By Tessa Pulyer Posted on

The Maid by Nita Prose #BookReview #PsychologicalThriller #5starRead

I’m very excited to be bringing this to you. It really is one you won’t want to miss.

A charmingly eccentric hotel maid discovers a guest murdered in his bed. Solving the mystery will turn her once orderly world upside down in this utterly original debut.

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

What Others Are Saying:

What I Enjoyed

What an unexpected gem of a domestic thriller.  The story has teeth, it explores morally gray areas with both shock and clarity, and it touched my heart in the most profound and unexpected ways.  Part of the strength of this novel is for the reader to go in blind and discover for themselves all it has to offer, so I’m going to tread lightly so as not to ruin it for you.  You must read The Maid and experience it as I did.

First, there are many twists and turns up until the very end.  I’m just DIZZY from spinning round and round.  Just when you think you have the story all figured out, woosh, the rug is pulled from right under your feet and your left trying to make sense of what just happened.  I like nothing better than shocking twists that leave me breathless, and this story has plenty.  So, just wait for it and don’t assume (because Molly, the main character, will explain to you all about what happens when you assume).

I also love the themes the story explores, as they add meat and meaning to the story. Themes like the invisibility of the working class and the marginalization of people with a noticeable disorder that impacts how they process information and/or relate to other people.  These are all handled with sincerity and empathy and left no doubt to the injustices that are done regularly.

The characters are all so finely developed that it feels like you can turn around in your seat, and they will be right there ready to have a conversation with you – all of them through the most minor of support characters. And it’s through just little things, this is achieved – like the mention of one minor character – another maid – who would wipe the bathroom down with the same rag she used to clean the toilet on purpose. (I know I just heard a collective “eewww.”)

Reminds Me Of

I can’t think of anything else out there like this story. It has all the thrills, chills, and surprises as any good domestic thriller, but it also has a story that will touch your heart and lift you up in the most profound ways.

Characters

Molly Gray is the main character. She loves being a maid and knows that Molly the Maid sounds just too made up. Molly loves it so much that I wanted to be a maid for a minute even though I have severe dust mite allergies. She is delightful and sincere and loves what she’s doing and where she is doing it. If you don’t just fall in love with her as I did, I will be surprised.

What I Wish

I wish some readers wouldn’t make the mistake of calling this a cozy mystery, for it is definitely not.  It is a domestic thriller through and through.  I also wish that the popular Netflix show Maid had not come out so recently or been so popular because the two can easily get confused and are absolutely nothing alike. Each deserves to stand on their own.

To Read or Not to Read

This is one of my favorite books this year. I highly recommend it to all readers whether or not thrillers are a genre you usually pick up, as this has so much more to offer than the wonderfully shocking thrills.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

40 Replies to “The Maid by Nita Prose #BookReview #PsychologicalThriller #5starRead”

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      Rock Paper Scissors, A History of Wild Places, and this one are my top three thriller reads this year ❤️ They were all so good!

      Like

  7. Staci Troilo says:

    The second you said “Clue,” I was interested. Your enthusiasm for the book clearly shines through. Thanks for sharing this one.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Mae Clair says:

    I’ve been keeping an eye on this one. It definitely appeals to me, and is on my reading list. So many books. So little time!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      This one is worth a high placement. It’s really so surprising in psyc thriller ways and just in general ways. A great read ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  9. nsfordwriter says:

    Great review, I’ll look out for this one! I don’t read anything described as a cosy mystery… but domestic thrillers, yes!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      This is definitely not a cozy. It is an excellent domestic thriller with lots of surprising twists and turns and I loved that it lulled me into a sort of complacency before it floored me with all the shocks and surprises. So fun ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  10. WendyW says:

    I have heard nothing but great reviews for this book, I’m so glad you loved it!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      It is an awesome story – lots of thrills and chills and also heartwarming – you don’t find that mix very often.

      Like

  13. Carla says:

    Excellent review Tessa. I am glad to hear that the book is nothing like the Netgalley series. I have this on my TBR, but need to wait until it is published as I was declined on NG. I worked for several years as a chamber maid at a local hotel and at a nursing/retirement home while in University, so I am also interested that way as well.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I hope you love it as much as I did. There is so much unexpected about this story. It really took me by surprise ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Pingback: Bloggers To Follow – January 2022 – Bookworm Blogger
  19. Jaya Avendel says:

    Oop, loving your “what I wish” section all the more now! I did think this was connected to the show on Netflix but, while I have not seen the show, I would read this book. Love that it is a thriller with an interesting main character and a fine showing of murder!
    Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Pingback: 200th Post! LGBTQ+ Rep Book Tag – Hundreds & Thousands of Books
  21. Pingback: 3 Bookish Things Tag – Hundreds & Thousands of Books

Comments are closed.