The Maid
Ratings429
Average rating3.6
where were any security cameras in all of this? did they not review any footage??
0.5/5
It was interesting at first to see the perspective of an autistic maid, but then it started to really drag and be repetitive. Towards the end, I felt like there was no point to the story at all...
This was a fun, easy read, with a unique cast of characters and lovely setting. The author's voice for the narrating character was well done, and the twists, even when predictable, were satisfying (at least for the most part). I found the lack of identification of neurodivergence for Molly pretty frustrating and ridiculous, and the final reveal was just... fine. Overall, a light, cozy read that I would recommend specifically as that!
A simple, but well written mystery with good prose and characters. I throughly enjoyed it.
Intriguing novel with a main character that has a lot of layers to her personality. Full of plot twists and interesting characters, it makes for an interesting read and is a good reminder that the “invisible” among us are also people with wisdom to contribute to society.
I found Molly to be delightful and the found family elements heartwarming. Interesting insights on who society deems invisible. A quick, enjoyable read.
A review I read compared Molly to Amelia Bedelia, which I thought was very fitting. I very much enjoyed this book, although that doesn't mean Molly's portrayal isn't problematic. This book takes place within the last 20 years, this isn't explicitly stated, but it mentions texting/smart phones. It isn't so much that Molly is unbelievable it's unbelievable that autism/neurodivergence doesn't get mentioned. Molly talks about school, so I find it hard to believe that a teacher never sent home a note or something, although one could suppose Gran knew but never explicitly told Molly (cringe).
I did enjoy the book: the pacing, the colorful names and many of the characters were well done. However the more I think and try analyze the more I'm unsure. The missing pillow bothered me for some time, and I feel somewhat unsatisfied but it's explanation
I think I will give this book another listen before my book club meets.
On the second listen I was more satisfied with the ending.
2.5 stars
Not that clever, not that well-written and not that interesting. I did enjoy the surprise ending so if you are thinking about not finishing, please do so.
*I still think about my dislike of this book so I had to come back and update my rating to 2
2.5, readable but that's about it
it was a solid 4 star book until the epilogue. What a weird and trash plot twist just thrown in last minute.
writing, plot, characters and story telling is so amazing that i can't lower it past a 3 star
The characters are boring and bland. Though Molly has characteristics of autism, the author never explicitly stated that she is autistic or not. However, I wish that there was more canon representation of autism and that non-autistic people stop denying autism in people, especially if they're women.
3.5⭐️
The main character, Molly: 5⭐️, easy! I adored Molly!And the first half of the book. But the second half dragged for me. And there was a decent twist at the end. But not enough to bump up my rating.
I don't know if it was due to the romanian translation of this book, but the the writing felt remarkably bad and full of cliches to me. However besides that, the plot was fairly interesting, especially in the later half of the book when it gathered momentum.
This book turned out to be such a pleasant surprise. I heard mixed reviews before reading it, but I am happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The setting and characters make this story engaging and memorable.
Molly the maid works at a posh hotel and lives a simple, structured life that she loves. While making her rounds one morning, she discovers that one of the guests is dead. Molly becomes entangled in the investigation of the death, which has been designated as murder, and learns some unpleasant truths about the people at the hotel.
Molly struggles with social interactions. Her grandmother used to help her navigate situations, but she passed away. Now Molly has to adjust to life without her Gran. When she finds herself in uncomfortable interactions, she reminds herself of her Gran's advice and sayings, mostly centered around cleaning and etiquette. I found her character to be endearing and lovable, even though some characters in the story find her off-putting. She is honest and straightforward, which many characters mistake for coldness. It is frustrating as a reader to witness how she is mistreated and used by other characters just because she is different.
Some people complain that this book is mislabeled as a mystery/thriller because it is more a character driven book about Molly. While I agree that it is very character driven, it is definitely a mystery. The entire story revolves around how the death in the hotel and the investigation into are impacting Molly's life. The killer is not revealed until near the end.
I like this book mostly because I like the main character. I would highly recommend it to readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries.
I really enjoyed this book and could visualize everything so clearly with the author's descriptions. Th main character is so sweet and feels very real to me.
I did think it was a good mystery that was written well with a likeable character. I like our character being on the autism spectrum (or shows signs of being on the spectrum) - but as I read other people's reviews I see the notes of making her a little more fleshed out instead of making her “cutesy”/”quirky” type of representation. But i'm not sure if the author is on the spectrum and I'm not really in a autism community so I'm not sure how well this representation really is? I'd like to hear more people's thoughts on this that are a part of that community.
Molly is definitely a neurodivergent. The murder plot was okay and the ending was Vee-Vee.
2 stars for the Hype
1 star for the Neurodivergent aspect.
