A brilliantly imagined scenario with a compassion-inducing main character.

'The Maid' is perfect for fans of 'If I Can't Have You' by Charlotte Levin and 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'.

The Maid by Nita Prose Narrated by: Lauren Ambrose and the narrator was 'delightful' she really brought Molly, the main character, to life. and I enjoyed the book more as I listened to it than reading it. Molly Gray is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel and she a specific routine how she cleans rooms, she does things on a daily basis and plans journeys down to the second. Molly's main figure in her life is her grandmother and she is always there to give her guidance throughout her young life. Until sadly her grandmother dies and she has nobody to advise her. Molly is too trusting which leads to her being taken advantage of by others.

This lovely book is told by Molly (Lauren Ambrose) and how she found a dead body whilst cleaning a room at the Regency Grand Hotel. This is when all her troubles start to get worse!

I highly recommend this book

Big thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I loved everything about this book, from the storyline to the characters it was great. It wasn’t what I expected it to be at all which was really refreshing.

Molly is the most lovable character ever and I was really rooting for her throughout the story. As the book progressed I was hating the situation she got into! I love the way she narrated the story some moments made me laugh and some also broke my heart (especially with gran).
I also loved all the other characters some moments when Molly described them really made me laugh.

One lesson we can all learn from Molly is to treat everyone fairly and never judge. But also don’t break anyones trust.
I was so happy for Molly at the end! It couldn’t of turned out any better for her

This was a great ‘who done it’ cosy thriller. It really keeps your on your toes and waiting for the next twist and turn in the story! It was a simple and effect story line which I already want to re read and plan on doing soon!

This was a well written and enjoyable. Have you faith in the human race and how people support each other in times of need. Would definitely recommend

This book really surprised me and was not what I first thought from the cover.however, I loved it! It has definite vibes of Eleanor Oliphant as it comes across that the main character is not exactly neurotypical but the plot that unfolds and more importantly the way she reacts and responds to different situations is excellent - but at times equally frustrating! The storyline drew me in and it’s the first book in ages that I just could not put down.

Stunning debut from Nita Prose. Such an interesting and gripping storyline. I loved the character of Molly, perhaps because I could relate to her so much – never underestimate a neurodivergent person! Although this isn’t confirmed within the book, to me it was quite obvious. This book was a joy to read and one that I highly recommend.
Many thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the review copy.

The content in this book is hard to put into one box. The author may have intended it that way, and after the read, I looked at a lot of differing reviews and found myself agreeing with all of them and still being content with my own reactions to the book! That is not something that happens often.
Molly - the maid, is not your typical protagonist material. Not because of her difference in attitude or behaviour, but because of the varying facets that she tends to show throughout the story. The secrets she holds and the revelations she manages to make, for the eyes of the reader alone, are quite striking and out of the blue.
I liked the author's narrative style. The writing fits the tone based on the situation. We are not meant to see the world through Molly's eyes. We see the world as is and also simultaneously know the issues Molly is going through.
The mystery and the secrets, as well as the extra 'aha' moments, are delivered within a few pages of each other, and they align with many of the 'thrillers' released in recent years. I expected some of it but not all.
I will not go any further into the descriptions or plotline because it carries the weight of the book. I found it easy to read in a few sittings. I might have found a few forced connections more than was required, but I took it with the territory. In this particular case, I think I found myself interested in the characters and looking forward to their individual endings.
I would definitely pick up another book by the author.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

The Maid was one of the first 2022 releases I got excited about, but unfortunately it turned out to be a disappointment. Not only did I find the story to be very boring, I also didn't like any of the characters in this book.

When the book was first released, reviewers were talking about how the main character is neurodivergent. This made me excited because I always want to read about autistic main characters in books that AREN'T lit fic, and the thought of an autistic/neurodivergent character solving a mrdr was enthralling to me.

As I continued to read, though, I did question why the author decided to write Molly this way. It's never mentioned whether Molly is autistic, nor neurodiverse, and the characters all treat Molly as though she is a child instead. I'm not sure if the author has experience with neurodiversity, and I certainly don't want to assume, but I did find an interview where Nita Prose described Molly as "socially awkward". So I'm not sure she has ever confirmed that she tried to respectfully write Molly as a neurodivergent character. It seems to me that she was writing all the stereotypes instead, but again, I don't want to assume.

Would I be interested in an adaptation of this book? Yes... maybe. I wasn't impressed by the mystery enough to care, to be honest, but of course if there are some great actors and screenwriters working on the project I might check it out. It could work better on screen with the right development.

Overall, The Maid isn't the worst book I've ever read, but it's certainly the dullest mystery I've read this year. I don't get the hype!

Don't hate me, but I appear to be in the minority here. While I started off loving this book, before long I became bored with it. I can't even put my finger on why, but I abandoned it about 20% in. May give it another go, maybe it was wrong time wrong place.

My favourite part of this book which I read in less than a day was of course Molly, one of the most endearing and loveable protagonists I have ever encountered. The whole book is narrated by her so we see everything from her POV.

Molly is a maid at the Regency Grand hotel, a job she loves and delights in doing perfectly. She is contented with her life though she misses her grandmother terribly and wishes more of her colleagues would be nicer to her instead of whispering behind her back and looking at her strangely. All because she is different from them. How is never actually specified so we don't slot her into any particular category but she is neurodiverse in the way she takes everything literally and struggles to read social cues. She is also very straightforward and assumes everyone around her is like that. Many times, I wanted to hug her when she was making a mistake in trusting the wrong person and actually smack the wrongdoer, such is the protective instinct she aroused.
Molly's life is thrown out of gear when she discovers a regular hotel guest, Charles Black, dead in his bed and the investigators end up suspecting she had something to do with it. Unfortunately a lot of seemingly innocent actions of hers ends up as evidence until her real friends stand up in her defense.

