Welcome to the eighth of my 'Reading the Rainbow' posts, in which I take the books I received in my 2023 book advent - each cover representing a different colour - and review them for you!
August is GREEN and the book is The Maid by Nita Prose.
Read on to find out more...
Blurb: It begins like any other day for Molly Gray, silently dusting her way through the luxury rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel.
But when she enters suite 401 and discovers an infamous guest dead in his bed, a very messy mystery begins to unfold. And Molly's at the heart of it – because if anyone can uncover the secrets beneath the surface, the fingerprints amongst the filth – it's the maid . . .
Review: Told from the perspective of undiagnosed-but-fairly-evidently-autistic hotel maid Molly Grey, The Maid is a cleverly designed murder mystery that keeps the reader guessing as to what happened even while we see it from the viewpoint of the closest witness.
The dual perspective effect is striking, and often heartbreaking, as we can pick up all of the nuances and social/emotional undercurrents that Molly is observing but not understanding, or misunderstanding. I found it quite painful to read at times, due to my sympathy for and empathy with Molly, as her treatment by others and her awareness of her own differences was quite upsetting.
And it wasn't only the main character that hooked me in and kept me reading: the plot is carefully layered so that we get bits and pieces of the picture without seeing the whole thing until the end, and it is all interspersed with background information about Molly, her family and her life up to this point.
At the end of the story, I was left wanting more Molly (I looked it up and there is already more out there!) but also felt strangely content to leave her there as the ending was so satisfying. I'm pretty sure I will go on to read more though... I'm interested to see how Molly's unique perspective can be applied to further mysteries in new, fresh ways.
Plus, I would read any autism-led mystery out there at this point, as I have never read a bad one. Perhaps there is something in the attention to detail that lends itself especially to the genre? Regardless, I'm here for it!
"Gran always said that the truth is subjective, which is something I failed to comprehend until my own life experience proved her wisdom. Now I understand. My truth is not the same as yours because we don't experience life in the same way. We are all the same in different ways. This more flexible notion of truth is something I can live with—more than that, it's something that gives me great comfort these days."
- Nita Prose, The Maid
About the author:
Nita Prose is the author of THE MYSTERY GUEST and THE MAID, which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide and was published in over forty countries.
A #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and a GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick, THE MAID won the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction, the Fingerprint Award for Debut Novel of the Year, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First Mystery. THE MAID was also an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel.
Nita lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is moderately clean.
Website: https://www.nitaprose.com/index.html
X/Twitter: https://x.com/NitaProse
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nitaprose/
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