An Amazing, Heartwarming Story
ABOUT THE BOOK
In development as a major motion picture produced by and starring Florence Pugh
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.
- Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
- Genre: Cozy Mystery
- Length: 9 hours and 37 minutes
- Publisher: Random House Audio
- Release Date: January 04, 2022
Once again I have a confession to make. Though I can’t tell you how many cozy mysteries I’ve read. (Maybe two.) I’ve never found a soft spot in my heart for them.
That being said, one audiobook by Nita Prose has me on the cozy mystery bandwagon.
I’m always blown away by debut novels that are this good. Prose certainly made a mark for herself with this book.
Molly Gray, the main character, behaves as though she has Asperger’s, which is the high functioning end of Autism. To my knowledge, this is never stated in the book, but I would label her as having Asperger’s.
Molly lets all of her Grandma’s sayings guide her through life, especially since gran has passed and Molly is on her own. But when she discovers a dead guest in a room that she’s cleaning, it seems Gran didn’t prepare her for everything.
I always try to note when I review an audiobook as opposed to a physical book. Why? I always wonder if I would be as tolerant of a slow book as I am audiobook with good narration. And Lauren Ambrose was amazing at bringing the characters to life. Now back to the slow part. It’s hard to say if I would have thought there were slow places had I read it. But I can say the audiobook had my attention throughout.
I could easily visualize the story as it unfolded. It had unique characters, murder, a touch of suspense, believable dialog, bad guys, good buys, and subliminal information about people who learn differently than most.
I’m so glad that I didn’t read anything about this book before starting it. If I’d seen that it was a cozy mystery I might have missed one of my favorite stories this year.
So do I like cozy mysteries? You better believe that I’m adding some to my to-be-read list. I’ll be doing a little reevaluating.
It looks like they’ve been wiped cleaned and nothing exists. 🙂
Final Thoughts
Grab your feather duster and earbuds. Cleaning house is always more fun when Lauren Ambrose is bringing an excellent story to life.
Without a doubt, I highly recommend this audiobook. Nita Prose is now on my radar!
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. Visit her at nitaprose.com, or follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @nitaprose.
If you purchase through the links in this post, I may earn a small commission. This helps support Pick a Good Book and allows us to continue bringing you great content.
