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Book Reviews

In 'the maid,' a devoted hotel cleaning lady is a prime murder suspect.

Bethanne Patrick

The Maid by Nita Prose Ballantine Books hide caption

Devotees of cozy mysteries, rejoice: Nita Prose's debut, The Maid, satisfies on every level — from place to plot to protagonist.

In a fancy urban hotel, a guest lies dead, and the main suspect is Molly Gray, a member of the cleaning staff whose devotion to her work is matched only by her love for her deceased grandmother.

Let the locked-room hijinks begin!

The above storyline would be enough for a solid read, but Prose dials up the tension by creating a realistically different heroine. Molly Gray is neurodivergent, and may even have Autism spectrum disorder, not that Molly uses either of those terms. She tells us how she copes with the world. "I like things simple and neat," says Molly, who cleans "twenty-plus rooms" at the Regency Grand, "a five-star boutique hotel."

"Never in my life did I think I'd hold such a lofty position in a grand hotel," she says, also sharing that without Gran, "It's as though all the color has been drained from the apartment we shared." Work remains a respite, a place where Molly has responsibilities and a routine. "I love cleaning, I love my maid's trolley, and I love my uniform." Prose makes a wise choice in Molly's first-person narration, allowing readers to enter Molly's world, where a well-stocked maid's trolley is "a portable sanitation miracle." You'll nod at Molly's observations about the proper order in which to tackle a suite ("from top to bottom") and using different cloths for sink and toilet.

Molly knows that she sees things differently. "The truth is, I often have trouble with social situations; it's as though everyone is playing an elaborate game with complex rules they all know, but I'm always playing for the first time," she says. All of this information about Molly is important to have before the actual murder, because Molly's "trouble with social situations" will both complicate matters, and result in her eventual triumph.

A word about the location of the Regency Grand before we proceed. Nita Prose is vice president and editorial director at Simon & Schuster Canada (one reason why her mastery of voice and plot is so assured; she's clearly an excellent editor). We're never explicitly told that The Maid takes place in Toronto; understanding its author's Canadian background will help readers understand why Molly's Gran is decidedly British in tastes and diction, but no one ever questions those things.

One of the reasons Molly loves her job so much is that it allows her to bypass her social miscommunications and "blend in." Even the day after her beloved Gran dies, she heads into work. But nine months later, on one of Molly's shifts, she finds a Mr. Black "very dead in his bed."

Everything that happens next will occur because Molly follows her strict rules and does not clean the Blacks' bathroom, as Mrs. Black (Giselle) was taking a shower. Remember: Molly does not pick up on cues easily. The fact that Giselle Black hopped in the shower just after Molly arrived, and before Molly discovered Mr. Black dead, doesn't register. "I did not allow her behavior to interfere with the task at hand," says Molly.

While some readers may guess who the killer is immediately, it doesn't really matter, as the book is more about Molly — who does not. There are other things happening around Molly that she misses, too, including a crime ring that relies on an undocumented immigrant's fears of deportation. Molly takes things at face value, which costs her something. However, taking things at face value is also one of Molly's strengths, and it ultimately allows her to help authorities catch a killer and a kingpin. So what if her idea of haute cuisine is a Tour of Italy platter from The Olive Garden? Molly takes her pleasures at face value, too, and knows that something cheese-y isn't always cheesy.

The delight of reading The Maid lies partly in watching a hectic cast of characters unravel (take special pleasure in watching Rodney Stiles, the hotel head bartender on whom Molly has a crush) as the crime is properly solved. It also lies in seeing Molly learn that thinking differently does not equal giving up friendship or high standards. What begins as a sprightly murder mystery turns into a meaningful, and at times even delicate, portrait of growth.

The Maid will start your 2022 reading off right. Here's hoping Molly Gray, the smart and affecting hotel maid, appears in a new book soon.

Bethanne Patrick is a freelance writer and critic who tweets @TheBookMaven .

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Quick Recap & Summary By Chapter

The Full Book Recap and Chapter-by-Chapter Summary for The Maid by Nita Prose are below.

Quick(-ish) Recap

The two-paragraph version of this: Molly Gray is a maid at a hotel who finds a the dead body of Mr. Black, a wealthy real estate tycoon, in a guest room. Meanwhile, Molly has been doing favors for Giselle, Mr. Black’s (second) wife, and the hotel’s head barman Rodney. When Molly is arrested for Mr. Black’s murder, Molly realizes she’s been framed.

She soon learns that Giselle and Rodney are lovers who were planning on running away together and that Rodney was working for Mr. Black by running a drug operation (which Molly unwittingly had assisted in) through the hotel. With help from others, Molly concocts a plan so that Rodney is caught red-handed with the drugs and is arrested for the murder (Giselle wasn’t involved, so Molly encourages her to run away). In the Epilogue, it’s revealed that Molly knew all along that the real killer was Mr. Black’s first wife, whose daughter Victoria had been trying to clean up his company.

Molly Gray , 25, is a maid at an upscale boutique hotel, the Regency Grand Hotel, where she’s worked for four years. Molly is socially awkward, has difficulty interpreting body language and social situations, and her Gran who raised her passed away 9 months ago. Charles Black , a real estate magnate, and his (second) wife Giselle Black are frequent guests of the hotel. Giselle is friendly and generous with Molly and has told Molly about her unhappy marriage.

On Monday , Molly finds the dead body of Mr. Black in his hotel suite. Giselle was upset earlier that day, and Charles’s company, Black Properties & Investments , has been in turmoil lately due to a tussle over ownership and control with his daughter, Victoria Black . Victoria’s mother is Charles’s first wife, and Victoria owns 49% of the shares of the company.

At the scene, Molly notices an open bottle of Giselle’s pills next to the body, money missing from the room’s safe, a flight itinerary for two one-way tickets to the Cayman Island in Giselle’s purse, and she had seen Mr. Black holding a deed of some sort earlier that day. The police question Molly, but Molly withholds a lot of information to prevent incriminating Giselle, who she considers a friend. Giselle has previously told Molly about Charles’s cheating and abusive behavior, but Molly keeps all of it to herself.

On Tuesday , Molly’s landlord Mr. Russo reminds her of her late rent payment. At work, the head bartender Rodney asks to meet up with Molly after her shift to talk about what she witnessed. Molly eagerly agrees since she’s infatuated with Rodney, and she views this as their second date.

Over a year-and-a-half ago, Molly had walked in to clean a room where she was stopped by two large men, and she saw Rodney and Juan Manuel (one of the kitchen dishwashers) in the room, too. Rodney had asked to talk with her afterwards, which Molly had interpreted to be a date. Over dinner, he’d asked her not to tell anyone else what she saw involving the men, a package and a duffle bag. Rodney claimed that he was helping Juan Manuel, an undocumented worker. He also asked for Molly’s help in getting keycards for empty rooms that Juan could use each night and to clean those rooms afterwards. Molly had agreed and had been giving Juan Manuel keycards each day since then.

In present day, Molly meets up with Rodney who asks her what she witnessed yesterday and how the police questioning had gone. She starts to get irritated and suspicious when he asks if the police said anything about him. However, she dismisses those thoughts when he asks to exchange phone numbers. Afterwards, Mr. Preston the doorman sees them together, and he warns Molly to be careful with Rodney.

Molly has only ever had one ex-boyfriend, Wilbur . Molly and her grandmother had saved up money so that Molly could attend college, and Molly had met Wilbur, a soon-to-be accounting student, at college orientation just before she was supposed to start her hospitality management program. They’d been dating until one day Wilbur went with her to deposit a check in her account and saw her key in her PIN number. He cleaned out her account, and she never heard from him again. Molly didn’t report it since she didn’t want her grandmother to know what had happened.

When Molly gets home, she finds Giselle waiting outside her apartment building. (Giselle is currently staying at another room in the hotel). Inside, Giselle fills Molly in on what’s been going on. She says that she and Charles had gotten in an argument yesterday when she asked to have a piece of property (a villa in the Cayman Islands) in her name because their prenup means she gets nothing. However, Giselle insists she didn’t kill Charles, and Molly believes her.

Giselle also asks Molly about what she saw and told the police. Hearing that Molly tried to be discreet, Giselle hugs Molly and gives her $200. Then, Giselle asks Molly for a favor. She says she left a gun in the bathroom fan in the crime scene suite and asks Molly to fetch it for her. Molly agrees to get it.

On Wednesday , the police are done inspecting the Black suite, and Molly is assigned to clean it up. Rodney suggests that Juan Manuel should stay there for a while once it’s clean since the hotel is unlikely to be renting it out for a while anyway. He gives Molly a duffle bag to put in there. That morning, Molly cleans up the suite, places the duffle bag there and fetches Giselle’s gun from the bathroom. Molly puts the gun in her extra vacuum filter to hide it.

Molly also finds Mr. Black’s wedding band in the room. Molly decides to pawn it at a pawn shop over lunch. When she returns back to the hotel, the police are there looking to question Molly again. They confront her about not having been forthcoming about what she knows about Giselle and Charles.

That night, Molly uses the money from the pawnshop to pay the remainder of her late rent. Afterwards, she’s feeling upset, and she calls Rodney. She confides in him about Giselle’s gun and about pawning Mr. Black’s wedding band.

On Thursday morning, Molly is arrested for Mr. Black’s murder and the police know everything that Molly had told Rodney. By now, it’s been established that Mr. Black died of asphyxiation. Molly calls Mr. Preston for help. His daughter, Charlotte, is a lawyer. Charlotte offers to represent Molly and helps to put up the bail so Molly can be released.

They review the details of what happened, and they talk to Juan Manuel as well. It turns out that Mr. Black had been running a drug operation through the hotel and that Rodney was working for him. The duffle bags that Rodney had asked Molly to place in the empty rooms that Juan Manuel was in every night were filled with cocaine. Rodney had also been forcing Juan Manuel to work for them. (Rodney had introduced Juan Manuel to a layer to get his work permit extended, but the lawyer had taken Juan Manuel’s money and left him with an expired permit. Rodney had then threatened Juan Manuel and his family unless he cooperated.) It also turns out that Rodney and Giselle were lovers, and Giselle had wanted them to run away to the Cayman Islands to start a new life.

In present day, the group discusses and comes up with a plan to help Molly. That night, they trick Rodney into going up into the Black suite to fetch a duffle bag of cocaine. When he does, the police apprehend him red-handed and he’s arrested for the murder of Mr. Black. Molly is cleared of all charges. (Giselle would have been arrested, too, except that Molly called her and Giselle swore that she knew about the drugs, but had nothing to do with the murder or framing Molly. Molly decides to tell Giselle to get her passport and run away.)

That night, Molly thinks about her Gran’s death and how her Gran (in her final days of dying of pancreatic cancer) had asked Molly to smother her with a pillow to stop the pain. Molly had done it.

On Friday , Molly’s boss Mr. Snow offers her and Juan Manuel their jobs back.

Several Months Later , Molly and Juan Manuel are now dating, and Molly has recently been promoted to Head Maid. Juan Manuel has recently moved in with Molly, and she is slowly rebuilding her savings so she can attend a hospitality management program while she works. Today, Molly receives a $10,000 deposit into her account from “Sandy Cayman”, who she realizes must be Giselle and that Giselle is now in the Cayman Islands by herself.

Molly also thinks back to the testimony she gave yesterday when Rodney was convicted of murder. She had told the court about how when she found the body, she’d fainted because she’d seen a shadowy figure holding a pillow. She says that she didn’t say anything before since she wasn’t entirely sure what she’d seen.

In the Epilogue , Molly explains that she really did see a shadowy figure. She fainted because the image of them holding a pillow reminded her of herself when she smothered her Gran (at Gran’s request). However, at court it was implied that it could’ve been Rodney. Instead, Molly knows exactly who it was — the killer was the first Mrs. Black (Charles’s first wife and the mother of Victoria Black).

Mrs. Black had helped Molly up after she fainted and explained that she’d gone there to talk to Mr. Black, but he had gotten physical with her. She told Molly about how her daughter Victoria had been trying to clean up the company, but Mr. Black had resisted. She suggested that Molly help her to “turn the tables” on bad men like Mr. Black by not telling anyone about her (Mrs. Black) being there. Molly had agreed.

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Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

Prologue Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Several Months Later Epilogue

In the prologue, the narrator talks about how she cleans people’s rooms which allows her to know everything about them. However, they know very little about her.

Molly Gray , 25, works as a maid at Regency Grand Hotel , an art-deco-styled five-star boutique hotel. Molly’s mother left when she was young, and Molly was raised by her beloved Gran , who passed away nine months ago. Molly now feels a little lonely living all alone.

Molly takes pride in her work and likes her job. Additionally, she considers herself to be socially awkward and has trouble reading expressions, body language and social cues, so she appreciates the anonymity that her maid’s uniform gives her. Her boss is Mr. Alexander Snow , the hotel manager.

Today around 3:00 PM, Molly has discovered a hotel guest, Mr. Charles Black , dead in his bed in Suite 401 , a penthouse suite. Charles, a real-estate magnate (who owned many of the buildings in the city, but not the hotel), and his wife Giselle Black , a socialite, are frequent guests of the hotel.

Molly had cleaned most of Suite 401 earlier that day, apart from the bathroom since it had been occupied by Giselle taking a shower. Giselle had seemed upset. While Giselle was typically quite talkative, that wasn’t the case that day. Later, when Molly returns that afternoon to finish cleaning, she finds the body. Mr. Black is lying flat on his back with his shoes were off. Molly initially thinks that he’s napping, but she soon realizes he is not breathing.