3 stars total
I have to question whether or not this author actually knows anyone who is neurodivergent. Molly is written like a cute idea of what someone on the spectrum looks like rather than a fully formed character. That aside, the story itself is predictable, cliche and tells you rather than shows you all the personalities. With grief, abuse and bullying thrown in, it feels like it should've been a better story but it was really a let down.
I've enjoyed the plot and its development. Truth be told, it's annoyed me slightly that nobody ever seemed to suggest to Molly she might relate to being this or that, so that she could count on something else to read for signals and navigate through life a little more comfortably. Again, regardless of the label, it's sounded weird that nobody ever said anything about it.
That having been said, and not considered an issue, the character was fine and so were her friends.
Struggled to finish this. All the stereotypes you can possibly think of, it's in this. On top of the annoying on-the-nose spectrum “hints” the author gives, this really felt like a lifetime movie you'd waste time on if there's nothing else to watch. At the end, you feel defeated and just wondering why the heck you put yourself through that.
” We're all entitled to a bad day now and again, I heard Gran say in my head. But when they are all bad days, with no pleasant ones, then it's time to reconsider things. “
This book is such as classic mystery, you don't know who did what. The beginning was too slow for me but at 52% I couldn't put the book down.
I loved Molly as a character, I enjoyed reading from her perspective. My heart hurt for her towards the end, I almost ended up in tears! The part with her grandmother was written well and I could feel the pain she was going through.
I loved the ending! Though it's too good to be true, I felt happy for Molly! I feel like she deserved a happy ending.
A semi-cozy mystery with a lot of heart but also without being too sugar-coated idyllic. Hovering between 4 and 4.5 because I can't decide. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from start to finish, with an endearing protagonist that I was rooting for almost from the very beginning. This book also touched some of my soft spots and made me tear up a few times, though it's not meant to be anything of a tearjerker.
Molly Gray is as unassuming as her name. She works as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, a dream job for her since her passion in life is cleaning up. Everything seems to be almost idyllic at the Regency Grand until one day Molly goes in to clean the suite of Charles Black, one of the hotel's richest and most important guests, only to discover him dead on the bed.
As a protagonist and the first person narrator through which we experience the story, Molly is as endearing as they come. She talks about how she's not so good at reading social cues and body language and tends to take things literally, which seems to likely put her somewhere on the spectrum. Though the story never explicitly says so, it's only all too obvious from other characters' reception of her as well as the various behavior that Molly exhibits that she's meant to be a neurodivergent character. As a neurotypical reader, I cannot speak to how authentic or accurate this portrayal of ND people is so I won't touch on that,. I understand that the author is herself neurotypical as well.
Nevertheless, I found Molly endearing in her kindness and the immense love between herself and her Gran. Molly is one of those people who want to see the world and the people in it as inherently good unless proven otherwise, and that sometimes made me feel so bad for her. I occasionally wanted to scream at her for not seeing how other characters were manipulating her, but I was always rooting for her from the beginning, and I'm usually pretty blase about protagonists in general.
The mystery itself was fairly simple. At first Charles Black's death was suspected to be of natural causes, but soon we learn that the death as well as the entire hotel itself is not quite what it seems. While Molly is our central protagonist and we experience the story through her eyes, she isn't exactly an investigator and doesn't do any active sleuthing. She isn't passive per se, but she also isn't going to be the sleuthing star of her own cozy mystery series anytime soon. The mystery is resolved by other people while Molly simply follows the instructions requested of her to usher the case to a close.
What really shines through in this book is the human relationships, both past and present, that Molly mulls about, reminisces on, or forges throughout the book. Of particular note is her relationship with her grandma, revealed to us through timely flashbacks and which brought tears to my eyes.
Thoughts on the ending: I thought the book could've ended well enough with Rodney getting arrested and then charged with the murder of Black. Everything that happened after that sent me into a tail spin.I'm really not sure how I felt about the reveal that Molly was the unwitting accomplice in essentially euthanizing her grandma. It kinda put a bit of a dent in the perfect relationship between them that I was enjoying thus far. Not so much on Molly's part but on Gran's for asking her granddaughter to do such a thing and continue living with the trauma of having committed such an action. That sounds completely out of character for such a sweet character like Gran to have asked Molly to do. And then also the final reveal that Black's Murderer was in fact his ex-wife. I didn't mind this reveal so much but I was very confused how Molly could reveal that much in a courtroom and then get away with not revealing who the figure was. At the very least I would expect the police to have to reopen investigations into the murder. And why would she withhold that information right to the end? If she was trying to protect the first Mrs Black, then why say it at all? If she wasn't, then why not volunteer that earlier? Why at that specific moment when Rodney was just about to get convicted, an outcome that I'd assume Molly would've wanted. Also, why did Giselle send her that last cheque out of nowhere? I actually expected that it had been her who murdered Black and that Molly was now blackmailing her. I was just so confused.
Overall, this was still a fun and easy read, highly recommended for anyone looking for a cozy or light hearted mystery.