Book Review of THE MAID by Nita Prose

THE MAID by Nita Prose (Ballantine Books, January 2022) Hardcover, 289 pages. Goodreads 2022 Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller. Goodreads 2022 Choice Award nominee for Best Debut Novel. 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

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.

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website .. . . .

     This novel received enough advance press and nominations to get my attention and set my expectations. While it did not live up to those expectations, THE MAID is an enjoyable read, a murder mystery that harkens back to the novels of Agatha Christie in its' rich characterization and large cast of characters. 

          The main character, Molly the Maid, exhibits symptoms of OCD, processes information differently than the norm, and is a real clean freak. While I realize that her OCD was an important part of her character and necessary to certain plot elements, I felt that author Nita Prose overdid it in detailing her cleaning procedures and methods over and over again, to the point that I became annoyed and almost did not finish. 

     The story does pick up at the mid-point and moves at a faster reading pace from that point forward. I began to formulate my list of suspects from the very first chapter, and came up with four characters in mind. Naturally, I was correct about some things and fooled on others. I don't think I would enjoy a mystery as much if I was able to solve it completely.

      There's a neat little twist near the end that made me wonder about Molly, but everything is explained by the final chapter except for one thing. I felt that the prologue was a red herring and the narrator could not possibly be the same narrator for the rest of the novel. Prose never returns to this or explains it. I believe I know who the prologue narrator is, but apparently that is irrelevant to the story.

     If you enjoy mysteries of the classic style with a few modern twists, you may appreciate THE MAID.