“I’ll never understand it—why people find the truth more shocking than lies.”

And I’ll never understand how a newbie publishes a book at the beginning of the month and has an option from Universal Studios (with Florence Pugh as the lead no less) before it’s time to turn the calendar’s page. Crazy stuff. Nita Prose’s debut thriller is hot of the press, so grab the NyQuil Rae and pull up your pillow. You’re about to encounter Molly. She’s a maid at a five-star luxury hotel, who’s obsessed with order and cleanliness (probably a natural by-product of being on the spectrum, just my opinion). Molly loves her job. Who doesn’t have mad respect for a woman who loves to religiously scrub, right? Life gets messy fast when Molly becomes the prime suspect in a scandalous murder investigation. After all, she discovered the body.

On her own since Gran died a few months earlier, Molly’s life is pretty well isolated. She discovers, like Eleanor Oliphant, that friends stand by her side to help her uncover the truth. We experience the story through Molly’s eyes. While some of the events in the book seem obvious to the reader, they aren’t to Molly, which makes her all the more endearing. The Maid is a heartwarming story that helps us realize that “different” is okay.

Long-time editor Nita Prose (do we really believe that’s her name; how could she not have a successful book career?) ends The Maid with an unexpected twist. A surprise culprit and feel-good vibes, I have to give it 4.5 stars. This Good Morning America Book Club pick and New York Times Editors’ Choice lived up to its billing: “a twist-and-turn whodunit…The Maid satisfies on every level—from place to plot to protagonist…Think Clue. Think page-turner.”

Posted by Sharee