understand' social etiquette in the same way as non-ND people do. I think the fact that there is a refusal to engage with the subject in a meaningful way is even more nefarious because it gives Prose a way to easily wash their hands of any criticism of the way Molly's character is written. It's not cute and it's not clever. The only thing I got out o this characterisation was that Prose thinks it's OK to laugh at Molly's neuro-divergence because they present it in a quirky way... pass me the sick bucket please!

There was an extremely half-hearted attempt to shine a light on undocumented immigrants, which also came off as extremely superficial and like it was punching down for the sake of entertaining a privileged audience. By the time I got to the end of this book I felt certain that this author thought they were doing the most and patting themselves on the back, when in actuality they were doing the very least.

And even if we ignore all of that, the mystery was rather lacklustre, there wasn't an ingenious twist, there were approximately 4 places were it felt like it should of ended but it just... kept... going... and... going. The only thing this book had going for it was Lauren Ambrose's talented narration of the audiobook, which was frankly the one thing that helped me get through a book that I should have binned in chapter 2.

The Maid is the first novel by Canadian editor and author, Nita Prose. The audio version is narrated by Lauren Ambrose. Twenty-five-year-old Molly Gray is a maid in the Regency Grand, a very exclusive boutique hotel. She is diligent, discreet and courteous: “Is this a good time for me to return your suite to a state of perfection?”

Molly tends to interpret what is said very literally and has always relied on her Gran to help her read social cues. Her oddly formal way of speaking is likely thanks to her beloved Gran, but since she died, Molly’s having to manage alone.

She’s not an idiot, though, whatever people think: she’s learning: “The smile that wasn’t a smile. I’m beginning to understand the nuances of smiles, their cornucopia of meanings. I save each smile in a dictionary that I keep alphabetized on a shelf in my mind.”

One reason she loves her job so much is that the manager of the hotel, Mr Snow has a strict set of rules, and Molly is good at following rules. But what rules does she follow when she finds real estate magnate, Charles Black, dead in his suite on a Monday afternoon?

Molly is an interesting character and it is quickly clear that her (rather incredible) naivete, her tendency to give everyone she meets the benefit of the doubt, and her far too trusting nature have landed her in a nasty situation of which she is unaware. Luckily, not all her trust is misplaced.

In this brilliant debut novel, Prose offers the reader an irresistible protagonist, plenty of dark humour, and a few red herrings laced through a fast-paced plot that will keep even the most astute reader guessing right up to the final, stunning twist. Definitely lives up to the hype!!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio

Narrator 5 stars

Story 4 stars

This had some real laugh out loud moments for me. I think the author did a great job with this charter and she remembered me of some clients that I've worked with on the spectrum.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to listen to this advanced edition of the audiobook for ‘The Maid’ by Nita Prose.

I really enjoyed this murder mystery. It is so unlike anything I have read before. With a cast of interesting characters who only add to the enjoyment. I can not recommend this book more highly.

I also enjoyed he audiobook. Great production and enjoyable narration only added to my enjoyment of the book.

𝖬𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗍𝗐𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗒 𝖿𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗈𝗅𝖽 𝗆𝖺𝗂𝖽 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖱𝖾𝗀𝖾𝗇𝖼𝗒 𝖦𝗋𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖧𝗈𝗍𝖾𝗅. 𝖬𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄𝖾𝗋 𝖻𝖾𝖾, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝖻𝗂𝗍 𝖽𝗂𝖿𝖿𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌. 𝖱𝖺𝗂𝗌𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋, 𝖬𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗇 𝗈𝗅𝖽 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗅 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝗎𝗀𝗀𝗅𝖾𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗌𝗈𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝗌𝗂𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 – 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗅𝖽 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇𝗍 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗌𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗁𝖾𝗋, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇𝗍 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗌𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗂𝗍! 𝖮𝗇 𝖺𝗇 𝗈𝗋𝖽𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗋𝗒 𝖽𝖺𝗒 𝖼𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗁𝗈𝗍𝖾𝗅 𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗆𝗌, 𝖬𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝖼𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺 𝗆𝖺𝗇 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝖽, 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝖽! 𝖬𝗋 𝖡𝗅𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝖵𝖨𝖯 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗅𝗈𝗍𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗆𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗒, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝖬𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗀𝗀𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝖺 𝗌𝗂𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝖻𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗌𝗎𝗌𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗍!

𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝗎𝖼𝗁 𝖺 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗐𝖺𝗋𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗅𝗒, 𝗌𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗍, 𝗆𝗎𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗆𝗒𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺𝗇 𝗈𝗅𝖽-𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗅𝖽 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅 𝗍𝗈 𝗂𝗍. 𝖨 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗅𝗎𝖼𝗄𝗒 𝖾𝗇𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝖾 𝗀𝗂𝖿𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗎𝖽𝗂𝗈𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗍𝗈 𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗈 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖫𝖺𝗎𝗋𝖾𝗇 𝖠𝗆𝖻𝗋𝗈𝗌𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝖾𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗃𝗈𝖻 𝖻𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖬𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗒, 𝗌𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖿𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗍𝗈 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾. 𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝖺𝗅𝗌𝗈 𝗁𝗈𝗅𝖽𝗌 𝖺 𝗌𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝖼𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍. 𝖨’𝗆 𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋, 𝖬𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗂𝗌 𝖠𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗂𝖼 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖻𝖾𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝖻𝗌𝗍𝖺𝖼𝗅𝖾𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝗅 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗈𝗇 𝖺 𝖽𝖺𝗂𝗅𝗒 𝖻𝖺𝗌𝗂𝗌 (𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝗅 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁) 𝖻𝗋𝗈𝗄𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝖺 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾. 𝖬𝗒 𝖽𝖺𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖠𝖣𝖧𝖣 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝖾 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝗋𝖾𝖿𝖾𝗋𝗋𝖺𝗅 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖠𝖲𝖣. 𝖨’𝗏𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝖺 𝗅𝗈𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗁 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗇 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝗍𝖾𝖺𝖼𝗁 𝗆𝗒 𝖽𝖺𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝖺 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗅𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇𝗍 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗌𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝖾𝗍𝗌 𝗈𝗅𝖽𝖾𝗋. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗈 𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗅 𝖽𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗂𝖿𝗎𝗅. 𝖠𝗌 𝗐𝖾 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐, 𝖠𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗌𝗆 𝗂𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐𝗇 𝖺𝗌 𝖠𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗌𝗆 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙢 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝗈𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗋, 𝗌𝗈 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖠𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗌𝗆 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖺𝗆𝖾 𝗂𝗌𝗌𝗎𝖾𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖺𝗆𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗒!

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 – 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 – 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 – 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆!


𝖬𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖧𝖺𝗋𝗉𝖾𝗋 𝖢𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗌 𝖴𝖪 𝖠𝗎𝖽𝗂𝗈 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝗀𝗂𝖿𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗉𝗒 𝗍𝗈 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐 𝗏𝗂𝖺 𝖭𝖾𝗍𝗀𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗒

𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. Audio for an advance review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Maid’ by Nita Prose in exchange for an honest review. It is narrated by Lauren Ambrose.

Molly the Maid has worked for years at the Regency Grand Hotel and is used to being invisible. She diligently plumps pillows and cleans away the dirt. With no one taking notice of her, Molly sees and hears secrets of the hotel guests passing through.

Yet when one of the hotel’s regular guests is found dead, Molly is thrown into the middle of a police investigation. Her unique perspective allows her to see things that others overlook.
 
This was a delightful mystery with a charming heroine in Molly. She is a gentle soul, who finds social situations difficult. Her recently deceased grandmother had instilled in her a sense of etiquette and of duty towards her work. Still, some members of the hotel staff are capable of running roughshod over her.

The narrator, Lauren Ambrose, is an American actor with numerous stage, film and television credits. While not previously familiar with her work, I felt that she captured the essence of Molly.

Overall, I felt that ‘The Maid’ was a wonderful mystery that not only held my attention throughout but conveyed a sense of quiet joy.

Highly recommended.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

What a brilliant audiobook! I absolutely loved this story. Molly is a maid who takes great pride in cleaning the Regency Grand Hotel- 'returning everything to a state of absolute perfection.' Until one day she discovers the dead body of customer Mr Black. This puts Molly into a very precarious position and soon finds her accused of murder. Molly has difficulties in reading social cues and had previously relied on her deceased grandmother to help her unpick the meaning of others actions. Her grandmothers death has left her in an incredibly vulnerable position where others can and do try to manipulate her. The narrator of this story manages to portray Molly's difficulties ss effectively. Absolutely incredibly well read and I feel this really adds to the listeners experience. I haven't read this book but I am really pleased that my first experience of the story has been through the audiobook. Listen to Molly's story- you will not be disappointed. Absolutely brilliant!

I loved this book, it was beautifully written, interesting and an absolutely joy to listen to. A slow-paced but delightful tale with an interesting mystery at its heart. Additionally, as someone who was very close to their Gran, this story resonated with me on a personal and very deep level.

I read this book along with the audiobook and really enjoyed it. The book bio and synopsis do not mention that Molly the maid is on the autistic spectrum so I feel many readers will miss out reading a fabulous story of living and working with challenging assumptions, it was well written and so much fun.

Molly the maid is a fabulous character and I was totally on her side throughout the book, watching her ne lead astray because she didn't pick up on the cues had me shouting at my book. The audiobook was perfect with the voices being exactly what I expected. Mr Preston was perfect.

I read with book with audio in 8hrs it was absolutely amazing and I will read it again as it's adorable and that twist omg I did not see that coming.

