Erin Clemence's Reviews > The Maid

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication date: January 4, 2022

Molly Gray adores her job as a hotel maid. She loves cleanliness and obsesses over making things neat and tidy, as she was taught to do by her grandmother, who was a housekeeper. Molly struggles with fitting into society, is socially awkward, and is often blunt and far-too-honest in her conversations and relationships, but her grandmother helped her navigate the strange world around her. But now, Molly’s gran is dead and although she still enjoys her job, Molly is finding it hard to understand the world without her grandmother’s support. When Molly finds the body of Mr. Black, a long-time VIP guest, in his hotel room, she is soon thrust into a world of police investigations, suspicion and distrust, and she feels even more out of place than ever before.

“The Maid”, by Canadian editor-turned-author, Nita Prose, is compelling, page-turning and heart-wrenching. Eccentric hotel maid Molly Gray is outstanding, charming and utterly likable, and I cheered for her throughout the novel. For a cleanliness-obsessed young woman, who is likely on the autism spectrum, she navigates the world around her with bravery and honesty, and I admired her from the first page. As Molly finds herself thrust unknowingly into criminal behaviours with seedy and untrustworthy characters, I ran the emotional gamut- from laughing out loud, to cheering, to feeling anxious and annoyed. I am a sucker for novels with a less-than-ordinary protagonist and this one checks all the boxes.

The story is narrated by Molly, and through her eyes we meet all of the unknowingly (to Molly anyway) unsavoury characters that are completely detestable, but the human condition resets itself in the genuinely sweet-hearted and likable characters that befriend our heroine.

I loved everything about this novel, especially the ending, and it is one heck of a powerful debut. Molly is the kind of character I could read about again and again, and I hope Prose has more “Molly Maid” coming our way!