This is more of a character driven story though the plot revolves around a death. It is about the growth in Molly and the way she perceives the world and people around her. She's intelligent in the way she can see certain wrongs but doesn't really grasp other things. She is always very polite and so eloquent even in her monologues to herself and the way she expresses things. This is of course a credit due to the author whose language has presented Molly in this way. She did remind me of Eleanor Oliphant, the other fictional heroine who has an old world vocabulary that's so charming in this era of shortened words and text speech.

I enjoyed this journey with Molly and was always rooting for her. Her memories of the only family she ever had, her grandmother, and the way she honours those memories is simply beautiful. This is a book I have been meaning to read for a while now and couldn't put down when I finally did.

It would be so good to read more about Molly because I loved her so much but the way the ending was handled was perfect too. A really enjoyable book that I would definitely say is a must read for Molly alone.

The Maid is truly a marvellous book! I didn't know what to expect as this is a debut novel for Nina Prose but I was honestly surprised. It has even been translated to my native language already! Will look forward to Prose's future books.

The Maid by Nita Prose a NetGalley read. I’m not going to go into what the book is about because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, let’s just say it was amazing! So this book was probably the best I’ve read this year. Molly is the main character and from the beginning (although never confirmed) it’s clear Molly is different and may even have some form of Autism. You get this wrong the way Mollys narrative is written, Molly as an acute eye for detail, she doesn’t necessarily pick up on social queues or understand social situations, she finds it hard to know when people are being genuine or not which leads to her being very trusting. To be honest I probably wouldn’t have read this book if it hadn’t been for NetGalley, it’s one of those books I’d seen everywhere, I was very intrigued but would have read other books first, never getting around to reading this. How lucky that I did because it blew me away. As I continued reading this book the intrigue just grew and grew, this book keeps you wondering, keeps you interested and there are plot twists throughout. Like I’ve said I think Molly had some form of autism however I think her upbringing with her Grandmother has also contributed to the way Molly is as she comes across very old fashioned in many ways. Molly can also come across as very naive at times, when as a reader all the alarm bells go off when Molly is being to trusting and believe everything some characters tell her, the thing is Molly has a good heart which can easily be taken advantage of. However Molly is not to be under estimated which as the book nears its conclusion will become obvious. The other thing with Molly is that she hasn’t got over the death of her grandmother, who was everything to Molly and the result of her death is that Molly is terribly lonely. This is the first book in a long while that I’ve complexly got lost in, one that I’ve not wanted to put down and can’t stop thinking about, if I could have read it through the night I would have, it surpassed any expectations I had. Getting lost in these pages has a lot to do with Molly, you fall in love with Molly and the way it which’s she written and there jn lies the magic of this book, the way it’s written, the way Mollys written and the way that she captures your heart is something special that the author is able to do. I didn’t know if this book was for me, I’d read the reviews and it seem to be a bit of a marmite book, you will either love it or hate it and normally with those types of marmite books, I find them slightly to pretentious, they don’t feel real and a connection with the book and the reader is never made, however it’s obvious now but I loved every minute of it. Also even though the author never mentions that Molly is autistic, which is great that she has labelled Molly, it’s just who Molly is; after reading other books where the characters have some form of autism, this is the best by far. At no point is it boring or tiresome, the words jump off the pages and more importantly which other books have lacked somewhat is that it feels real, Molly feels real and that’s what makes this book special, the relationship between the author and her character Molly, seems like the author knows what she’s writing about and has confidence in her character and the words in which she writes. I will be recommending this to everyone and I only hope that they enjoy it as much as I have done. Definitely a five star read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Now I know from scanning previous reviews that mine is going to be an unpopular opinion BUT I just did not like this book.

It felt like the author had literally tried to cover every social issue there is into one storyline but didnt actually delve deep into any of them.

I also didnt like the stereotypical descriptions of some of the minor characters especially the maids and the story of the illegal immigrant was just offensive.

Nothing about this book sat right with me to be honest. It's like everything tye author could think of was thrown into a big pot, jumbled up and then poured out onto the pages.

Sorry but it's a no from me.

Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the.

His novel has been compared to Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. However I feel although enjoyable it didn’t have the humour of Eleanor. A good read but not overwhelming.

The Maid is an outstanding novel with the very best character written in years. Molly the maid is quirky, innocent and so unique. It's impossible not to love her. If you're looking for an addictive novel with a character you can't help but adore, this is it! Highly recommended!

I found the book a bit hard to get into, there was a lot about Molly's life with her grandmother, but as events at the hotel became the focus of the book, it got more interesting. Molly takes everything very literally and uses her late grandmother's sayings to determine her actions and behaviour. This can be very funny, but sometimes Molly is taken advantage of. Molly discovers a dead body in the hotel, and is set up to take the blame. With support from her friends, she carries out an investigation to find the real culprits and put the world to rights. There are some plot leaps to move the story along, but it is quite entertaining, with a very twisted ending!

Quirky Molly the maid . What a fabulous character ! A great debut novel and I look forward to reading more from this author

I enjoyed this book. Was a little slow to start but picked up towards the end. I enjoyed the characters, they were well written.

I didn’t think I could love a character any more than I loved Eleanor Oliphant but along comes Molly ‘the Maid’. God, I love her.

Endearingly innocent, brutally honest and perfectly delightful Molly really does capture your heart. I don’t want to spoil the plot but it really is an absolute treat of a book. I raced through it in one day.

Molly is a good egg.

This is such a gorgeous book. It's got a very clever and fast moving plot, but there's something gentle and almost old fashioned about it. The reason for this is the main character, Molly, who is a unique and quirky person.
Beautifully written and a pleasure to read. This book will be a huge bestseller. I loved it.