Next to the body is open bottle of Giselle’s medication with some of the blue pills spilling out onto the table and floor. Molly also notes that the safe in the room is still open, as it was earlier that day, but some items are now missing. Additionally, a paper she’d noticed in Mr. Black’s breast pocket earlier that day is missing. And one of the four pillows from the bed is not there.

Upon realizing Mr. Black is dead, Molly calls the front desk to tell them and then faints. When she collects herself, she calls again, this time asking Mr. Snow and informing him of the situation. 13 minutes later, Mr. Snow arrives with medical personnel and police, and he guides Molly down to his office to wait with some tea and biscuits.

Sitting in Mr. Snow’s office, Molly thinks through everything she did that day. She recalls entering through the front doors, despite knowing that employees are technically supposed to enter through the service entrance. She’d then greeted Mr. Preston , the hotel’s doorman for the last two decades. Mr. Preston is a widower whose wife Mary is deceased, and he has a daughter who is a lawyer.

Afterwards, Molly had put on her uniform and fetched her trolley — which she noted had not been property replenished by her supervisor, Cheryl Green (referred to by others “ Chernobyl ” behind her back), so Molly took care of that. Cheryl is “slovenly and lazy”, plus she “cheats and cuts corners”. Cheryl arrives late that day as usual. Molly knows it’s likely because Cheryl often heads to the top floors in the morning to steal the tips from the penthouse suites, even though Molly is the one who cleans them. That day, Sunshine , a friendly Filipino woman, and Sunitha , a quiet Sri Lankan woman, are the two other maids on shift with Molly.

Next, Molly goes down to greet Juan Manuel , a young dishwasher in the kitchen. She sneaks Juan a hotel keycard for a room that he can stay in for that night, something she’s been doing for a year now ever since head bartender Rodney Stiles informed her of his friend Juan’s difficult personal situation. Juan’s family lives in Mexico, and his father died two year ago, putting them in financial straits. Juan is the oldest of his six siblings, and he sends money home to help support his family. Molly notices that Juan has red marks on his wrists today.

From there, Molly goes to see Rodney at Social Bar & Grill , the hotel’s restaurant and bar. Molly and Rodney went on one date over a year ago, and she hopes he’ll someday ask her out again. She also thinks bitterly about the only (ex) boyfriend she’s ever had, Wilbur Brown , who had been a “liar and a cheat”. In the elevator, Molly crosses paths with Mr. and Mrs. Chen , a polite Taiwanese couple who are also hotel regulars.

At Social, Molly picks up the stack of newspapers to be distributed to the guests. Rodney points out a headline about the Blacks (“Family Feud Rocks Black Empire”). The article indicates that Victoria Black , Charles’s daughter with his first wife, has a 49% ownership stake in the company, but Charles wants all those shares back. However, the first Mrs. Black believes Victoria should keep the shares and run the company. Charles and the first Mrs. Black also had two other children, both of whom are sons who their mother considers to be “flakes”. Charles married Giselle two years ago, and the article says that’s what started the company’s current turmoil.

After that, Molly had then headed up to Suite 401, the Black’s suite. At the front door, Mr. Black had barreled past her with a piece of as paper that read “DEED” tucked into his breast pocket. Inside, Giselle seemed to be crying and disheveled, and she runs off into the shower. As Molly cleans, in Giselle’s expensive yellow purse, Molly notices a flight itinerary for two one-way tickets to the Canary Islands. Meanwhile, the safe in the room is open, and inside is one passport, some legal documents and at least 5 stacks of cash.

When Giselle finally emerges from the shower, Molly offers to come back later to finish cleaning, and Giselle agrees. Molly leaves the room, though as she cleans the other rooms on the floor, she worries about Giselle, who has always been friendly toward Molly.

As she heads over to Mr. and Mrs. Chen’s room, Molly runs into Cheryl, who claims she’s there to help take out the dirty sheets as a favor to Molly, but Molly declines her offer, assuming that Cheryl is merely trying to go in to steal her tip.

In present day in Mr. Snow’s office, Molly hears footsteps, and Mr. Snow soon enters along with a female officer, Detective Stark . Detective Stark notes that they think it’s likely that Mr. Black died of a heart attack, but she still wants to take Molly to the station to take her witness statement. She soon ushers Molly out the door.

As Detective Stark drives Molly to the station, Molly says that she’s worked at the Regency for a little over four years. At the station, Molly’s placed in a small interrogation room. When asked, Molly identifies the bottle of blue pills as main thing out of the ordinary that was out of place in the Black suite. However, in the interest of not incriminating Giselle (who Molly likes), Molly purposefully does not mention some of the other details like the flight itinerary or safe. Molly is well aware that Giselle is the most likely person they would suspect.

Molly thinks back to meeting Giselle and how Giselle had shaken her hand, unlike other guests. Giselle had asked Molly about herself, and she’d talked about her own life, too. Giselle had told Molly about how Charles was a “tyrant” and how she had no privacy. Meanwhile, Molly had talked to Giselle about her financial difficulties, her terrible ex and her Gran. Giselle had given her a $100 tip that day, and they’d eventually grown to be friends. Molly would help Giselle with various errands outside when the paparazzi were hounding Giselle outside. Meanwhile, Giselle tried to advise her on how to behave more socially acceptably, and she gave Molly makeup and hair advice.

Later, Giselle had told her about how an older woman had mentored her on how to meet and marry a rich man, but now she was unhappily living a life where Charles cheated on her, bossed her around, was physically abusive and was jealous all the time. Giselle had then gifted Molly a brass hourglass which Giselle’s mentor had previously given to Giselle. Molly decided to keep it in her locker at work.

In present day with Detective Stark, Molly describes Mr. Black as being aloof and drinking a lot. As for Giselle, Molly implies to the officers that they never spoke, though Molly knows it’s not true, since she doesn’t want to help them potentially investigate Giselle.

Back at home that evening, Molly misses her Gran and thinks about all the things they used to do together, like cooking and cleaning and eating dinner together while watching Columbo reruns. Molly starts to clean, thinking about how Gran taught her the value of keeping a neat house.

Gran had also been a maid, working for the Coldwell family at their mansion nearby. Gran had saved up some money so that Molly could pursue more ambitious dreams, but Molly had some sense of her own limitations and insisted on become a maid as well. Molly had gotten the job at the Regency and the two of them had continued saving up. Molly had soon been accepted into a college hospitality management program. Just before classes started, Molly had met Wilbur at orientation. He was starting an accounting program, and the two soon started dating.

Things went smoothly with Wilbur until Molly saw him steal a calculator from an office-supply store one day. Then later, Wilbur went with Molly as she deposited her paycheck, and she failed to notice as he watched her key in the PIN code. That night, he left and stopped responding. A week later, Molly realized her ATM card was missing and their checking account had been emptied. Molly didn’t call the police since she didn’t want to tell Gran what had happened and kept to herself instead.

Shortly after, Gran learned that she had pancreatic cancer, and she resigned from her job at the Coldwells. Meanwhile, Molly didn’t want to worry Gran and kept their financial troubles a secret while increasing her hours as the hotels to make ends meet. Molly also knew she’d no longer be able to afford her college tuition.

In present day, Molly is jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of the phone ringing. When she picks up, it’s Mr. Snow asking if Molly can work tomorrow on her day off (since Cheryl is taking the day off, claiming to have been traumatized by the death of Mr. Black). Molly agrees.

At 6:00 AM the next morning, Molly begins her day. She’s soon greeted by Mr. Russo, her landlord, who reminds her that her rent is late. Molly reassures him that she just needs a few extra days.

When she gets to work, Molly asks Mr. Preston if Mr. Black received any visitors yesterday, and Mr. Preston says there were none that he knows of. Meanwhile, the newspaper’s front page story is about the death of Mr. Black. It also discusses how there had been rumors of fraud and embezzlement going on in the company, Black Properties & Investments .

The article additionally mentions that Giselle was seen leaving the hotel accompanied by an “unknown male”. However, Mr. Snow privately tells Molly that Giselle is still staying at the hotel currently, but now staying in a room on the second floor that Sunitha is responsible for cleaning. He also tells her that the Black’s suite is currently out-of-bounds and to be left alone.

After putting on her uniform and getting her trolley, Molly gives Juan Manuel the key for Room 202 to stay in for tonight. Afterwards, Molly sees Rodney and notices that his right eye is swollen and purple, though he claims he accidentally ran into a door. Rodney then asks Molly to come by after her shift today so she can tell him what she witnessed yesterday, and Molly eagerly agrees.

As Molly heads into the elevator, she runs into a uniformed officer, who heads for the Black suite. Meanwhile, Molly goes to clean a different room. As Molly busies herself with work, she thinks back to her first “date” with Rodney.

Molly’s mind flashes back to over a year and a half ago, when she was stopped by two large men when she tried to enter Room 305 . Molly could see that Rodney and Juan Manuel were in the room behind them. Juan Manuel was holding a package, and the situation seemed to be tense. Molly didn’t understand what was going on.

Molly recalls how Juan Manuel told Molly to leave when he saw her, while Rodney reassured the two other men that Molly doesn’t understand what is going on and would be discreet about what she saw here. Rodney also ordered Juan Manuel around, referencing Juan’s family in Mexico when Juan didn’t immediately comply. Finally, Molly reassured everyone that her focus was on cleaning and not gossip, and they all exited the room. It was then that Rodney asked her to meet up after her shift.

As the end of the day neared, Molly ducked into a nearby shop to buy an outfit for what she viewed as a “date” with Rodney. At 6:00 PM, Molly met up with Rodney, and they headed to a nearby Olive Garden . When Mr. Preston saw Molly leaving with Rodney, he seemed disapproving and concerned.

Once situated at the restaurant, Rodney had explained to Molly that the men she saw in that room today are friends with Juan Manuel and that the duffle bag that they were holding belonged to Juan Manuel, too. He told her that Juan Manuel is an undocumented worker, and that he (Rodney) was helping him sort things out. Rodney also asked Molly for her help in finding rooms for Juan Manuel to stay in and asked her to discreetly clean them before afterwards. In response, Molly agreed to all of it and promised not to say anything to anyone about it.

Back in present day, Molly is finishing up her shift, and she heads down to Social to meet up with Rodney. They pick a booth in the back, and Rodney asks her about what she saw yesterday. Molly describes finding Mr. Black dead. When Rodney asks about anything suspicious, Molly mentions the missing money from the safe, the deed that she’d seen in Mr. Black’s pocket and the bottle of pills.

Despite her infatuation with Rodney, as he asks questions about Mr. Black, Molly starts to feel uncomfortable, and she gets suspicious when he asks if the police asked anything about him (Rodney). Still, when he offers to exchange numbers with Molly, Molly’s irritation subsides, and she eagerly agrees. Rodney encourages her to call him if the police continuing asking her questions.

Afterwards, Mr. Preston sees them together, and he warns Molly to be careful with Rodney.

Walking home, Molly dismisses Mr. Preston’s comment about Rodney. Molly is surprised to see Giselle waiting outside her door when she arrives home, and Giselle asks to be invited in. In her apartment, Molly feels realizes it’s not as grand as what Giselle must be used to, but Giselle tells Molly that she originally grew up in the not-so-nice part of Detroit until she left home.

Giselle tells Molly about being questioned extensively by the police and about a phone call she received from Victoria. She says that Charles’s death means that Victoria has over 50% ownership interest and therefore control over the company now.

Giselle also says that she and Charles got into a fight yesterday. Giselle signed a pre-nup before they got married that ensured Charles kept everything, and he used money to control her. Yesterday, she’d asked him to cancel the pre-nup or at least let her have a villa in her name to call her own. He flew off the handle at that request and left the room, which is when Molly entered.

Giselle then asks Molly what she told the police and what she saw at the scene. Molly tells her about the spilled pill bottle and the open safe. Molly makes clear that she didn’t volunteer any information about Giselle’s relationship to Charles to the police, and Giselle hugs Molly in response.

Giselle asks Molly to be her maid instead of Sunitha at the hotel, since she says she trusts Molly. Giselle tells Molly that she’s like a sister to her and gives her $200. Then, Giselle asks Molly to retrieve something from the crime scene suite — she says it’s a gun that she tucked away in the bathroom fan. Molly feels anxious, but agrees to try to get it. Before Giselle leaves, Molly asks who gave Giselle her address, but Giselle says she doesn’t remember.

On Wednesday morning, Molly gives Mr. Rosso the two hundred dollars that Giselle had given her, and she promises to pay the rest of the rent by later that day. At work, Mr. Preston greets Molly and reminds her that she can count on him if she ever needs help. (Mr. Preston was friends with Molly’s Gran.) Meanwhile, Cheryl informs her that the police are done with the Black suite and that it’s ready to be cleaned. Mr. Snow notes that the hotel is especially busy now with reservations from people who are curious about the Blacks and hoping to catch a glimpse of Giselle.

When Molly sees Rodney, she lets slip that Giselle came to see her last night. Before she can say more, Rodney suggests that Molly let Juan Manuel stay in the Black suite once it’s cleaned up since it’s unlikely the hotel will be renting it out anytime soon. Rodney also asks Molly to put Juan Manuel’s duffle bag in the room. Molly readily agrees to both requests. She then suggests to Rodney that they hang out some time, and he non-committally agrees.

Back in the Black suite, Molly surveys the mess the police left behind, and she gets to work cleaning. Once the room is fully sanitized, Molly places Juan Manuel’s duffle bag under the bed, as Rodney had requested. In the bathroom, Molly fetches Giselle’s gun from the bathroom fan. Sure enough, she’s able to locate it and she slips it into a vacuum filter to hide it. As she swaps out the vacuum filter, a heavier object falls to the floor, and Molly sees that it’s Mr. Black’s jewel-encrusted wedding band. She keeps the ring.

