Lead Review

• Book: The Maid
• Location: North America
• Author: Nita Prose

Review Author: tripfiction

This was an impulse choice, based on nothing apart from the book’s regular appearance on Social Media over a couple of weeks. It’s location is lightly identifiable as being somewhere in North America, given some of the idioms and words used. Wherever it is set, however, it has a universal message, it is a gentle tribute to all the people quietly working away in hotels, unseen, keeping everything neat and clean for the clientele.

Molly (the eponymous maid of the title) works at the Grand Central, a stylish and luxurious hotel, and as the novel opens we are introduced to her grandmother, with whom she lives in a run-down apartment. Her grandmother has the measure of her granddaughter, an endearing, socially awkward and innocent 25 year old woman, who is happily defined by her job as a maid. It gives her purpose, satisfaction and kudos prepping each of her guest rooms “to perfection”.

She does, in fact, make my heart hurt, as she fumbles her way through social interchanges, storing people’s responses and expressions so that she may get better at understanding what people are asking of her.. Yes, I guess one could say she is a person with autism, who struggles to make sense of the world around her, beyond her dedication to her job. Wilbur breezes into her life and then in the hotel itself is Rodney, who manages the bar and on whom she has a crush.

There are some rather nefarious and dark things going on in the hotel, of which she is inevitably unaware and when she finds one of the hotel regulars dead in his room, her life takes a darker turn.

I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator – Lauren Ambrose – captures the essence of the novel perfectly. The writing is very good and the storytelling is simple (in a good way), so well paced and really enjoyable. There is dry humour and intelligence. I couldn’t wait to engage with Molly and her life and resume listening after a break. It also reminds us not to overlook maids as they go about their daily business, they are humans too. Just lovely and perfect for anyone who loves cosy crime.

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