Originally published: 20 January 2022

Author: Nita Prose

Published by: HarperCollins

Genre: Mystery

Page count: 352

Reading dates: 21-24 March 2022

I am your maid.

I know about your secrets. Your dirty laundry.

But what do you know about me?

Molly the maid is all alone in the world. A nobody. She’s used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime, dust and secrets of the guests passing through. She’s just a maid – why should anyone take notice?

But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his bed. This isn’t a mess that can be easily cleaned up. And as Molly becomes embroiled in the hunt for the truth, following the clues whispering in the hallways of the Regency Grand, she discovers a power she never knew was there. She’s just a maid – but what can she see that others overlook?

Molly is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel and is one of the hardest workers there. She enjoys her job and is proud to work there, working hard to ensure all rooms are returned to a state of perfection everyday. She is a lonely character having recently lost her gran. She has no friends – people often don’t know what to make of her. She speaks her mind and doesn’t always read situations correctly. Her gran used to help her understand people’s facial expressions but she is struggling now she is alone.

One morning she cleans the room of wealthy long term residents Mr and Mrs Black but Mrs Black spends most of the time crying in the bathroom which disturbs Molly as she is usually friendly and kind to her. Molly returns to the penthouse later the same day to and finds Mr Black dead in his bed. She is immediately embroiled in the police investigation as it is discovered he was murdered.

The Maid had me feeling sad – poor Molly. She is lonely and a little naive and people take advantage of her without her realising it but she is a lovely, kind person whose job is her life. I think she is probably autistic and I felt so sad for the way she was treated. The Maid wasn’t a whodunit as such although it sometimes felt like a game of Cluedo with some of characters names! It is more about Molly and how her life changes after the murder, how she makes some true friends who care for her deeply and how she is able to learn to help herself.

I really did enjoy The Maid. I didn’t enjoy feeling sorry for Molly but I loved how her character progressed and I must admit it brought a tear to my eye. A murder mystery with a unique central character who you can’t help but love, I was sorry to see the story end.

Many thanks to Tandem Collective for inviting me on the readalong and HarperCollins for sending me a copy and some cleaning goodies.

About the author:

Nita Prose is a longtime editor, serving many bestselling authors and their books. She lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is only moderately clean.

Twitter – https://twitter.com/NitaProse
Website: https://www.nitaprose.com/