When Sunitha sees Molly, she warns Molly to be careful and that there can be “snakes” in the (metaphorical) grass. Molly doesn’t know what she means. Instead, Molly heads out for her lunch break, which she typically skips. However, today, Molly goes to a pawn shop and pawns Mr. Black’s ring.

When Molly returns after lunch, Mr. Preston warns her to turn around and go home, but Molly proceeds anyway. She’s stopped by Mr. Snow and Detective Stark, who wants to question Molly again.

Back in the interrogation room, Detective Stark tells Molly that the blue pills were not medicine, but rather benzodiazepine that had been laced with street drugs. However, she says that isn’t what killed Mr. Black. Instead, it was petechial hemorrhaging that killed him and they’re awaiting the autopsy to learn more.

Detective Stark confronts Molly by saying that she knows Molly was lying about not knowing Giselle well. Detective Stark also asks if Giselle ever gave Molly extravagant tips. Detective Stark also brings out the brass hourglass that Giselle had given Molly, and Molly realizes that they must’ve gotten it from her locker.

Molly continues to say little, and finally Detective Stark instructs Molly not to leave the country and warns Molly that they’ll be keeping an eye on her.

Back at home, Molly gives Mr. Russo the rest of the rent money using the money she got from the pawn shop. Back in her apartment, Molly thinks about her Gran and how heartbroken her Gran had been the day her Gran told her that her mother was dead. Molly’s father had been a “bad egg” and had gotten Molly’s father involved in drugs. Gran had given Molly’s mother money for a while, but when she stopped, Molly’s mother stopped calling.

In present day, Molly calls Rodney asking for help, worried that the police suspect her. She tells him about the gun she retrieved for Giselle. Rodney responds that they need to get rid of the gun, and Molly enthusiastically agrees. She also tells Rodney about taking and pawning Mr. Black’s ring. She’s worried that if the police find out, it’ll incriminate her. Rodney reassures her that he’ll take care of everything.

The next morning, Molly is awoken by the sound of knocking on the door. She answers it and finds three police officers there along with Detective Stark. Stark informs Molly that she’s being charged with “unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of drugs, and first-degree murder”.

Molly faints in response, and when she awakens, she’s in a holding cell, still dressed in her pajamas. She’s led to an interrogation room by Stark, who offers her coffee and a muffin. Stark also informs Molly that the autopsy results show that Mr. Black died of asphyxiation.

When Stark accuses Molly of murder, Molly insists on her innocence. She admits to Stark that she wasn’t forthcoming about her friendship with Giselle. Stark also says that Cheryl followed her to the pawn shop and that they know Molly pawned the ring. Stark also says that Mr. Snow told them that he’s seen Molly take food from discarded trays at the hotel. Stark additionally says that Rodney described Molly as being “capable of murder” and that they found Giselle’s gun in Molly’s vacuum filter, so Molly realizes that Rodney must have told them.

Finally, Stark says that Mr. Black was running a drug operation from the hotel, and she believes Giselle introduced Molly to Mr. Black to start working for him. Stark thinks something must have gone wrong or that she was helping Giselle and so Molly killed Mr. Black.

At that point, Molly decides to ask for a lawyer and a phone call. She calls Mr. Preston to ask for help.

Mr. Preston soon shows up with Charlotte Preston, his daughter who is a lawyer with the firm Billings, Preston & García . Charlotte tells Stark that she has posted the $800,000 bail on Molly behalf, and she tells Molly the bail hearing is later today.

At the courthouse for the bail hearing, Molly is represented by a government-appointed lawyer, and she’s granted bail by Judge Wight .

Mr. Preston and Charlotte drive Molly back to her home after the bail hearing. They inform Molly that Charlotte will be representing her pro bono (for free). Mr. Preston also instructs Molly not to talk to anyone from work for the time being. Back at the apartment, Mr. Rosso is upset that the police were here because of Molly and he tells her that he’s evicting her. However, Charlotte points out that the building is in violation of a number of building codes and tells him not to hassle Molly or else.

When they’re all situated with tea, Charlotte starts asking Molly questions about what happened. Mr. Preston notes that last week Victoria Black had been at the hotel, and Giselle had been upset when Victoria left. Mr. Preston also says that Charles Black often cheated on both Giselle and his former wife with various young women or possibly prostitutes.

Molly admits that Giselle asked her to fetch the gun and that she did it. Molly also admits to finding and pawning the wedding band. As for the traces of cocaine that the police found on her trolley, however, Molly says she has no idea how they got there.

Molly also tells Charlotte that she told Rodney about the gun and ring. Mr. Preston explains to Molly that Rodney probably used Cheryl to tip off the police about the ring, which is why the police think the information came from Cheryl. Mr. Preston also suggests that Rodney may be involved with the drug trade going on at the hotel.

Finally, Molly tells them about the situation with Juan Manuel and about how Rodney asked for her help in finding empty rooms for him to stay in. As they talk, Molly finally realizes that Rodney has been using her to cover up his drug dealing activities and that Rodney has been forcing Juan Manuel to help him (which is why he was threatening his family and why there were red marks on Juan Manuel’s wrists). Mr. Preston says they’ve probably been forcing Juan Manuel to cut the drugs each night at the hotel, and Charlotte tells Molly that they’ve been using her as a drug mule (by asking her to put duffle bags filled with drugs in the rooms).

Next, they try to contact Juan Manuel. Mr. Preston lets Juan know that they believe he’s in danger and that Molly has been framed for Mr. Black’s murder. They ask Juan Manuel to come talk to them. Molly asks if she should call Rodney to explains himself, too, but Charlotte says no. She’s already looked into his background and it shows that he’s gotten into plenty of trouble in the past.

Juan Manuel shows up to tell his part of the story. Before, he had a work permit, but he needed to get it extended. Rodney introduced him to a lawyer who took Juan Manuel’s money, but didn’t get his permit extended. Instead, Rodney asked Juan Manuel to help him out by preparing cocaine to be sold (carted around in the duffle bags that Molly had been asked by Rodney to put in the room each day). When Juan said he didn’t want to, Rodney threatened to find and hurt Juan Manuel’s family in Mexico. The two men would watch him each night as he did this and they hurt him if he stopped.

Juan Manuel also says that he doesn’t have hard evidence of Rodney’s interactions with Mr. Black, but he does have evidence that Rodney was involved with Giselle. Juan Manuel then shows them all a photo of Rodney and Giselle kissing. Charlotte notes that Rodney and Giselle may have killed Mr. Black and then framed Molly together. Finally, Mr. Preston says he has an idea for a plan to outsmart them.

For the next hour or so, they hash out the details of the plan and then rehearse the parts. They then kick it off with Molly texting Rodney, asking to meet up urgently to discuss Mr. Black’s murder and what she said to the police. Rodney immediately responds, asking her to meet him at Olive Garden in 20 minutes. Molly then heads out.

When Rodney arrives, Molly tells Rodney about how Mr. Black was determined to have been asphyxiated. She also lies and says that apparently they don’t think she (Molly) was the one who did it. Instead, they think it was someone who was in the will. Molly also says that police mentioned that Giselle was left without anything in the will. Rodney looks surprised and distressed to hear this.

Molly also tell him that she ended up having to explain to the police the situation about Juan Manuel when the police mentioned they were going to sweep the Black suite again for clues. She says that she had to tell them all about Rodney and the duffle bags.

Rodney asks Molly to go clean up the suite before the police get there, but Molly says she can’t since Mr. Snow has asked her not to go to work. Instead, Molly suggests that she find a way to get the key for Rodney so that he can do it himself. Rodney reluctantly agrees.

Back at her apartment, Molly reports back to the group that the meeting with Rodney went smoothly. Now, Mr. Preston plans on going to the hotel to get Rodney the suite keycard. As for Juan Manuel, Charlotte recommends that he avoids going back to the hotel in case Rodney finds a way to entangle him in the plot. Instead, they plan for Juan Manuel to stay at Molly’s since he has nowhere else to go.

Molly and Mr. Preston take a cab over to the hotel. On the way, they hear that the police are having a press conference soon and may be announcing that Molly is their primary suspect, which would derail their plan. So, they know they have a limited amount of time to get things underway.

When they arrive, Molly texts Rodney claiming that she can’t get into the building. Then, Mr. Preston play his part, telling Molly she shouldn’t be here and calling for Mr. Snow. Mr. Snow shows up, and he lets Molly know that she’s been fired. Molly refuses to leave.

In the meanwhile, Mr. Preston has used the distraction to steal Cheryl’s master keycard. Mr. Preston gives it to Molly, and when Rodney shows up, Molly gives it to Rodney. Molly then leaves.

From a café across the street, Molly watches the hotel. She can see Mr. Preston inside as he makes a phone call. Meanwhile, Charlotte texts Molly, indicating that things are on track. On the news, they report that Molly is the main suspect, but it out on bail.

Just then, police cars show up to the hotel. At that moment, Molly calls Giselle, even though it isn’t part of the plan. She tells Giselle that she knows Rodney is her secret boyfriend. Giselle apologies to Molly, saying that she didn’t know this would happen and that Rodney was planning on framing Molly for the crime. Giselle says that the reason Rodney has a black eye right now is because she hit him when she found out. Giselle admits that she knew that Rodney was working for Mr. Black in his drug operations, but she promises that she didn’t know that Rodney had involved Molly in any way. Giselle says that she’d asked Mr. Black for the villa so that she and Rodney could fly off to the Cayman Islands and start a new life, but she had no idea what Rodney had planned.

Convinced that perhaps Giselle was telling the truth, Molly then tells Giselle that she should pack a bag, take her passport, go out the back door of the hotel and run away from there. Then, Molly hangs up.

Across the street at the hotel, Molly watches as Rodney emerges from the hotel in handcuffs. He’s accompanied by Detective Stark who is also carrying the duffle bag which is partially-unzipped, revealing the drugs inside. Rodney is then loaded into the police car. Detective Stark also spots Molly across the street and nods at Molly, indicating that she knows that she was wrong about her.

Molly then heads back to her apartment, and she tells Juan Manuel the good news that Rodney has been apprehended by the police. Meanwhile, Charlotte calls to let Molly know that she and Mr. Preston are headed to the police station to talk to Detective Stark.

As Molly and Juan Manuel have dinner, he apologizes for not trying harder to get her away from all of this. Eventually, Charlotte, Mr. Preston and Detective Stark show up at Molly’s front door. Stark lets them know that they’ll soon be issuing a correction on the news, clearing Molly of any wrongdoing. She says they entered the Black suite to catch Rodney red-handed with the drugs.

Stark also lets Juan Manuel know that they won’t be charging or deporting him. Instead, they just want his cooperation so that he can serve as a witness. Charlotte offers to put Juan Manuel in touch with the immigration lawyer at her firm who can help him get his work permit reinstated. Mr. Preston also lets both Molly and Juan Manuel know that he’s spoken to Mr. Snow and neither of them are fired.

Stark also says that Giselle was gone when they got to her room. Giselle left a note saying that she didn’t do it. Instead, she indicated that Rodney and Charles were working together. She asks if Molly knows anything more about Giselle, but Molly doesn’t share what she knows.

After Stark leaves, Molly thanks them for their help and kindness. Mr. Preston finally tells Molly about how he knew Molly’s Gran, who he knows as Flora . He says that dated when they were young and that he proposed when they were 16, and she accepted. However, her parents didn’t allow it since they saw him as being lower class than them.

Still, they stayed friends. Later, Flora asked him for help when she got pregnant at 17 and that man (Molly’s grandfather) left her. Flora’s parents turned her away, so Flora became a maid.

Later, when Mr. Preston’s wife Mary was on her deathbed, he says that Flora was the one who told her that it was clear that Mary was holding on until Mr. Preston told her it was okay for her to leave. He did, and Mary passed. Mr. Preston feels grateful to Flora for helping him to allow Mary to no longer be in pain.

After they all talk, they make plans to all have dinner together on Sunday. That night, Molly finally goes into her Gran’s room, something she’d been avoiding ever since Gran had passed, since Juan Manuel is staying in Molly’s room. Molly thinks about that last day that she had with Gran and how Gran had insisted on passing away at home instead of being taken to the hospital. Gran had asked her to put the remainder of her painkillers in her tea, and then she’d taken them all at once. Then, she’d asked Molly to do what she’d previously promised — to suffocate her with a pillow so she could die on her terms — which Molly had done with much reluctance.

The next morning, Molly awakes to the smells and sounds of Juan Manuel making breakfast for the both of them. After she eats, Mr. Snow calls to apologize for what happened and to ask her to please come back to work. Molly readily agrees. Mr. Snow then speaks to Juan Manuel and lets him know he can keep working since it looks like they’ll be able to resolve his work permit situation.

Several Months Later

Many months later, Molly is at work and Rodney’s trial has now concluded, with both Molly and Juan Manuel having testified against him the day before. Detective Stark had tried to convince Giselle to come testify, but Giselle had declined saying she didn’t want to waste any more time on “guilty men”.

Molly has continued getting together with the Prestons and Juan Manuel on Sundays. Molly was also promoted a month ago and is now Head Maid at the hotel (Cheryl was demoted). Molly and Juan Manuel are seeing each other now, and as of two months ago he moved in with her and is paying his share of the rent. Before that, Mr. Snow had been allowing Juan Manuel to stay in one of the rooms of the hotel for as long as he needed to get on his feet.

Molly is now trying to rebuild her savings with the hope of going back to do the hospitality management program that she’d enrolled in before. She plans to attend school and work at the same time, with the hopes of graduating in a year or two.

