The Maid - Nita Prose // Book Review

  

The Maid
Nita Prose || Publication Date - 20.01.2022

Imagine being invisible, a piece of hotel furniture - thrown in to solve a murder you have been accused of.

Crime | Mystery

Molly Grey is a hotel maid. She prides herself in her efficiency and discreet duties while maintaining the utmost professional demeanour within her workplace. She is never friends, only acquaintances, and has a particularly hard time maintaining and understanding social relationships after her Grandmother had passed away.

It was a day like any other. Get to work, do her job, leave and wait for another day. However, this day would throw a wrench in her beloved monotonous routine when she would be the one to discover one of the hotel guests dead. And not just any hotel guest... the illustrious high roller Mr. Charles Black.

The week to follow is full of accusations, misunderstandings and investigations while the Police try to hang Molly for this crime, all while she is trying to clear her name.

The Review (may contain spoilers)

This was an amazingly enlightening read. I loved the pacing, the writing and the premise. It all was executed wonderfully within the book and the ending felt whole and complete. There was also the added component of the main character Molly seeming to be neurodivergent. Even though this is not explicitly stated. it is heavily implied with her interactions and the support she received from her grandmother.

I am usually wary of books which are written in a short, in story time frame. This book is no exception as the entire story takes place in a single week. However, Nita does a great job of making the story feel fluid and paces the events very well. There were never times in the novel which felt out of place or confusing in the overall timeline. I was also impressed by how the characters had a lot of input on the events and each felt different to each other.

Unfortunately for me this book just didn't wow me. It was a pleasant read, and a pretty good mystery novel that divulged the culprit over time so it was not a surprise at the end of who had done it. I don't think this took away from the story at all, and definitely seemed fully intentional.

Overall Thoughts

For readers of light mystery, or someone who just wants a fun book to read I would recommend this one. It is not too difficult to follow, the characters are diverse and engaging and the overall plot is interesting. That being said, if you enjoy your mysteries to, well... stay a mystery until the end, then this would not be a good book for you. As I said above, this novel drip feeds you the culprit throughout and leaves for a satisfying but not surprising ending.