The Maid. A Mini Review.

The Maid

By Nita Prose

Rating: 5/5 Stairs

Expected Publication Date: 4 January 2022

Which begins like this:

I am 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 about what you’ve left behind, the mess, or what I might see when you’re gone.
I’m the one who empties your trash, tossing out the receipts you don’t want anyone to discover. I’m the one who changes your sheets, who can tel if you slept in them and if you were alone last night or not. I’m the one who straightens your shoes by the door, who puffs up your pills and finds stray hairs on them. Yours? Not likely. I’m the one who cleans up after you drink too much and soil the toilet seat, or worse.
When I’m done with my work, I leave your room pristine. Your bed is made perfectly, with four plump pillows, as though no one had ever lain there. The dust and grime you left behind has been vacuumed into oblivion. Your polished mirror reflects your face of innocence back at you. It’s as though you were never here. It’s as though all of your filth, all of your lies and deceits, have been erased.
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?
The Maid

What a great opener! Right from this prologue, I was hooked.

Molly (the Maid) is an endearing character – her beloved Gran recently died, leaving the socially-awkward Molly to forge her way through life alone. Molly is 25 years old and very proud of her job and the work she does at the Regency Grand Hotel; she uses advice and etiquette her Gran instilled in her (as well as that famous TV Detective Columbo) to try to navigate unknown social cues in her very literal views of the world.

The story begins with Molly in her usual work routine at the hotel, when she discovers the body of Mr. Black – a regular guest – in his suite. Of course Molly’s unusual behavior when questioned makes her a prime suspect in his murder. Molly must figure out who her true friends are if she wants to get to the bottom of this mystery.

I really enjoyed the way the story unfolds through Molly’s eyes. At first Molly seems like a straightforward character, but the more you read you realize this is just the surface, and she is quite complex. The locked-room mystery is engaging, and well-paced through Molly’s narration. The best part is Molly’s journey – she quickly found her way into my heart and I rooted for her from start to finish.

Ultimately, The Maid is a book about perceptions – how do you perceive the world, how do others see things? What happens when you see everything as an absolute – all black and white with no shades of gray? And how do you navigate your journey and determine who you can trust and your true friendships along the way?

The Maid is a great way to kick off your 2022 reading, don’t miss it!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book.