Molly thinks back to her testimony yesterday. On the stand, she’d brought up something that she hadn’t discussed with Charlotte beforehand. She’d said that after calling Reception, she’d looked at the mirror and realized that there was a shadowy person in the room, hiding next to the armoire and holding a pillow. However, she fainted before she could identify them for certain. When Rodney’s lawyer cross-examines Molly, he asks why she never mentioned this before, and Molly says it’s because she hadn’t been entirely certain of what she’d seen. She says that as a maid, her thoughts are often discounted or dismissed.

In present day, Molly receives a notification that $10,000 has been deposited in her bank account by someone named Sandy Cayman with a note that says “Debt of Gratitude”. Molly understands it must be from Giselle. Seeing that Giselle must be in the Cayman Islands, Molly knows that Mr. Black must’ve had a change of heart and had agreed to give Giselle the villa just before his death.

Later, Molly thinks about how she’s learning to be less literal. She thinks about how her testimony in court was her “version of the truth”. She thinks about how the justice system is flawed and how good people must take the opportunity to exact justice when they can.

That said, she clarifies that she really did see a shadowy figure with a pillow clutched in their hands the day she found Mr. Black’s body. Seeing it, she fainted because it reminded her of herself (from when she smothered Gran at Gran’s request).

Instead, the shadowy figure turned out to be Mrs. Black. Mrs. Black had explained to Molly that Charles Black was a bad man who was preventing her daughter Victoria from cleaning up the company. Mrs. Black said she came here to talk to Charles, but things escalated and Charles tried to hurt her. Mrs. Black then talked about how they should “turn the tables” on villains like Mr. Black, and she suggests to Molly that Molly not say anything about her having been there. Molly had then agreed to do so.

With that, Mrs. Black exited out the back, and Molly didn’t see her again.

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Bookshelf -- A literary set collection game

In The Maid , 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.

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The Maid, Book Review: Nita Prose’ emotionally astute debut

The Maid , Nita Prose’s clever bestselling cozy mystery is also a nuanced character study, emotionally astute and satisfying literature. Read my full review of our Book of the Month for January 2022.

The Maid Book Synopsis

I am your maid. I know about your secrets. Your dirty laundry. But what do you know about me?

Molly the maid is all alone in the world. A nobody. She’s used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime, dust and secrets of the guests passing through. She’s just a maid – why should anyone take notice? But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his bed. This isn’t a mess that can be easily cleaned up. And as Molly becomes embroiled in the hunt for the truth, following the clues whispering in the hallways of the Regency Grand, she discovers a power she never knew was there. She’s just a maid – but what can she see that others overlook?

Escapist, charming and introducing a truly original heroine, The Maid is a story about how the truth isn’t always black and white – it’s found in the dirtier, grey areas in between . . .

( Harper Collins Australia , January 2022)

Genre : Mystery, Drama, Literature

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The Maid, Book Review

Nita Prose’ debut novel is one of the most highly anticipated 2022 new releases . Book rights for The Maid have already been sold in 29 territories and the film rights snapped up by Universal pre-release; Florence Pugh set to play the title character. And yes, I am very pleased to report that this title certainly lives up to the hype.

This novel has so many intriguing and intelligent layers.

“My uniform is my freedom. It is the ultimate invisibility cloak.”

On one level this is a clever cozy crime mystery. On another, it is a compelling character study. Molly Gray, aka Molly the Maid, finds comfort and satisfaction in black and white rules, but is all at sea in the ‘grey’ of human interactions.

“Laughs are just like smiles. People use them to express an array of confounding emotions.”

Her quirks and propensity to take things literally spawns light-hearted moments of course. But as we know, those that are different walk paths more difficult than most.

Emotional depth

What elevates Nita Prose’ The Maid from a great novel to an excellent one is its capacity to surprise even the most avid reader. It does this in many different ways, but principally in its emotional depth. As so beautifully described in the NY Times , this novel has “real emotional heft”.

“That’s the trouble with pain. It’s as contagious as a disease. It spreads from the person who first endured it to those who love them most. Truth isn’t always the highest ideal; sometimes it must be sacrificed to stop the spread of pain to those you love. Even children know this intuitively.”

To discuss the story arc or secondary character set would invariably spoil the experience. Suffice to say though, Prose offers readers a compelling reminder that still waters run deep. And, of the value of old-fashioned goodness.

“One thing I’ve learned in my business is that you can hide dirt for a while, but at some point, it all comes to the surface.”

The more I read, the less I wanted this story to end; such was my engagement with the character set. So my applause goes to Prose for pulling off such a thought-provoking, yet emotionally astute and satisfying conclusion to The Maid .

PS: What a great pseudonym for a writer… ‘Nita Prose’ is actually Nita Pronovost.

BOOK RATING: The Story 5 / 5 ; The Writing 4.5 / 5 ; Overall 4.75 / 5

Get your copy of The Maid by Nita Prose from:

Update: I have since also enjoyed this novel’s sequel The Mystery Guest .

More engaging quirky lead characters:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Helpline by Katherine Collette
Geraldine Verne’s Red Suitcase by Jane Riley
Addition by Toni Jordan
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

More The Maid book reviews

‘This cozy whodunit is a joy from the first page to the last.’ – Washington Independent Review of Books

‘Beautiful writing, an intriguing mystery, and a colourful cast of friends and sleuths ensure The Maid sparkles with wit and tension.’ – Lucy Clarke, The Castaways

‘Gripping, deftly written, and led by a truly unforgettable protagonist in Molly. I’m recommending it to everyone I know.’ – Emma Stonex, The Lamplighters

‘Fresh, fiendish and darkly beguiling. The Maid is so thrillingly original, and clever, and joyous. I just adored every page.’ – Chris Whitaker, We Begin at the End

Related Reading: 11 of Louisa Bennet’s Top Cozy Mystery Novels

About the Author, Nita Prose

Nita Prose is a long-time editor, serving many bestselling authors and their books. She lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is only moderately clean. Check out her website and connect with her on Twitter .

VIDEO: Watch the delightful Nita Prose on Good Morning America discussing how she came up with the idea for this book.

* My receipt of a review copy from the publisher did not impact the expression of my honest opinions above.

The Maid Book Review

Author: Nita Prose
Genre: Mystery
Type: Novel
Publisher: HarperCollins

In “The Maid” by Nita Prose, readers are introduced to amateur sleuth Molly Gray, a maid working at the luxurious Regency Grand Hotel.

When Molly stumbles upon the body of a dead guest, Mr. Black, she becomes entangled in a web of mystery and deception at the hotel. As Molly delves deeper into the investigation , themes of visibility and truth come to the forefront, challenging her perception of the world around her.

“The Maid” by Nita Prose is a riveting mystery novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The character of Molly Gray is both endearing and relatable, making her journey through the secrets of the Regency Grand Hotel all the more captivating.

Prose’s storytelling is gripping, with unexpected twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. The exploration of social class distinctions and power dynamics added depth to the narrative, making it a thought-provoking read.

I highly recommend “The Maid” to anyone who enjoys a well-crafted mystery thriller with strong character development and a compelling storyline. Nita Prose’s skilful writing and engaging plot make this book a must-read for fans of the genre.

Pick up a copy of “The Maid” and prepare to be drawn into a world of secrets, intrigue, and unexpected revelations.

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Nita Prose is a bestselling author known for her debut novel, “THE MAID,” which has achieved international success with over 1 million copies sold worldwide and published in over forty countries.

The book has been a #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and was selected for the Good Morning America Book Club . Prose’s writing has earned critical acclaim, winning the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction and being a finalist for the Edgar Award.

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New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

by Nita Prose ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 2022

A compelling take on the classic whodunit.

The shocking murder of a public figure at a high-end hotel has everyone guessing who the culprit might be.

Twenty-five-year-old Molly Gray, an eccentric young woman who's obsessed with cleaning but doesn't quite have the same ability to navigate social cues as those around her, loves working as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Raised by her old-fashioned grandmother, who loved nothing more than cleaning and watching Columbo reruns, Molly has an overly polite and straightforward manner that can make her seem odd and off-putting to her colleagues despite her being the hardest worker at the hotel. After her grandmother's death, Molly's rigid life begins to lose some of its long-held balance, and when the infamous Mr. Charles Black, a rich and powerful businessman suspected of various criminal enterprises, is found murdered in one of the rooms she cleans, her whole world gets turned upside down. Before Molly knows what's happening, her odd demeanor has the police convinced she's guilty of the crime, and certain people at the hotel are a little too pleased about it. With the help of a few new friends (and while fending off new foes), she must begin to untangle the mystery of who really killed Mr. Black to get herself off the hook once and for all. Though the unusual ending might frustrate some readers, this unique debut will keep them reading.

Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-35615-9

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022

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A CONSPIRACY OF BONES

by Kathy Reichs ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2020

Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.

Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.

A week after the night she chases but fails to catch a mysterious trespasser outside her town house, some unknown party texts Tempe four images of a corpse that looks as if it’s been chewed by wild hogs, because it has been. Showboat Medical Examiner Margot Heavner makes it clear that, breaking with her department’s earlier practice ( The Bone Collection , 2016, etc.), she has no intention of calling in Tempe as a consultant and promptly identifies the faceless body herself as that of a young Asian man. Nettled by several errors in Heavner’s analysis, and even more by her willingness to share the gory details at a press conference, Tempe launches her own investigation, which is not so much off the books as against the books. Heavner isn’t exactly mollified when Tempe, aided by retired police detective Skinny Slidell and a host of experts, puts a name to the dead man. But the hints of other crimes Tempe’s identification uncovers, particularly crimes against children, spur her on to redouble her efforts despite the new M.E.’s splenetic outbursts. Before he died, it seems, Felix Vodyanov was linked to a passenger ferry that sank in 1994, an even earlier U.S. government project to research biological agents that could control human behavior, the hinky spiritual retreat Sparkling Waters, the dark web site DeepUnder, and the disappearances of at least four schoolchildren, two of whom have also turned up dead. And why on earth was Vodyanov carrying Tempe’s own contact information? The mounting evidence of ever more and ever worse skulduggery will pull Tempe deeper and deeper down what even she sees as a rabbit hole before she confronts a ringleader implicated in “Drugs. Fraud. Breaking and entering. Arson. Kidnapping. How does attempted murder sound?”

Pub Date: March 17, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9821-3888-2

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020

More by Kathy Reichs

BOOK REVIEW

by Kathy Reichs

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE

by Benjamin Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 17, 2023

This book and its author are cleverer than you and want you to know it.

In this mystery, the narrator constantly adds commentary on how the story is constructed.

In 1929, during the golden age of mysteries, a (real-life) writer named Ronald Knox published the “10 Commandments of Detective Fiction,” 10 rules that mystery writers should obey in order to “play fair.” When faced with his own mystery story, our narrator, an author named Ernest Cunningham who "write[s] books about how to write books," feels like he must follow these rules himself. The story seemingly begins on the night his brother Michael calls to ask him to help bury a body—and shows up with the body and a bag containing $267,000. Fast-forward three years, and Ernie’s family has gathered at a ski resort to celebrate Michael’s release from prison. The family dynamics are, to put it lightly, complicated—and that’s before a man shows up dead in the snow and Michael arrives with a coffin in a truck. When the local cop arrests Michael for the murder, things get even more complicated: There are more deaths; Michael tells a story about a coverup involving their father, who was part of a gang called the Sabers; and Ernie still has (most of) the money and isn’t sure whom to trust or what to do with it. Eventually, Ernie puts all the pieces together and gathers the (remaining) family members and various extras for the great denouement. As the plot develops, it becomes clear that there’s a pretty interesting mystery at the heart of this novel, but Stevenson’s postmodern style has Ernie constantly breaking the fourth wall to explain how the structure of his story meets the criteria for a successful detective story. Some readers are drawn to mysteries because they love the formula and logic—this one’s for them. If you like the slow, sometimes-creepy, sometimes-comforting unspooling of a good mystery, it might not be your cup of tea—though the ending, to be fair, is still something of a surprise.

Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-06-327902-5

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Mariner Books

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022

MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | DETECTIVES & PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS | GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE

More by Benjamin Stevenson

by Benjamin Stevenson

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Samantha Kilford

Tech PR & Bookworm

Book Review: The Maid by Nita Prose

February 12, 2022 · In: Book Review , Books

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.

VILE AND EVIL ARE COMPOSED OF THE SAME LETTERS. ONE BEGETS THE OTHER.

Need a tissue for your issue? Molly, the maid, is at your service.

The Maid is murder mystery debut from Nita Prose. It’s cozy, with an excellent carousel of characters. Giselle was especially entertaining, but certain individuals could have been fleshed out a bit more by Prose. While I didn’t find it to be one of those immersive whodunnits where the reader gets to really play detective alongside our protagonist in real-time, it was interesting to sit back and enjoy the ride that Prose takes us on through the elegant Regency Grand Hotel and its shifty suspects. The prologue is perhaps a bit of a red-herring. For me, it set The Maid up to be a thriller, whereas the main body of the text is much more of a ‘fluffy’ mystery. Instead of an all-seeing, all-knowing maid unravelling a mystery, Prose delivers us hijinks more suited to Clue .

Molly is a sweet protagonist and I say that will all my heart. I saw a lot of myself in Molly and really warmed to, sympathised with and rooted for her. The sections that focused on Molly’s relationship with her grandma brought many a tear to my eye. Yet, Prose’s characterisation of Molly did leave a sour taste in my mouth and ruined what would have been a semi-decent read.

