Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts will be shared on Goodreads and Amazon UK.
Molly Grey, AKA Molly Maid, is a maid at the Regency Grand, an upscale hotel. Her attention to detail and love of cleanliness and order makes this a perfect job for her. In the text, it is clear that Molly is written as being neuro-divergent, but this is never explicitly stated.

During the course of her duties, she finds Mr. Black, a long-term resident of the hotel, dead in his room and becomes the prime suspect. The story begins to reveal some dark secrets hidden by various characters at the hotel, and things seem bleak for Molly.
Overall, I enjoyed The Maid. The range of characters was wide and mostly all served a purpose and moved the action along. I found myself rooting for Molly and really hoping things would work out for her. There were plenty of twists and plot points to keep my interest throughout.
My one criticism would be that, at times, the portrayal of Molly feels robotic and cold, falling back on some of the stereotypical tropes commonly used to describe neuro-divergent characters.

I enjoyed this quirky little tale.
Molly the maid discovers Mr Black’s dead body when she goes in to clean his room. The police discover he has actually been murdered and, due to not being quite like other people and her trusting nature, Molly becomes the number one suspect.
Yes, it’s a cutesy little tale but well written and enjoyable with a fantastic twist at the end

Thanks to a review copy from NetGalley I read the story of Molly the maid. This is a very entertaining crime story, told from the viewpoint of the maid in a hotel. She is somewhat inept socially and for her cleaning is a passion, a thread that runs throughout the book. Molly had been brought up by her now deceased gran and this is reflected in her style of speech and values. At first, I found her infuriatingly naive but after the scene having been set, she grew on me and the story took off with twists and turns. In addition to the electronic book, I was given the opportunity to listen to the audio book. This was excellent, well narrated, and gave me the opportunity to pick up some bits and pieces I hadn’t really appreciated when reading the original written version. Very entertaining both to read and to listen to.

Oh how I absolutely adored this (audio)book. Molly is the most wonderful character ever, and the story was just brilliant. I couldn't stop listening and raced through it; it is extremely well narrated, very entertaining and also very moving in places. A must-read / listen. Highly recommended. Nita Prose is a very talented writer, I hope she will be writing many more books.
With grateful thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook version of this book.

I think the fanfare around this one is a bit much. It's not a bad read but it's definitely not as spectacular and as original as many of the reviews will have you believe.

The big thing that makes people think this is more than your everyday cookie-cutter thriller is the protagonist Molly (The Maid) being A-Typical, she is on the spectrum. We don't know the extent of it only the fact that for the most part (except when it's inconvenient to the author's story) she is behind the eight ball in understanding social situations. That is it. Nothing else. That's what all the other reviewers are referring to when they pronounce this book to be so holy unique and original. There really isn't anything else that is mindbogglingly special. If you've read a few thrillers in your life, you will find this not only follows the typical bouncing ball but is also fairly predictable.

I did enjoy Molly as a protagonist but I'm also not blind to the fact the author liked to change the severity of her social awareness to whatever fits her storyline. Sorry, Nita Prose, YOU chose this character. YOU leaned hard into her lack of social awareness, like really fucking hard. So you don't get to backtrack for your twists and turns. It's wishy-washy, poor character development and it just pisses me off, I feel cheated because the twists aren't authentic.

I used an audiobook to listen to this story and I think Lauren Ambrose did an amazing job in capturing the essence of Molly perfectly.

Thank you, NetGalley, Nita Prose, and HarperCollins Audio for providing me with the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

February was not a very productive month for me when it came to reading. This book brought me out of my slump and I was done with the first half in a single day. That made me so so happy.

I loved Molly! Absolutely adore her and she has my heart. She has one of the best character developments I've seen in a while and it made ME so proud. As someone who was super close to her grandmother, I related to her on a very emotional and personal level.

The story itself is well written and kept me engrossed and I did not see the end coming AT ALL. I was 100% sure about the killer and the twist just left my mouth hanging open.

I was also prepared for Giselle to be a bit of a bitch and backstabber but I'll admit it, I was overjoyed with how her relation with Molly played out.

Rodney on the other hand, since he came into the scene I just had this feeling that he will not be up to any good, of course, I did not see how his actions would play out. I just thought he'd be an A level asshole to Molly because of how different she is.

Mr Snow pleasantly surprised me by being an ally and overall I'm happy that Molly had more of them. Sort of reassured me that being nice IS a good decision.

I enjoyed this book immensely and hope everyone who reads it does too.

Delightful!

(I'm sure I can't be the only person to make that little joke.)

The Maid is a lovely, enjoyable mystery novel, perfect for light reading. I especially enjoyed the way clues were dispensed through Molly's unique perspective - not as obvious clues, but as elements of the world around her that she interprets in her own sweet, innocent way, but which may stand out to the reader as points to take note of.