5 stars for both book and audiobook.

#netgalley #nitaprose #themaid

The Maid makes for an almost perfect escapist read. It boasts an engaging and humorous prose, a deeply endearing main character, a fast-paced mystery that takes place over the course of a single week, and a very wholesome story. This is less of a cozy whodunnit than an absorbing character-driven tale about Molly Gray, a neurodivergent 25-year-old woman who works as a maid for a prestigious hotel. Molly’s grandmother, who was her sole carer and companion, died a few months before the novel’s events take place, and Molly is struggling to navigate the world without her.
It has its flaws: there were some very cheesy/ridiculous moments, the author's decision not to mention neurodivergency was kind of sus, and a character who is undocumented is depicted in an exceedingly clichéd way (of course, he is 'rescued' by the white characters).

While Molly does find her work as a maid deeply fulfilling, to the point where she reminded me of Keiko from Convenience Store Woman, she’s very lonely without her Gran. Growing up she was always made to feel like a ‘weirdo’ and a ‘freak’, and even now her colleagues at the hotel regard her with a mixture of bemusement and condescension and are generally quite mean towards her. Because Molly struggles to read people’s body language, to ‘read’ their emotions, and to pick up on things like sarcasm etc, social interactions can become quite difficult, especially when others (mis)perceive her behaviour or responses as ‘odd’ or ‘off’.

Her life is upended when during a shift she comes across a guest’s dead body. The deceased, Mr. Black, was a wealthy man of dubious manners who died in dubious circumstances. His now widowed wife, Giselle, was one of the few people who made Molly feel seen, in a good way that is. Having watched a lot of Columbo Molly knows that Giselle will be the prime suspect for her husband’s murder, so she decides to help her out. It is Molly however who becomes suspect in the police’s eyes, as the people around her are quick to pile on her, painting her as being antisocial and standoffish, someone who wouldn’t have a problem killing someone. Molly ends up trusting in the wrong people, and while most readers will be able to see beyond their ‘nice’ act, Molly herself doesn’t. She eventually becomes deeply embroiled in this murder case, and the lead detective seems determined to see Molly as the culprit. Thankfully for Molly, she does come across people who have her best interest at heart, and with their aid, she decides to take down those who had manipulated her.
The Maid makes for a rewarding and breezy read. While there are stakes, such as Molly being arrested for a crime she did not commit, the narrative maintains a very lighthearted tone. Even if it does include abuse, bullying, the possibility of deportation, and murder. Molly’s energetic voice added momentum to the story, and I found myself devouring this book over the course of a day.

I will say that I didn’t like how no one, as far as I can recall, mentions words such as autism, neurodivergent, or neuroatypical. Almost every character mentions that Molly is ‘different’, or ‘odd’, or ‘weird’, or a ‘freak’. But no one ever acknowledges that she’s on the spectrum. Molly, herself doesn't. Given that this novel has a contemporary setting this seemed a bit unlikely. I mean, maybe I would have believed it if this book was set during the 90s in a country like the one where I was brought up in, but 21st century North America? I also think that the way the author portrayed Molly could rub some people the wrong way as she does seem to exhibit all the classic signs associated with autism. Juan's character was also depicted in a vaguely questionable way. The man is made to seem gullible and somewhat childlike. I didn't care for the way the author infantilised him (i guess she wanted to stress that undocumented men do not pose a threat...but making him come across as 'simple' is not great). Additionally, the other maids were portrayed in a way that verged on the offensive.
Still, I'd like to think that the author’s ultimate message was well-meaning.

Molly made for a truly sweet character and I really liked to see her work together with her friends to clear her name. The mystery storyline did have a few predictable twists & turns, not only when it came to the people who were clearly scheming against Molly, but the identity of the murderer and Molly’s unreliability. But these are minor criticisms and they certainly did not stop me from enjoying The Maid. If you are looking for a quick, entertaining, and rather charming read, well, you should definitely consider giving The Maid a shot.
If you prefer more thought-provoking or realistic mysteries, well, this book probably won't be your cup of tea.

4.5 ⭐️
The maid……… How do I do it justice? Molly is a maid. Molly was different but an exceptional maid. This story is about a mystery-murder of a “who dun it” I lived this book through Molly’s experiences, her thinking and her weirdness.
I loved the writing and I loved the characters. What interesting read and I’m so glad I read it. I highly recommend it.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and its narrated by Lauren Ambrose. Se did a phenomenal job.
Thanks HarperCollins and Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

Well this was so much better than the book. I did enjoy the book but this took it to a completely different level.

Molly is what you would consider to be on the spectrum and the plot explores her reaction to discovering Mr blacks body.

I was given a free copy by the publisher and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.