The Maid asserts time and time again that Molly is unlike the rest of society. She does not react to people and circumstances like normal people do, she doesn’t understand their facial expressions and their emotions and she sticks to a very strict routine. Yet, Prose is very inconsistent in this. Prose leans very heavily on autistic stereotypes to build the character of Molly, but not once does anyone mention the words ‘autism’ or ‘neurodivergent’. For some strange reason, Prose dances around explicitly saying it which makes her reliance on the traits commonly associate with neurodivergence mucky territory. Instead, we watch other characters label Molly as ‘different’, ‘weird’ or even a ‘freak’. Yet, everyone fails to outright acknowledge that Molly is on the spectrum or at the very least evidently displaying autistic traits. None of the promotional material even references autism. The only discussion I could find was from other readers who had picked up on this.

The story makes it plainly clear that Molly is on the spectrum but the avoidance to acknowledge it ouright and instead let ridicule run made the whole thing feel a bit gimmicky. The disgusting taunts and jibes from Molly’s co-workers about her social differences is an experience I’m all too familiar with. It was hard to sit through as even Molly herself couldn’t seem to understand their cruelty because of the reluctance to label her as ‘autistic’. It was a glaring elephant in the room that left me feeling uneasy as if autistic traits were being exploited to create a ‘quirky’, socially awkward character for amusement. If the intention was represent neurodivergent women, it fell far too short.

Much like with Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine , which I’ve seen The Maid compared to a lot, the reluctance of authors (and perhaps their publishing houses) to actually identify or ‘diagnose’ characters with autism is really disheartening and suggests an unwillingness to take responsibility for their depiction. By not being explicit about whether or not Molly is autistic, Prose can make her act however she wants even if it goes against the autistic traits and stereotypes she’s heavily relying on to make Molly who she is. For example, Molly is unable to read emotions and tell if someone is happy or not but she’s also perfectly capable of analysing someone’s behaviour to a T and can easily act and deceive her way to an Oscar. I worry The Maid has utilised neurodivergence as a ~quirk~ and I can already see readers tittering away at whoopsie-daisy Miss Molly who is framed for murder because she’s different and doesn’t understand social nuances.

Paired with the clumsy characterisation of Juan Manuel, the undocumented kitchen employee, and how Prose neatly skips over the abuse sub-plot, any enjoyment I derived from The Maid vanishes. The whole thing gives me the ick. Something about harnessing the struggles and stereotypes of minorities on a surface level to move the plot along, but not really diving into said struggle in depths is quite harmful.

There’s no real mystery thriller element to The Maid . It’s a premise full of promise, but let down by poor execution. Is it heartwarming at times? Yeah. It is cozy, camp and has a certain charm to it but its all just a bit too farcical and, by the end, I couldn’t move past Prose’s awkward attempt to shoehorn in traits of autism and the abuse of undocumented workers only to discard it all once the ‘culprit’ was caught and end with ‘they all lived happily ever after’.

Florence Pugh is expected to star in an adaptation. With how much I adore Pugh, I only hope that the movie addresses Molly’s neurodivergence in a more sensitive manner than depicted in The Maid and doesn’t turn it into a gimmick for cheap laughs. As for the book, as sweet as it was at times, I certainly wouldn’t rush to read something by Prose again.

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Book Review: The Maid by Nita Prose

Jan 13, 2022 | Book Reviews , crime fiction , mystery | 12 comments

The Maid by Nita Prose book next to a yellow spray bottle and brown cleaning cloth on a white countertop

When I first heard about The Maid by Nita Prose and the enormous buzz it was getting a few months ago, I knew I would love it. A cozy mystery about a quirky maid written by a well-regarded Canadian book editor? Sign me up. Now it’s being made into a movie, and was just named the Good Morning American book of the month . It deserves every bit of praise it’s getting plus it’s a story we all need as we slouch into the new year with no sign of Covid abating (at least here in Canada).

Plot Summary

Molly loves her job; she’s a maid at a local hotel and adores restoring things to perfection. She goes to work every day with a spring in her step, eager to clean away the messes the hotel guests make in their rooms. She has always been a maid, and lived with her grandmother until her death a few months ago. Still saddened by the recent loss, she doesn’t have many friends to confide in, and because she finds it difficult to read people’s expressions, many of her co-workers think her odd, and take advantage of her hard work and naivete whenever they can. One day Molly discovers a dead body in the bed she’s about to re-make, and it’s the hotel’s most famous client, the wealthy Mr. Black. His younger wife Giselle is the main suspect, but when Molly’s activities at the hotel are under the microscope by the local police officer in charge of the case, Molly falls under suspicion as well. Struggling to pay her rent, keep her job, and determine who really killed Mr. Black so she can clear her name, Molly has her hands full, but she discovers that relying on one’s true friends is the only way out of this mess – pun intended.

My Thoughts

I’m guessing Prose is a reader/editor/author that is just as sick of the ‘that day’ suspense that’s running rampant in modern-day thrillers as I am, so she’s very cleverly created a protagonist and detective that struggles to read social and emotional cues, thus upping the tension in a very realistic yet subtle fashion. When the detective (and by default, the reader) is unable to determine who is trustworthy, the mystery becomes immensely more puzzling, but in a fun way. It slows down the plot, but also creates a more fair-play atmosphere for those who want to figure out the killer themselves, because one is relying on clues other than a ‘hunch’ or ‘gut feeling’.

There’s a constant push and pull between doing the good thing vs. doing the fun or easier thing. Molly has a constant library of sayings in her head care of her grandmother, which typically advise one to do the right thing, keep working hard, etc. Although Molly may not be familiar with other more modern-day sayings, growing up with only her grandmother has given her insight into a life that seems old-fashioned, but is incredibly useful to just about anyone. Throughout the novel are little observations that are presumably made my Molly as an interior thought, one of my favourites includes:

“That’s the trouble with pain. It’s as contagious as a disease. It spreads from the person who first endured it to those who love them most. Truth isn’t always the highest ideal; sometimes it must be sacrificed to stop the spread of pain to those you love.” -The Maid, Advanced Reading Copy, p. 149

And although Molly seems entirely trustworthy and we are always on her side, we do get glimpses of her dark thoughts, which can occasionally be quite violent. So the reader finds themselves in a tough spot; do we trust Molly, even though she’s sometimes filled with understandable rage that could potentially boil over? Or is she like anyone prone to anger, and we are just getting a glimpse into her inner life that she would never dream of acting on? Again, we never fall into that tired trope of ‘unreliable narrator’, we never believe Molly is hiding something from us as readers, although we do learn she decides to leave out key points when talking to the police if it means her friends will be protected. All of Molly’s efforts are done in good faith, just like her grandmother would have wanted.

I don’t have a single complaint to nitpick about this novel, it was superbly fun, and a wonderful escape from the drudgery of living through a pandemic. It may not have encouraged me to pick up a duster anytime soon, but I wouldn’t mind coming across Molly in a sequel!

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12 comments.

I was hoping in my heart of hearts that this would be an Amelia Bedelia for adults, lol. Does it ever bother you that a person who is not a detective bears the onus of clearing his/her own name? I always find that frightening. Like, should I be accused of a crime, it’s my job to figure out what really happened? And isn’t that evidence tampering in some cases?

Oh yes Amelia Bedelia! Love those books.

You know i’ve never really thought about that, but I suppose cozy mysteries stretch the imagination in a lot of crazy ways. I guess i hope that if I’m ever accused of a crime there will be a Jessica Fletcher waiting around the corner to help clear my name 😉

Amelia Bedelia gave me anxiety because she was so unreliable.

omg samesies!!!!

I can’t wait to read this! Seems right up my alley!

Oh definitely, this is a must read for you Laila!

The maid by Nita Prose is a wonderful debut novel. Thanks for sharing this. We have also reviewed this novel. Do read our review and share your comments. https://gobookmart.com/the-maid-by-nita-prose-is-a-wonderful-debut-book/

Sounds excellent! I’ll look out for it coming out over here – it’s from one of “my” publishers so I might even be lucky enough to get a review copy…

Oh I hope you do FF! It’s light but entertaining

I had a feeling you’d be reading this one: I’m so happy it was just as enjoyable as you’d hoped!

Thank you, it was a lovely way to kick off 2022!

I’m so glad I put an early hold on this book – it’s already so popular! I’m glad to hear you liked it!

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Theresa Smith Writes

Delighting in all things bookish, book review: the maid by nita prose, about the book:.

I am your maid.

I know about your secrets. Your dirty laundry.

But what do you know about me?

But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his bed. This isn’t a mess that can be easily cleaned up. And as Molly becomes embroiled in the hunt for the truth, following the clues whispering in the hallways of the Regency Grand, she discovers a power she never knew was there. She’s just a maid – but what can she see that others overlook?

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Australia

Released 20 th January 2022

My Thoughts:

What an utterly delightful novel this was! Part cosy mystery, part dark comedy, part life lessons, this novel really caught me by surprise. I enjoyed it so much I missed reading it once I was finished. There was something so satisfying about sinking into the pages of this one and it’s got the honour of being my first five star read for 2022.

Molly works as a maid at a fancy hotel, living alone since her beloved grandmother died, struggling to make ends meet, and isolated socially by those around her who think she’s odd, amongst other insults. Molly’s social skills differ from the ‘norm’ and without her grandmother to interpret things for her, she finds herself in a vulnerable position, unable to see the danger lurking right in front of her and unable to read the not so good intentions of those who want to take advantage of her goodness. People assume that because her social skills are less honed, that she is stupid – so not the case!

I really enjoyed this novel and loved Molly as a character. There are many take home messages from this story, and while it is ultimately a feel-good novel, it dips in and out of these important themes with ease. Above all, never assume, you know the old adage: ASS-U-ME. The Maid is a top-notch story and I believe the film rights have already been snapped up. It would make a terrific film with the right actor in the role of Molly. A funny, heart-warming, original story that I recommend widely.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

Review: The Maid by Nita Prose

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.

KIND OF A SPOILER ABOUT THE ENDING IN THE REVIEW, BEWARE

Dear Nita Prose,

I found this book to be readable, but the ending also irritated me a great deal. I am very torn about it.

I went and checked some reviews after I finished reading – I was curious as to whether other people had the same problem as I did and apparently several reviewers were not sure if Molly’s character was well done. The author never specifies whether she is written as being on the autism spectrum, whether she has Asperger, or whether she just “struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others” as blurb correctly states.

I don’t know whether Molly was well written if she was meant to be written as being on the autism spectrum. I am not on the spectrum, I know someone who has a son with autism, but that’s about it. I do know that I liked her throughout the book very much, she is written as someone I would have wanted to be friends with. Although I think in couple of places the author forgot that Molly was supposed to misread the intentions of others, because the plot needed to move the certain way.

Now the blurb would make you believe that the story was also a mystery and I suppose it was. As the blurb tells you, Molly finds the corpse of one of the guests in the room she was cleaning and she becomes a suspect. The best part of the book for me was her friends banging together and figuring out how to help her out, clear her name, figure out what really happened, etc.

Only the mystery was strange because almost right away, Molly and her friends suspect someone (a very BAD person) and figure out how to trap him and catch him in the process of committing another crime. This person eventually goes to jail for the murder described in the blurb. My little problem was that as it turned out, they (using they to conceal the gender) did not commit this murder. There were other crimes this person committed but not murder. They certainly deserved to be in jail for other crimes, but not this murder.

Spoiler : Show

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The Maid Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide

There are some dirty doings lurking behind the stately facade of the Regency Grand Hotel. Molly the Maid’s job is to clean things up, returning the rooms to “a state of perfection”. But even her efforts are thwarted by the ill intentions of other guests and staff.

Molly is a remarkably unique (and quirky) character whose innocent demeanor and social awkwardness place her at the white hot center of this murder mystery. That alone should give you plenty to talk about for your book club. But reviews for The Maid are quite binary, with some loving the book and others hating it. And that’s what will give you great book club fodder.

We’ll help you get the conversation started with our book club questions for The Maid . We’ve got 10 discussion prompts, a book synopsis and four wildly divergent review snippets that you can use to provide structure for your book discussion

The Maid book club questions. Book cover and hotel background

(This article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase, I’ll make a small commission.)

The Maid Synopsis

The Maid , Nita Prose

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.

10 The Maid Book Club Questions

These questions have been tailored to this book’s specific reading experience, but if you want more ideas, we also have an article with 101 generic book club questions .

Is Molly simply social awkward, or is she neurodivergent, or even on the spectrum? What aspects of her behavior lead you to that conclusion one way or another? What you do you think was the author’s intent?
“With Gran gone, much of the time I feel like a blind person in a minefield.” What are some ways that Molly’s innocence and poor social skills do her a disservice?
Molly has such a particular way of speaking. Such as declaring that she will be “returning the room to a state of perfection” What did you think about her manner of speech? How was it important to her character development?
“Truth isn’t always the highest ideal; sometimes it must be sacrificed to stop the spread of pain to those you love.” Do you agree?
The book hints that Mr. Preston may be Molly’s grandfather, but the question is left unanswered. What do you think?
The book never states a city or even country for the hotel? What city were you visualizing when you read the book?
Who were you thinking had wielded the deadly pillow. Were you surprised by the reveal?
The book has a few plot holes– Molly should get in trouble for pawning the ring (but doesn’t). The theft of the Faberge caused her great stress, but she could have easily recovered the money with a police filing and FDIC claim. What was Charlotte doing questioning Molly on the stand in what was clearly a criminal courtroom? Were there other plot holes? Did you get hung up on these inconsistencies, or did you simply go with the flow?
Molly is such a sympathetic character in many respects. She is enthusiastically quirky, she’s grieving, she’s bullied and she has the stress and financial burden of a low wage job. But then, she also stole and pawned a ring, lied and told partial truths to the police and in court, and allowed a killer to go free while another person may have been falsely convicted of the crime. She’s complicated. How did you feel about Molly in the end?
Molly sees her uniform as an invisibility cloak and in the opening line, she says, “I’m your maid. I’m the one who cleans your hotel room, who enters like a phantom when you’re out gallivanting for the day, no care at all for what you’ve left behind, the mess, or what I might see when you’re gone.“ She also says that, “You can be so crucial, so important to the fabric of things and yet be entirely overlooked.” Does the book’s descriptions of maid service make you rethink how you see or treat service workers such as janitors and hotel staff?