The narrator also did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life - especially Molly - and something in her delivery reminded me of the portrayal of Holly Gibney's character in the TV adaptation of Stephen King's Mr Mercedes.

One issue I did have was with the British vs. American references. To my knowledge, American books are often edited to suit a British audience for release in the UK, and vice versa, where certain language (cookie vs. biscuit) and cultural changes are made to better suit the audience. I'm quite sure I listened to the British version of the audiobook, although it was still read in an American accent - which clashed quite a bit, in my opinion. What's worse, the British references were so specific and pervasive that the sudden reversion to American elements (e.g. dollars) felt like a shocking yank out of a world that I thought I had a good grip on. Which is especially weird, given that the book is definitely set in the US, and American elements should not be the shocking ones. Basically, the major incongruities made it really hard to imagine the setting properly.

If I have this wrong, and the book is actually written with all this Britishness despite being fully American, I sincerely hope I just missed the explanation of how Molly's grandmother was a massive Anglophile and instilled in her a love of all things British - or something - because if not, it would make even less sense than blaming it on the editing for the British market.

once i was two chapters in I could not put down this book. Molly the maid is such a wonderful character you only want the best for her, so sweet and naive.This book had a plot however it was the side stories and personalities that really brought it to life for me. Molly the maid finds a dead body in her hotel and Molly's ordered life and outward appeareance is hard to maintain. Lovely read and narrated beautifully. Thank you #Netgalley for the audiobook to review.

This charming debut mystery novel had me gripped to the storyline and especially to the main character Molly the maid.

Molly works at a prestigious hotel. She puts her heart and soul into her job, shining and cleaning the hotel rooms gives her a feeling of accomplishment.


Molly struggles with social situations and intentions. Having recently lost her beloved grandmother, Molly misses her one true cheerleader and the person who could help her relate to others.

When Mr Black a guest at the hotel is found dead, Molly becomes the prime suspect. You cannot fail to emphasise with Molly and as I listened to the story I was cheering her on hoping that the “bad eggs” would get their just rewards .

The whodunit mystery was skilfully written , I was totally off the mark in my prediction. This book explores the fact that everyone is important and that being different is not a negative thing in-fact it can be quite the opposite. An important message for us all to take onboard.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator was brilliant and my only problem was listening too long into the night. Highly recommended

The Rosie Project Meets Murder Mystery

🧡 This is why I go into books with only the bare facts. I thought this was a psychological thriller. Nope. Instead it reminded me of The Rosie Project and the rest of the Don Tilman series, which I suppose makes it contemporary fiction. But this isn’t about Don. Or genres. It’s about Molly the maid. And Molly is in trouble, over her head in the stuff.

💚 Molly’s tale is a touching insight into a neurodivergent mind. No diagnosis is forthcoming, but she has trouble reading social cues, has a rigid disposition and interprets language literally. I love her to bits and I enjoyed every moment with her.

💛 This is about judging character, about loss and friendship and the nature of love. All of this is driven by the main plotline, a criminal investigation into the death of a guest in Molly’s hotel place of work. A mess in which she finds herself embroiled.
__________________________________________________
SOUNDBITE

🎧 It took me a few minutes to get my bearings, but Lauren Ambrose delivers such an immersive performance, I quickly settled in. The whole thing is a joy. Between the myriad characters and endearing portrayal of Molly, this made me smile throughout my day.

Big thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for providing me with an ALC in return for an honest review.

4.25⭐️
I had the audiobook version narrated by Lauren Ambrose who does a great job with the narration. Great distinctive voices for the characters, and emotive narration which helps the reader to totally engage.

This is a gentle cosy murder mystery with Molly is the main character. It’s told in a chatty, first person narrative which makes it easy to engage with.

Molly adores her job as a maid in a prestigious hotel. She is neurodiverse and conscientious to the point of obsession which is ideal for her job.
Molly’s gran is a lovely warm caring character who was left to raise Molly. Her gran has given her guidance on how to cope with situations over the years, only now her gran has died and Molly is now alone to navigate the world that she’s not fully prepared for.
Molly is a very endearing character, lonely and socially isolated, a little naive. She is very hard working and dedicated to her job. She is quirky, but I felt that her quirkiness is muted which stops her being an OTT parody.
Mr Preston is a lovely caring character too who takes Molly under his wing.
Juan is such a loveable character who has been drawn into illegal activity.

Molly is charged over the death of one of the VIP guests Mr Black.
She gets mixed up with a very shady character Rodney.
It tugged on my emotions when she describes how empty her fridge is, and how hungry she is. I was angry at the pettiness of her being reported for taking left over food off trays when it was only destined for the bin, as she had no money for food.

The book is well written, it really drew me in. It starts slowly, lacking a strong hook. I wondered if I would get into it. But once it grabbed me, it didn’t let go.
At a couple of places it had me in tears.
The ending was very drawn out for me.

