The Maid
The Maid
By: Nita Prose
[Winner for ‘Best Mystery/Thriller’ category and nominee for ‘Best Debut’ category of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge]
“This is the problem with friendships. Sometimes you know things you shouldn’t know; sometimes you carry other people’s secrets for them. And sometimes, that burden takes its toll.”
This book had a lot of hype. I’d seen it recommended a lot and it was the winner for best mystery/thriller, so perhaps my expectations were set too high. For all the accolades, it was a bit underwhelming.
Had I gone into this book without knowing the hype, I think I would have liked it better.
One of the blurbs on the back of the book said that the twists keep coming until the end, but I don’t agree with that. Nothing felt like a huge surprise and the ‘big twist’ felt again— underwhelming.
However, I can still recommend this book, just curb your expectations!
The premise of this book is that a young maid, Molly, who works in a luxury hotel, walks into a room where a wealthy and regular guest is dead in his bed. Suspected murder. Because of her abnormal behavior and mannerisms and her proximity socially and physically to the scene, Molly is the prime suspect. She must clear her name. Along the way she experiences betrayals and discovers who her real friends are.
There are a surprising amount of one- and two-star reviews for this book. It would seem that the controversy surrounding this book and what I feel like is the primary reason for these reviews is because of the author-described: “social awkwardness” of Molly the maid.
There are similarities to Eleanor Oliphant, but Molly has a bit more cheery and friendly persona.
People are upset that Molly was not given the description of ‘autistic’ when all of her descriptors point to that. They also feel like she was portrayed as a caricature for an autistic person. Additionally, they feel the character Juan Manuel— an immigrant— was also portrayed as a caricature.
I don’t feel qualified to evaluate the validity of the claims against the autistic descriptor. I like that she wrote about a neurodivergent person. I liked Molly’s character. She was sweet. Yes, a bit naive. She relied on her grandmother to explain so many confusing social queues or mannerisms that she didn’t understand. When her grandma passed, she was left to navigate the confusing on her own. It did seem like some of these naivetes were a bit exaggerated and unrealistic for her to be confused about.
Also— I have no idea how the detective couldn’t recognize the character of Molly and was so against her. You would think a detective would look harder into what makes her strange if she didn’t grasp the autism already and take that into account as they investigated and interrogated. They seemed pretty bad at their jobs to not have any other suspects for such a high-profile victim. That part did seem over-the-top.
In general, perhaps it was unfair for the author to write some of these things, but as a reader, I read it as an individual character for a specific story not as a representative for the entire autism spectrum.
But again, I don’t know much about autism. The only nonfiction book I’ve read about it is On the Spectrum. So maybe my opinion doesn’t matter.
As to Juan Manuel’s character, I didn’t feel he was a caricature either, but I don’t think I’m very sensitive to recognize these things. To me his story described a common experience for immigrants in his position and reminded me of the struggles those who come to America have to face to make a living.
I was cheering for both Molly and Juan Manuel and it was painful to watch them be betrayed or treated poorly.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for more of a ‘cozy mystery’ type of read. It has a lot of light-hearted or humorous moments. It is a really fast read and does not take that much commitment to read.
There is the mystery of the murder and clues to be discovered, but I wouldn’t describe it as intense or twisty. I would say Molly’s personal growth is almost as prominent as the murder mystery.
Again, if you go into it with the right expectations I think you’ll really enjoy it; just don’t expect to be reading the best thriller the world has ever seen.
Sidenote: I do have Frieda McFadden’s book The Housemaid on my TBR. I’m curious to see how these two books compared, especially because they came out the same year. Something tells me McFadden’s book will be a little darker.
[Content Advisory: a handful of f-words; no sexual content]
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