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Selected Reviews of The Maid

“The more I read, the less I wanted this story to end; such was my engagement with the character set. So my applause goes to Prose for pulling off such a thought-provoking, yet emotionally astute and satisfying conclusion.” – Booklover Book Reviews, check out their full review of The Maid .

“This is a cozy mystery with depth, and Molly is truly a memorable character that you can’t help but love […] The scandalous mystery and its players aren’t that shocking, and yet it is fun figuring everything out through Molly’s POV. It was a joy to see her blossom throughout the 1-week timeframe. This provided laughs, intrigue, and a locked room -style mystery where anyone could be guilty.”

“It’s clear that the author cherry-picked the autistic characteristics that would best serve her story, then exaggerated them to the point of making Molly seem infantile, and created a whole plot out of it. So what’s the problem? Well, there’s something off about a neurotypical author crafting an adorably stupid but inauthentic autistic character, all for the sake of entertaining a predominantly neurotypical audience. In fact, it feels decidedly icky.”

“Unfortunately, the author felt a need to throw in a kitchen sink of social issues along the way, which took away from the charm of the story. Illegal immigration, domestic abuse, drug running, euthanasia, with the latter being the most egregious and out of character. I suspect it was added as an agenda of the author’s. She should have restrained herself.”

“I just wanted to wrap my arms around Molly in a hug and wrap my hands around the necks of those that took advantage of her trust and desire for friendship. Thank heavens it turns out she does have a few real friends. The ending was absolutely perfect.”

3 Books like The Maid

The Maid was a Good Morning America book club pick. If you like their recommendations, we also have a number of reading guides for GMA books including: The Lions of Fifth Avenue , The Vanishing Half , The Personal Librarian , The Violin Conspiracy , and The Midnight Library .

For more courtroom drama and whodunnit, try our guide for I Have Some Questions for You . And if you want more maids and mystery, use our book club guide for The Housemaid .

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine , Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a good comp if you liked Molly’s social awkwardness and the “is she neurodivergent or isn’t she?” part of the character development.

Eleanor Oliphant is a solitary, intelligent, and mistreated woman who insists she is “completely fine.” Spoiler alert: she’s not fine!

Eleanor’s awkward social interactions and misunderstandings result from past trauma and the unkindness of people around her. When she and a new colleague save an elderly man’s life, things begin to change. The challenging but hopeful book explores themes of isolation, intimacy, and trauma while advocating sympathetically for warmth and understanding.

Read it for book club and use our discussion guide for Eleanor Oliphant . And if you’ve already read and loved this one, check out our list of books similar to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine .

The Thursday Murder Club , Richard Osman

This series is a good pick if you want more cozy mysteries featuring a quirky cast of characters.

Who wants to sit around knitting and playing bridge? Not these four amateur sleuths. Rather, they spend their time reviewing cold cases and chasing up criminals. Meet The Thursday Murder Club , Cooper Chase Retirement Home’s most deadly social group. These retirees each bring a unique set of skills to solving the murder of their retirement home developer.

The book is surprisingly light in tone and not too long. But there are enough twists and turns to give your book group a lot to talk about.

Use our book club guide for The Thursday Murder Club to get the convo started.

Hotels of North America , Rick Moody

If you want more insight into the dark underbelly of hotels and the sad guests who inhabit them, then Moody’s tragicomic book will be perfect for you.

Have you ever found yourself marooned in some dodgy hotel asking yourself, “How did I get here?” Yep, me too. Such is the conundrum faced by Moody’s Reginald Morse. Reginald is the top reviewer for a hotel booking site. As his life spirals away from him, his hilarious hotel reviews reveal the blow-back from his terrible life choices.

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The Maid Book Club Questions: Perfect for 2023

The Maid by Nita Prose was published in January of 2021 and immediately moved to our best-of list for the year. The Maid book club questions below can hopefully be a starting point for your book club discussion.

Below you will find a review, summary, the ending, and book club discussion questions of The Maid by Nita Prose. Some of the questions may have spoilers. We have tried to keep the site as spoiler free as possible but, we thought The Maid book club questions would not be complete without some details. Feel free to use the page jumps to avoid the ending if you have not read the book.

*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you. Some books have been gifted. All opinions are our own.

Table of Contents

The Maid Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide

The maid book review // the maid summary // the maid ending // the maid book club questions // shop for the maid by nita prose // book recommendations, the maid review.

The Maid by Nita Prose

January 2022 Good Morning America Pick

Molly Gray works as a maid in a grand hotel and gets joy from leaving things orderly and pristine. Molly struggles with reading social cues and has had even more trouble since her gran can no longer help.

When Molly finds a dead body in a room at the hotel, she becomes a prime suspect and will need all her friends to help her.

Why We Loved it: I loved the description of this book and I hoped it would live up to my expectations. It did that and more. I adored every minute of this story and closed the last page smiling.

Find This Book in: The Maid Book Club Questions / Books like Lessons in Chemistry / Best Mystery Books / Feel-Good Book / Books for Book Clubs

The Maid Summary

Molly Gray is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. She loves the order that comes with her job and the anonymity of wearing her maid uniform. Her grandmother died recently and as a result, Molly is having a difficuly time navigating social situations on her own. She has trouble understanding social behavior and had become accustomed to using her grandmother as a sounding board and for guidance with complex social scenarios.

Molly takes a lot of pride in her work so when she arrives to clean the penthouse on the fourth floor and she finds Giselle Black looking very upset, she agrees to come back later and clean the room. When she does, she finds Mr. Black dead on the bed. She immediately calls her boss, Mr. Snow, to tell him about the body.

It turns out the Black family may have been in trouble with fraud. It is clear throughout the book that Molly has trusting and naive which means we are not surprised when Molly becomes the main suspect in the murder. We know that Molly has been inadvertently cleaning the rooms to cover up the shady drug deals of Rodney the bartender.

After Molly is arrested, she calls Mr. Preston who is able to get his daughter Charlotte to help Molly. Charlotte is a lawyer. This is the point in the story when Molly starts to see the people in her life that love and care for her as well as the people who are using and manipulating her.

The Maid by Nita Prose: The Maid book club questions.

The Maid Ending (With Small Spoilers)

There are many suspects in the murder of Mr. Black. Giselle is the wife and the usual first suspect in a murder investigation. Rodney, is Giselle’s boyfriend and is very shady with his drug operation. Molly is a suspect because she found the body.

Rodney is arrested and Molly testifies at his trial and afterwards receives a wire transfer from Giselle. We know that the wrong person is going to jail but did you guess who the real murderer is?

Did you guess The Maid ending? What about the twists? I did not put all the information here because if you read it, you know and if you didnt- why are you spoiling the book for yourself?

The Maid Book Club Questions (Small Spoilers)

Molly is socially awkward, has poor social skills, and has a unique way of speaking. The author never explicitly states whether Molly is socially awkward, neurodivergent, or Autistic. What do you think? Do you think these traits are strictly disadvantages or do they give her advantages in some areas?
Molly depended on Gran to help her interpret the world. What changed after Gran died? How did Gran’s rules help Molly?
The book is purposefully vague about the city and country where the story takes place. Why do you think the author did that? Where do you picture the story and why?
Molly becomes the main suspect in the murder investigation. Why? Do you think if she have behaved differently, she would have been the only suspect?
How do you feel about Giselle? Do you think Molly and Giselle were friends or was Giselle pretending?
How did you feel about Molly’s relationship with Juan Manuel? Was there anything that surprised you?
Who did you think was responsible for Mr. Black’s death? Were you surprised?
The Maid by Nita Prose is becoming a movie with the date TBD. Florence Pugh has been cast as Molly. How do you feel about this choice? Who did you see in the role?
SPOILERS BELOW At the end of the book, there is a hint that Mr. Preston is Molly’s grandfather. What do you think? Why do you think this question was not answered in the book?
In the end, we discover that Molly helped cover up a crime and knew a lot more than she let on. She lied to the police to help a killer go free. Do you agree with her choices? Did these actions change the way you felt about Molly?

Shop for the Maid by Nita Prose

Book recommendations: what to read after the maid by nita prose:.

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Judith is a 77-year-old crossword puzzle author who enjoys her quiet life with her whiskey in her dilapidated mansion in Marlow. When she is out skinny dipping one nice in the Thames, she hears her neighbor get shot.

The police think nothing is awry so Judith takes to investigating. Soon, there are two more murders and Judith unknowingly brings two more people into the investigation with her- Suzie, the dog walker, and Becks, the vicar’s wife.

This book was an absolute delight to read. It was witty and funny, and I enjoyed every minute. I am looking forward to the next book in this series that is perfect for our list of ultimate beach reads 2023.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this contemporary fiction book initially. Eleanor bugged me in a way that I could not identify. She is not supposed to be likable initially which is why I persevered and I ended up loving the book and Eleanor.

As we get to know Eleanor and understand her profound loneliness, it made me think about what initial judgments I make in other areas. Eleanor is able to find herself and understand herself in this wonderful, feel-good book. If you are looking for books similar to lessons in chemistry, this book is a 5-star pick.

Eleanor has difficulty with social skills and is used to being alone until one day, she saves an elderly man who has fallen with the help of Raymond from her work. The three develop a friendship that is able to help heal Eleanor.

Find This Book In: Books Like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine / Books Like A Man Called Ove / Books about Scotland.

11 Charming Books Like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine to Love

If you loved The Maid by Nita Prose and are looking for books like it, check out this list.

Best Books for Book Clubs to Read in 2023

If you love this post, you will love our list of best books for book clubs to read.

Will you be using The Maid book club questions for your next book club?

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Jackie is the mother of three children and a Speech-Language Pathologist who uses her love of books to create language-based learning opportunities in her speech therapy practice and with her own children. Her 20+ years of experience in regular and special education classrooms ensures the website content is relevant and informative. She started this website with Kirsten to share their passion for literacy with other moms and kids.

Book Club Questions for The Maid by Nita Prose

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Book club questions for The Maid by Nita Prose takes a closer look at this charming murder mystery. There will be spoilers so for more context about the story, check out my spoiler-free review first.

This is such a great novel! I loved being in this world and Molly is such a fantastic protagonist—she felt like a real person to me. I thought her growth and journey were very rewarding to read.

And there were some twists that got me! For my thoughts about the twists and ending, check out my spoiler-filled discussion here . I’m so curious about what you all think about the final reveals.

The Synopsis

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.

Book Club Questions for The Maid

Let’s first talk in-depth about Molly. It appears she’s on the autism spectrum, although it’s never specifically said. What are your thoughts about Molly, her interactions with others and how you feel about her as a protagonist as a whole?
Why was working in the maid service industry the right fit for Molly?
Molly’s Gran helped interpret the world for her. How did things change for Molly after her Gran passed away?
Who did you first think was responsible for Mr. Black’s death?
Why was Molly the main suspect?
Why did Giselle take a special interest in Molly? Do you believe they were truly friends? Why did Molly tell Giselle to leave the country after the arrest of Rodney?
How did this experience—being the number one murder suspect to opening herself up to newfound friends—help Molly grow and understand actions by others a bit more?
What are your thoughts about the romance with Juan Manuel?
Who was your favorite side character and why?
So the big twist is that Molly knew more than she let on. Mr. Black’s first wife is the one who killed him. Why did Molly cover up for Mrs. Black? What was behind the sort-of kinship Molly felt with Mrs. Black?
What did you think about the ending overall? What’s next for Molly?
How do you interpret the quote we are all the same in different ways ?
What were some of your other favorite Gran quotes?
Florence Pugh will star in the film version of this novel . What do you think about the casting?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed book club questions for The Maid ! Here are some more recommendations along with links to book club questions.

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

The Maid has some Agatha Christie vibes and one of the biggest mysteries involving the famous author is with what really happened when she disappeared for 11 days. I thought The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict took such an interesting spin on what might have happened during that time.

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car—strange for a frigid night. Her World War I veteran husband and her daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away.

The puzzle of those missing eleven days has persisted. With her trademark historical fiction exploration into the shadows of the past, acclaimed author Marie Benedict brings us into the world of Agatha Christie, imagining why such a brilliant woman would find herself at the center of such murky historical mysteries.

What is real, and what is mystery? What role did her unfaithful husband play, and what was he not telling investigators?

Agatha Christie novels have withstood the test of time, due in no small part to Christie’s masterful storytelling and clever mind that may never be matched, but Agatha Christie’s untold history offers perhaps her greatest mystery of all.

You can order the book on Amazon here . Check out my book club questions here .

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

If you haven’t ready Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty yet—I highly recommend it! There’s also a mystery but it’s very much a character study too.

If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?

This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings.

The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They’re killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?

The four Delaney children—Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke—were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that’s okay, now that they’re all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.

One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. If only that was all she wanted.

Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure—but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.

Let me know below your thoughts on The Maid !

Review With Spoilers of The Housemaid

12.10.2023 by Jen Ryland // Leave a Comment

I read The Housemaid back in the spring and have been meaning to review it. Now that book two in the series has won Goodreads’ 2023 Best Mysteries and Thrillers award and there is a book three in the works, I thought I’d compile opinions on the books and share my thoughts. First off, here’s my Review with Spoilers of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden.