I couldn’t help make comparisons with Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. Eleanor was more of a character study with a quirkier character. This is more plot driven as a murder mystery with amateur sleuths with a quirky central character. Eleanor grabbed my attention quicker, but I engaged less with the storyline. This one is my favourite of the 2.
Both have love interests.

This is a lovely feel good read which would have scored much higher if it wasn’t for the slow start and drawn out ending.

It was archived before I could download it. Not fair. There should be more time given to download. I was so excited to listen to this but not it's archived 😭

The maid, is a murder mystery with Molly (25) a maid at the regency grand hotel as the main character as discovers one of the guests have died and becomes the prime suspect.

There was a lot of layers to the book, and highlights some questions. Do we treat people differently depending on their social status? If someone is different do we disregard/ignore them?

Molly is 'different' but being a maid is a job that is actually ideal for her, and she loves it. (Parts of Molly reminded me of the butler Stevens in the remains of the day with his commitment to perfection, but also being present but not seen). But because how Molly acts, interprets she gets teased (name calling), manipulated and puts trust in the wrong people (but I'm sure at some point in our lives majority of us have experienced this).

I read and listened to this, i think i would have struggled just reading the book, due to some situations that aroused. The narrator was clear and made it easier to follow but also i think made it easier to feel and really like Molly.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for an honest review.

I have heard a lot about The Maid so when I saw the audio available on Netgalley, I thought I would give it a go!

Molly is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel in New York. Socially awkward and meticulous, she absolutely prides herself on doing the best job possible and getting all the rooms back to perfection for her guests, with them barely noticing she had been there.
But when she finds a famous guest dead in his room, her quiet, reserved life is thrust into the spotlight and she finds herself realising that not everyone can be trusted.

I have to admit that I was expecting a very different book when I read the blurb, it was nowhere near as dark as I was expecting it to be. Thats not to say there aren't dark elements covered, there are, but the character of Molly and her innocent approach look at these in a unique way.
Molly herself is a lovely character. It is never openly confirmed, but she is written with neurodiverse personality traits that may point towards her being on the autistic spectrum, which endears her even more to you when you see how she is treated by some.

This was a quick and easy read airing more on the side of 'cosy mystery' that I really enjoyed!

I was very much looking forward to this book and was really excited when I saw that I’ve been accepted but it was archived just after I accepted it so I had no chance to download and listen to the book so I cannot review it. Very disappointed.

I listened to the audiobook of The Maid and had high expectations as I had kept hearing great things about it.

This book follows the story of Molly, who works in the Regency Grand Hotel as a maid. She is quickly thrown into the life on the darker side of the hotel when she discovers the dead body of the infamous Mr Black in his bed. Molly is arrested for his murder and we then work to piece the puzzle together in order to find the truth of who killed Mr Black.

Molly obviously has some personality quirks and doesn't deal well in social situations, perhaps hinting at the fact that she is neurodivergent, although this is never mentioned in the book. There are a number of inconsistencies in her personality traits but, this aside, I really did like Molly as a character.

The story was an enjoyable one and I hear that a film is being planned, which I can imagine will also be very good. However, there are a few scenarios that feel slightly out of place and a lot of the police and courtroom procedure feels unlikely. That aside, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it.

My thanks to the author and NetGalley for sending me the ARC in return for an honest review.

Fantastic, I was totally hooked. I really enjoyed the murder mystery styling of this book from the vantage point of Molly the maid who is clearly neurodiverse and has a beautiful sense of innocence about her. All the characters were totally believable and incredibly well written, I really cared about what happened to them and the book had a great twist at the end.

The narrator was also excellent. I would thoroughly recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The narrator did an excellent job of varying tempo and characterisation and her reading of sometimes lengthy descriptive passages kept me listening.

I don't know if I loved or hated the narrator of this book. I do know that I didn't love the clearly stereotyped autistic main character who is never referred to or even hinted at being autistic. Just "weird". It's 2022. Do better with you representation.

Having already read The Maid and highly enjoyed it, I was very curious to try the audiobook, and it didn't disappoint at all! I loved the narrator, the style wasn't an easy one to reproduce, but she definitely made a great job.

Wow, if this is a debut novel, we're bound to expect great things by Nita Prose in the future!

Molly the Maid is a wonderful character, expertly characterised. Having myself a kid on the autistic spectrum, I'm usually a bit wary of books with characters who are as well, since sometimes it feels a bit "spectacularised" and used mainly because it's trendy. But not in this case. In this case it felt true and raw and I've had the feeling of being inside my son's and Molly's head.

The Maid would have been a great book even without the mystery format, but it definitely is an added bonus.

Absolutely buy this book, you won't regret it, and you'll love Molly and want to hug her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.