Cover of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden on a dark blue background

Written and edited by Jen Ryland . Last updated on:

This review will contain:

A brief plot summary of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
My analysis of the overall reception of the book
My opinion on The Housemaid and whether YOU will like it
Spoilers for the ending of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Review of The Housemaid With Spoilers

Cover of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden has a blue background with a large keyhole. A woman's brown eyes is peering through the keyhole.

Published in 2022 by Bookoture and Grand Central Publishing

I read this book in May 2023

It was selected as a candidate for Best Mystery and Thriller of 2022 on Goodreads.

Plot Summary for The Housemaid

Former convict Wilhelmina “Millie” spent the last ten years in prison for murder. Now released, she’s trying to find a job … any job. She’s a little surprised to be offered a live-in housekeeper position by the Winchesters: Nina, her husband Andrew, and their daughter, Cecelia.

Right off, the Winchester’s gardener warns her that she’s in danger. But how and from whom? As Millie learns more about this couple, she realizes that the truth of the situation is hard to come by.

Reception for Freida McFadden overall and for the Housemaid

Photo of copies of The Housemaid and The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden on a black background with a key.

Freida McFadden started as a self-published Amazon author in 2013. Ten years later, she has an avid fanbase, is a TikTok favorite, and her most recent books have been traditionally published.

As with many thrillers and mysteries, opinion on her books has been divided. Readers who love fast-paced twisty thrillers generally adore McFadden’s books . Those who prefer stories with more character development and believability aren’t as enthusiastic.

Fans of The Housemaid rave about:

The Housemaid’s fast pace
The book is a “quick and easy read”
The lack of “fluff”
The snappy voice and dialogue

Critics of The Housemaid complain about:

The lack of believability and character motivation
The absence of “fluff” i.e. world-building and character development
The similarities between McFadden’s books AND the similarity of some of her plots to other popular books. It’s an interesting observation. I’d have to do a whole separate post on this but will just point out that a) many authors write similar books and b) concepts, titles, and plots of books can’t be copyrighted and c) many popular thrillers (and romances) have very similar plot lines.

My Take on All Freida McFadden Books

All the Freida McFadden books I have tried have been great audiobooks.

I have HUGE issues with listening comprehension. My mind wanders. I forget everything I heard.

So I struggle with audiobooks and I think the directness and lack of “fluff” make McFadden’s books perfect to listen to. For me.

My Opinion of The Housemaid

While I can appreciate a “quick and fast read” I tend to prefer written books that have more atmosphere and psychological depth. So The Housemaid isn’t my ideal book … BUT:

The Housemaid is a modern gothic, a subgenre I really enjoy.

I was genuinely surprised by the twist and, as I read SO many mysteries and thrillers, I can be hard to surprise.

If you have NOT read the Housemaid and don’t want spoilers, come back to this post when you’re ready.

Spoilers for The Housemaid and The Ending Explained

What is the ending of the housemaid.

Millie’s employee, Nina Winchester, is being physically and psychologically abused by her husband Andrew, which includes being locked in the attic room that Nina assigns to Millie.
Nina gaslights Millie and acts erratically.
Millie sympathizes with Andrew and the two begin a secret affair. Nina discovers their affair and Andrew tells her their marriage is over. Nina leaves, taking her daughter with her.
Suddenly, Millie finds herself Andrew’s new victim , locked in the attic room and forced to perform bizarre acts, like pulling out her own hair.
The twist: Nina, helped by landscaper Enzo, hired Millie as a way to free herself from Andrew. Nina pushed them together and it worked: Andrew dumped her to focus on poor Millie.
Millie manages to pepper spray Andrew (with pepper spray that Nina thoughtfully hid in the room) and lock Andrew in the attic room. She forces him to perform bizarre acts, like pulling out his own teeth.
Andrew dies in the room.
Nina, alerted by Enzo, shows up and offers to take the fall for Andrew’s death . Fortunately, the police officer sent to the scene has a daughter who dated Andrew and knows he’s abusive. So the police agree to ignore the fact that Andrew inexplicably died and has missing teeth. (Yes, this is extremely unlikely but ok!)
At Andrew’s funeral, Millie learns that Andrew’s mother used to pull out his teeth. (What? More on that below.)
Nina gets Millie a new job with another abused wife.

What are readers’ questions About the Housemaid?

Why was millie in prison.

She was sent to a therapeutic boarding school, where she tried to save a female classmate who was being attacked by a guy. She hit him over the head to save the girl, but apparently went a little overboard. She had a record, so she pled guilty to manslaughter.

Why would Andrew, an abusive husband, allow his wife to hire Millie?

This doesn’t seem that odd to me. Yes, many abusers isolate their victims, but Nina has a child and it seems like Andrew would like a lot of attention.

Why the coincidence of the pulled out teeth?

Did Millie know that Andrew’s mother used to pull out his teeth? If Andrew mentioned this, I missed it. I agree that the coinicdence was pretty random. Millie just happened to find pliers in the garage and think of pulling out Andrew’s teeth?

If Enzo witnessed Andrew’s abuse of Nina, why didn’t he do anything?

It’s all a bit hazy. Enzo’s sister was married to an abusive man and Enzo assaulted the guy and then fled the country. So he is possibly being sought by Italian police and is in the US illegally.

If Enzo knew that Andrew was dangerous, why didn’t he keep a closer eye on Millie?

He just gave Millie vague warnings. He’d agreed to help Nina. When he hadn’t seen Millie for days, he did alert Nina.

Is The Housemaid a retelling (or inspired by) The Last Mrs. Parrish (2017)?

I have not read The Last Mrs. Parrish so can’t weigh in on any possible similarities between the two. But there are a lot of similar books out there and most Gothic fiction does share common elements. Tell me what you think in the comments!

Did you love The Housemaid, or was it not for you? Leave all comments below, and feel free to leave spoiler questions and comments!

Be sure to check out my post on The Housemaid Book Two which answers these questions and more!

The Housemaid vs. The Housemaid Two : which is better?
Is Millie in the Housemaid Two?

And you can also check out my Audiobook Review of The Coworker!

About Jen Ryland

Over 12 years of book blogging and reviewing, I have read over 1500 books. A fair and honest reviewer who loves book discussions, I'm here to help you find a book you'll love to read AND give you a place to talk about it and ask questions. Find me on Instagram and Pinterest as @jenryland!

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Book Review: Rachel Khong’s new novel ‘Real Americans’ explores race, class and cultural identity

This cover image released by Knopf shows “Real Americans” by Rachel Khong. (Knopf via AP)

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In 2017 Rachel Khong wrote a slender, darkly comic novel, “Goodbye, Vitamin,” that picked up a number of accolades and was optioned for a film. Now she has followed up her debut effort with a sweeping, multigenerational saga that is twice as long and very serious.

“Real Americans” — the title alone suggests its weighty subject — wrestles with issues of class, race and the genetic component of disease. Though largely a work of social realism, it has a touch of science fiction, with characters experiencing “blips” in existence, when time itself seems to get stuck.

The novel is narrated by three members of the same family: May, the Chinese-born matriarch; her American daughter, Lily; and Lily’s biracial son, Nick. It opens in 1999, when 22-year-old Lily is working as an unpaid intern at a media company, a few months away from her NYU graduation.

At a holiday party, she meets her boss’s nephew, Matthew, five years older and heir to a pharmaceutical fortune. Tall and “golden haired,” he is likable and self-assured. Lily, on the other hand, is insecure, unambitious and prone to ruminating about what a disappointment she is to her hard-charging mother, a brilliant scientist who specializes in—spoiler alert—genetic engineering.

This cover image released by Dial Press shows "First Love" by Lilly Dancyger. (Dial Press via AP)

Nonetheless, they fall in love, get married and, after much difficulty, have a baby. That child, a boy named Nick with blond hair and blue eyes, narrates the second section, which begins in 2021, when he is a teenager. He was raised on a remote island off Washington state by his single mother, feeling like a misfit and wishing more than anything to be normal.

Wondering why he does not, as his best friend says, “look Chinese,” the two of them search an online genetic database and find Matthew, his long-lost white father. Nick’s subsequent decision to go to Yale (Khong’s alma mater) sets up a series of dramatic encounters on the east coast with the dad he never knew.

The most vivid character in the book is Nick’s grandmother May, who grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution and fled to America after making a pact, of sorts, with the devil. She narrates the third section of the book in 2030, when she is dying. Only then are the riddles of Lily and Nick’s discombobulated lives finally explained.

Khong, who was formerly the executive editor of the now defunct food magazine Lucky Peach, has offered up a veritable smorgasbord of ideas — about IVF, genetic engineering, different cultural styles of parenting, and what it means to be a “real American.”

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

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‘Challengers’ and That Ending: Our Critics Have Thoughts

The tennis movie comes to an abrupt stop midmatch, so we don’t know who won. Does that matter?

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In a movie scene, a sweaty tennis player reaches his hand out for a ball.

By Wesley Morris and Alissa Wilkinson

The relationships in “ Challengers ” are complicated. Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and Art (Mike Faist) were close pals on the juniors tennis circuit when they met Tashi (Zendaya), a phenom. As the years pass and they become entangled in on-court rivalry and off-court sexual tensions, the film builds to a vicious challenger-circuit match between Art, now a top-ranked pro with a confidence problem, and Patrick, sleeping in his car between tournaments. In the stands is Art’s wife and Patrick’s ex, Tashi, who turned to coaching after an injury cut short her career. The film ends abruptly, the outcome of the match unclear — and that has been the subject of much discussion online. So we asked our critic at large Wesley Morris and our movie critic Alissa Wilkinson to weigh in. Caution: Spoilers ahead.

WESLEY MORRIS Alissa, we’re here to discuss the final moments of “Challengers,” and in order to do that, I’m committing a big personal no-no and talking about a movie that people have had only two weeks to see. Sometimes it takes me — a culture professional — a while to catch up, so I’d imagine other folks might appreciate some distance between opening weekend and the instant media chatterboxes start breaking down the dismount. I also understand that’s a very 1988 flavor of film discourse and that a judge would overrule me.

So: People are confused about this ending? Or intrigued? Either way, I ask: Which part? The storm of final shots (final camera shots) that boot us out of the theater midmatch? Or the final encounter between Tashi and Patrick, which I refuse to ruin? Or her final glimpse, on match eve, of a sleeping Art?

If we’re talking about that shot storm, which goes down in a third-set tiebreaker between Patrick and Art, is it so intriguing that it warrants a conversation? There’s one image of Patrick crouching and another of Art aloft, mid-slam, that I’ll always remember. What follows? Eh. I don’t know who these characters are, who they’re supposed to be, or what they might want, even secretly. So I didn’t care what happens after this match.

If anything concerned me, it was the fact that this finale takes place in the middle (or the end, I suppose) of the third point of the tiebreaker, which has at least four or five more points to go. Is caring who wins the match gauche? Is it safe to assume that, based on the number of warnings and penalties the exasperated chair umpire (Darnell Appling) Frisbees out, whatever’s happening in that final scene is the end of the match anyway, because one of these guys is getting ejected? Did I just wind up re-enacting what people are doing with this movie anyway and express genuine intrigue?

ALISSA WILKINSON I also wondered what the issue was when I discovered people were asking about the ending. In fact, honestly, I doubted they were, until I dutifully went back to see the movie with my husband. At the end, the guy sitting next to him leaned over and said, “What happened?”

The actual question, I believe, is who won the match? And the answer, of course, is we don’t know. As you note, the director, Luca Guadagnino, ends the film with points left in the balance, and the real “winner” of the New Rochelle Challenger presented by Phil’s Tiretown is simply left to the imagination. For me, the answer is “nobody,” because here’s a how a movie is supposed to work: When it ends, it’s over. The characters cease to exist, and the story ends where it does on purpose. But I think factors like our endless sequel culture and our need to assign value to characters so we can decide which one we’re rooting for makes us want to know.

Plus, I mean, it’s intentionally provocative — as the cast and Guadagnino told our colleague Kyle Buchanan , they’re happy that it’s ambiguous. Open-ended finales let us argue about what really happened and thus, I think, tend to keep a cultural artifact alive for a long time. (We’re still arguing about the end of “The Sopranos.”)

To be honest, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what these characters want (maybe because I went back and saw it again!). Art wants Tashi, and he wants to rest. Patrick also wants Tashi, and he wants Art, too, but he also wants to crush them both a little, so that he feels like he’s reintegrated into their relationship. And Tashi just wants to win at tennis, because to her that is a relationship. That is love. She says as much the night they all first meet.

I think I fall on the side that Tashi won the match, because the scream of “Come on !” she lets out just before she smiles is precisely the same scream she lets out when she was winning the junior U.S. Open all those years earlier. But I think you’re also right, and that whatever happens right there at the end will result in expulsion, and probably it doesn’t matter. The whole point was for Art to get his groove back and Patrick to feel like he’s back in the game — that is, the three-way relationship — and they got that, too.

Between us, though, you’re the tennis expert. Does that make any sense?

MORRIS When you put it that way, yes. I just didn’t care about these people as people. The stakes are among the strangest I’ve ever seen in a movie. Its structure is time divided by tennis. The two used to be oil and water (a match could last days). Guadagnino and the screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes impose a temporal framework. Each of the three sets is a chapter. The tiebreak is an epilogue. During all of it, the film moves through the various pasts of the Tashi-Patrick-Art connection. (Tashickart, anyone?) This, to me, was too clever. Sure, the experience of disorientation worked. But why was any disorientation necessary? Why should it matter?

As tennis, this is a movie about whether Patrick can clean up his act to get back to the major tournaments — the U.S. Open, namely. Art’s in the main draw of the Open no matter what. But is that what he wants, to win more majors? Or does he want to win because Tashi wants him to? This is not a plot that can resolve that. But it also isn’t a movie that can resolve anything for itself. It doesn’t know what it wants. Tennis is a symbol (for sex) and a pretext (for relationships), but the movie does what tennis can’t: ends in a draw. That’s untenable.

I wonder if Guadagnino is the right director for this movie and not, hypothetically, James L. Brooks or Ron Shelton or Frank Oz, Americans whose major contributions to American culture ended in the previous century, yes. But I’m thinking out loud. With these guys, you’d lose the ridiculous opera of that ending, and none of them would have gone with the lewd-aerobics thrusting all over Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score. Instead, you’d get what some of their movies — “Broadcast News” or “Bull Durham” or “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” respectively — thrived on: character studies in which vocation enlivens personality. That’s true enough in “Challengers” that it brings these other movies to mind. But “Challengers” never struck me first as a film about tennis as vocation.

It’s such a good, basic idea. But Guadagnino complicates things in the wrong directions. He makes the tennis cutthroat and the physical intimacy tenuous. This is a sex movie with barely any sex and an eroticism whose bud never blooms. Instead, it toys with everybody, namely us. Guadagnino gave us “ I Am Love ” and “ Call Me by Your Name ” and a so-terrible-it’s-fantastic remake of Dario Argento’s “ Suspiria .” He’s foremost an Italian sensualist — an oralist, really — whose dabbling in cannibalism earned the “us” in “menus” (see “Bones and All”).

He seems flummoxed by a place as comfortably devoid of Michelin-star bait as New Rochelle (though it often looks eerily like Boston). Of course, as long as these people have something suggestive to eat (eggs, bananas, bagel sandwiches, churros, a mouth), we’re in good shape. And even then, the idea that such an extreme palate has made a film featuring both a Dunkin’ Donuts meal and its erstwhile logo feels less like camp and more like tragicomedy.

The movie doesn’t want to be labeled — as gay, bi or even libidinal. And in that sense what really comes to mind here is Alfonso Cuarón’s “Y Tu Mamá También,” which was also about what happens when a sexy woman exposes a nascent homoerotic bond. Cuarón is just as ambivalent as Guadagnino about where things stand by the end. But when that movie ended, I did feel that some souls were searched. Somehow all I hear in the far more ridiculous “Challengers” finale is nervous laughter.

WILKINSON There are a lot of logos and sponsorships in this movie, not just Dunkin’ Donuts: Adidas and Uniqlo and those watch and car ads … but then again, there are an awful lot of logos in sports.

I think what I so thoroughly enjoyed about this movie is exactly the stuff that irritated you — that it feels like a floppy, whirly mess that doesn’t want to say anything other than, man, aren’t these people gorgeous and weird. As a person who half-watches most sports, that feels pretty well aligned with professional sports as an enterprise, though that might get me a lot of hate mail. It’s all just sweat and grinding for its own sake and nothing more — any attempt to philosophize it always strikes me as vaguely goofy, and that is why it’s so vital to our cultural health, I think.

But I think that points back to the ending: It’s unsatisfying, and that’s not a mistake. You aren’t supposed to “know” what happened (even if, in an actual match, you definitely should). For me, it locks into something I think about a lot this time of year — baseball is more or less the sport I watch — which is that it’s Sisyphean, that even if you win it all this year, it just starts over again next year. Leaving the match unfinished is sort of like leaving the characters suspended there forever, looping and pinging back and forth, the results always up for grabs.

The most Sisyphean thing about my life, on the other hand, is the awards season; this movie was originally slated to open the Venice Film Festival last fall, which probably means it would have been trapped in Oscar discourse pretty fast. Flung out into the spring movie calendar, the whole thing takes on a different tenor, I think.

MORRIS I’m with you. Here we have a movie based on an original script opening in April that isn’t out sniffing around for Oscars. It’s got a starry-ish cast and is a cultural and box office hit. The thing about stakes I should’ve mentioned earlier is that, going in, they were low for me. You like this movie much more than I do, Alissa, but I do like it. It’s got this fragrant semi- or even anti-seriousness, a substance many of the movies I love secrete. I’m grateful for “Challengers” that way. It’s the kind of movie a lot of us complain is missing from our current moviegoing diets — mid-tier, mid-budget, “middlebrow” — the kind of movie that makes, solidifies and tests stardom; the kind of movie that, were it a TV show, our colleague James Poniewozik might aptly identify as mid . Mid was what made American movies what they were. Now, one art form’s drought is another’s deluge.

If Zendaya’s screen-acting career lasts, this stretch, which includes that second “Dune” installment, will likely be decisive when we look back. We actually want to see her act — maybe even with Faist and O’Connor, whose smirky, ratty understanding of bad-boy swagger, insecurity and disrespect is exciting. His performance embodies something you identified earlier that I appreciate about “Challengers,” which is the repetitive, hothouse nature of all sports.

You and I are having this conversation in the middle of what for certain people is a spring bonanza — early-season baseball, midseason golf, clay-court tennis, hockey and basketball playoffs, assorted drafts, the culmination of the Champions League. If sports are vital to our cultural health, it could be because, as you surmise, they’re philosophy-proof. But also perhaps because they’re philosophy-ridden: a proving ground and microcosm of so much that defines us as a species — how do we collaborate, strategize, obey, perceive, communicate, conform, transcend, sacrifice, strive, pay attention (but not too much attention), fail, recover, lose again, compete; how do we believe in each other and in ourselves. And sometimes — usually, in a few sports — the avatars within that microcosm are gorgeous and weird.

Tennis fascinates because, like boxing and the martial arts, it’s always only ever the two of you out there, figuring yourselves out in front of an audience by testing each other. But it’s never enough, in sports, to be talented. You need some combination of these other traits. You need some hunger. Which, again, is a very Guadagnino mode of being.

If anything compelled me about that ending, it’s probably that. Tashi knows what it takes to win. Because she can no longer win for herself, she now relies on these avatars to sate her lust for competition. I’m just restating your observation, Alissa, but that last shot is these two guys proving to her that they want it. Whatever that “it” turns out to be. The proof, the hunger is what turns her on.

Wesley Morris is a Times critic who writes about art and popular culture. More about Wesley Morris

Alissa Wilkinson is a Times movie critic. She’s been writing about movies since 2005. More about Alissa Wilkinson

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Review: The Maid by Nita Prose
*SPOILERS* Book Review: The Maid by Nita Prose
Spoiler Discussion for The Maid
review book the maid
Discussing The Maid by Nita Prose: Ending and Other Spoilers
The Maid: Book Review

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The Mafias Maid Book Trailer
〖 Art 〗 Finish Doki and Mint Keychains / Standees
Can You Help Us?
I GAVE A ROMANTASY BOOK 5 STARS: 3 books & 1200 pages! (romantasy deep dive vlog)
Live -In Maid (2004) Review

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Summary, Spoilers + Review: The Maid by Nita Prose
Molly is trusting and good-hearted, with great passion for her work. She's also someone who appears to be neuroatypical, and she has trouble reading things like body language, facial expressions and social cues. Her personality lends the book a lot of its charm. In general, I felt like The Maid was well-paced and generally a solid novel.
Discussing The Maid by Nita Prose: Ending and Other Spoilers
First, a quick synopsis: Molly Gray is a maid at a five-star hotel. She has trouble interpreting the intentions of others and struggles in social settings. But she takes great pride in her work. Molly's life is upended the day she enters the suite where she finds a famous guest is dead.
Book review: In Nita Prose's 'The Maid' a cleaning lady is a murder
The Maid by Nita Prose. Ballantine Books. Devotees of cozy mysteries, rejoice: Nita Prose's debut, The Maid, satisfies on every level — from place to plot to protagonist. In a fancy urban hotel ...
The Maid: Recap & Chapter-by-Chapter Summary
Molly Gray, 25, works as a maid at Regency Grand Hotel, an art-deco-styled five-star boutique hotel. Molly's mother left when she was young, and Molly was raised by her beloved Gran, who passed away nine months ago. Molly now feels a little lonely living all alone. Molly takes pride in her work and likes her job.
The Maid (Molly the Maid, #1) by Nita Prose
Nita Prose is the author of THE MAID, a #1 New York Times bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club Pick. Nominated for an Edgar Award and winner of the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction and a Goodreads Choice Award, THE MAID has been published in more than forty countries and has sold over a million copies worldwide.
The Maid, Book Review: Nita Prose' emotionally astute debut
The Maid, Book Review. Nita Prose' debut novel is one of the most highly anticipated 2022 new releases.Book rights for The Maid have already been sold in 29 territories and the film rights snapped up by Universal pre-release; Florence Pugh set to play the title character. And yes, I am very pleased to report that this title certainly lives up to the hype.
Book Review
If you're thinking about checking out The Maid yourself, don't worry about spoilers. The first part of my reviews are always spoiler-free so you can see if the book is your cup of tea. After a quick summary and a basic review, I'll give a spoiler warning and do a deep dive into everything I loved and hated about The Maid.. The Maid is Nita Prose's debut book, and it looks like she's ...
The Maid Book Review
The Review. "The Maid" by Nita Prose is a riveting mystery novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The character of Molly Gray is both endearing and relatable, making her journey through the secrets of the Regency Grand Hotel all the more captivating. Prose's storytelling is gripping, with unexpected twists and ...
THE MAID
27. Our Verdict. GET IT. Kirkus Reviews'. Best Books Of 2022. New York Times Bestseller. IndieBound Bestseller. The shocking murder of a public figure at a high-end hotel has everyone guessing who the culprit might be. Twenty-five-year-old Molly Gray, an eccentric young woman who's obsessed with cleaning but doesn't quite have the same ability ...
Review: The Maid by Nita Prose
Summary: "The Maid is a masterful, charming mystery that will touch your heart in ways you could never expect. . . . This is the smart, quirky, uplifting read we need." -Ashley Audrain, #1 bestselling author of The Push. A dead body is one mess she can't clean up on her own. Molly Gray is not like everyone else.
Book Review: The Maid by Nita Prose
Instead of an all-seeing, all-knowing maid unravelling a mystery, Prose delivers us hijinks more suited to Clue. Molly is a sweet protagonist and I say that will all my heart. I saw a lot of myself in Molly and really warmed to, sympathised with and rooted for her. The sections that focused on Molly's relationship with her grandma brought ...
Book Review: The Maid by Nita Prose
It slows down the plot, but also creates a more fair-play atmosphere for those who want to figure out the killer themselves, because one is relying on clues other than a 'hunch' or 'gut feeling'. Author Nita Prose. There's a constant push and pull between doing the good thing vs. doing the fun or easier thing.
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Book Review: The Maid by Nita Prose
Above all, never assume, you know the old adage: ASS-U-ME. The Maid is a top-notch story and I believe the film rights have already been snapped up. It would make a terrific film with the right actor in the role of Molly. A funny, heart-warming, original story that I recommend widely. 5/5.
Review: The Maid by Nita Prose
All opinions are my own. The Maid by Nita Prose is a charming murder mystery full of heart and depth. Join the Book Club Chat Newsletter. So you don't often see 'heartwarming' used to describe a murder mystery! However, the The Maid is such a unique take on the genre. There are elements of both Clue and Knives Out, with a little Agatha ...
Review: The Maid by Nita Prose
Review: Dear Nita Prose, I found this book to be readable, but the ending also irritated me a great deal. I am very torn about it. I went and checked some reviews after I finished reading - I was curious as to whether other people had the same problem as I did and apparently several reviewers were not sure if Molly's character was well done.
The Maid Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide
The Maid Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide. July 7, 2022 by Carol Guttery. There are some dirty doings lurking behind the stately facade of the Regency Grand Hotel. Molly the Maid's job is to clean things up, returning the rooms to "a state of perfection". But even her efforts are thwarted by the ill intentions of other guests and ...
THE MAID by Nita Prose
Hey guys, here is my short, spoiler free review on The Maid by Canadian author Nita Prose. It's her debut novel! Apparently Florence Pugh is to star as Molly...
The Maid Book Club Questions: Perfect for 2023
The Maid Book Club Questions: Perfect for 2023. The Maid by Nita Prose was published in January of 2021 and immediately moved to our best-of list for the year. The Maid book club questions below can hopefully be a starting point for your book club discussion. Below you will find a review, summary, the ending, and book club discussion questions ...
Book Club Questions for The Maid by Nita Prose
Book club questions for The Maid by Nita Prose takes a closer look at this charming murder mystery. There will be spoilers so for more context about the story, check out my spoiler-free review first. This is such a great novel! I loved being in this world and Molly is such a fantastic protagonist—she felt like a real person to me.
r/books on Reddit: I just finished reading "The Housemaid" by Freida
This review contains spoilers. I wrote my thoughts down about the book as I went, in chronological order. ''The Housemaid" (on page 160 right now or about to begin chapter 32) - up to this point some things have been pretty predictable like I knew Millie and Andrew would end up sleeping together.
Review With Spoilers of The Housemaid
Fans of The Housemaid rave about: The Housemaid's fast pace. The book is a "quick and easy read". The lack of "fluff". The snappy voice and dialogue. Critics of The Housemaid complain about: The lack of believability and character motivation. Plot holes. The absence of "fluff" i.e. world-building and character development.
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The Maid, Book Review: Nita Prose’ emotionally astute debut

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Book Club Questions for The Maid by Nita Prose

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