lyshbish's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A soft-hearted murder mystery that's perfect for anyone who loves Amelia Bedelia and unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Bullying
Moderate: Death, Cancer, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Deportation, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
vireogirl's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Read it in one evening. Several chuckles. Nice to see a neurodiverse character. A bit cheesy at times but there were some twists I didn’t expect and a lovely message of embracing who you are.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Torture, Abandonment, Addiction, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Physical abuse
Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, Infidelity, Alcohol, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
smsegal's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Bullying
chondritesandchondrites's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Maid is a difficult book to review. Like most mysteries, the first half of the book is set up and the second half is about revealing answers. Once I hit the midway point in this novel, I really started to enjoy it. It was fast paced, playful, and unexpected. I was incredibly invested, and had trouble putting the book down. At one point, I was crying while reading.
All this said, I nearly didn’t get to the mid point of this book. The first half I found slow and difficult to read. I felt, at times, that the author did not trust the reader as certain points were repeated with a heavy hand. Additionally, Molly’s social awkwardness plays a key role in this book, but it also feels over done to the point of caricature.
I’ve seen other readers speculating on whether Molly is autistic. There is no point in the book where Molly is identified as such, and that’s honestly a good thing. It would be a very poor representation of an autistic person.
As such— I give this book 3.5. While readers might have to weather the first half of the book, the second half is a great read and incredibly fun.
All this said, I nearly didn’t get to the mid point of this book. The first half I found slow and difficult to read. I felt, at times, that the author did not trust the reader as certain points were repeated with a heavy hand. Additionally, Molly’s social awkwardness plays a key role in this book, but it also feels over done to the point of caricature.
I’ve seen other readers speculating on whether Molly is autistic. There is no point in the book where Molly is identified as such, and that’s honestly a good thing. It would be a very poor representation of an autistic person.
As such— I give this book 3.5. While readers might have to weather the first half of the book, the second half is a great read and incredibly fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Drug abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Suicide, Drug use, Infidelity, Abandonment, Deportation, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Additional Content Warning: Assisted Suicidechaotically_katie's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Deportation, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Trafficking
kyrstin_p1989's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant is Fine a bit — the main characters being somewhat strange and therefor similar. I liked that the narrator was morally grey, because she was a bit different than other people. I also found her naivety to be quite refreshing if not a bit unbelievable. All in all, a quick read that is interesting and well-written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Classism, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
alba_marie's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This one wasn't for me. So much hype surrounded this book; I'm generally a bit suspicious of hyped-up books, and they rarely meet my expectations. This one was no different. I truly do not get why so many people wanted to read it.
The book is a "murder mystery" in a hotel in which a maid becomes implicated. The entire time though the mystery felt like it took the backseat, and a detailed account of Molly the Maid's life was the main story.
I really struggled to connect with Molly the maid throughout the whole book. This made it hard to enjoy the novel, as it was a largely character-based story rather than a proper murder mystery. Though never explicitly said, Molly is on the spectrum somewhere – probably on the higher end of the spectrum. She’s obsessed with cleanliness. She has very limited social skills – to the point of exhibiting a child-like innocence at times – doesn't do well with change, and can't read social situations or facial expressions. Sarcasm is lost on her, and she struggles to grasp the gravity of certain situations. I'm sorry to say it but her life is very simple and very boring.
She was a tough character to connect with, and spending hours upon hours in her mind was exasperating for me. I was exhausted by the end (well before the end, actually) of the book, and delighted to be out of her life. Her world is very constricted and offers little in terms of stimulation or interest. I think it'd be hard to find anyone that cares that much about cleaning!
The story itself was simple and the murder wasn't hard to work out. There was no cat and mouse chase, no hunting down the clues, no working towards understanding the victim's or suspects' secret lives, no red herrings or secret agendas or exciting chases or nail-biting moments. The detectives were 2-D, flat characters. The baddies were so obviously baddies to everyone but Molly. The end took far too long to materialise, and then the murderer was caught and there was still 1 hour left and I was like, noooo!
Anyway, I wouldn't recommend it. It was not well written, it was pretty boring, there was nothing unique or interesting or fun about it, and I just couldn't engage with Molly or her world. When I finished listening (on double speed just to get there....), it was with an enormous sigh of relief.
The book is a "murder mystery" in a hotel in which a maid becomes implicated. The entire time though the mystery felt like it took the backseat, and a detailed account of Molly the Maid's life was the main story.
I really struggled to connect with Molly the maid throughout the whole book. This made it hard to enjoy the novel, as it was a largely character-based story rather than a proper murder mystery. Though never explicitly said, Molly is on the spectrum somewhere – probably on the higher end of the spectrum. She’s obsessed with cleanliness. She has very limited social skills – to the point of exhibiting a child-like innocence at times – doesn't do well with change, and can't read social situations or facial expressions. Sarcasm is lost on her, and she struggles to grasp the gravity of certain situations. I'm sorry to say it but her life is very simple and very boring.
She was a tough character to connect with, and spending hours upon hours in her mind was exasperating for me. I was exhausted by the end (well before the end, actually) of the book, and delighted to be out of her life. Her world is very constricted and offers little in terms of stimulation or interest. I think it'd be hard to find anyone that cares that much about cleaning!
The story itself was simple and the murder wasn't hard to work out. There was no cat and mouse chase, no hunting down the clues, no working towards understanding the victim's or suspects' secret lives, no red herrings or secret agendas or exciting chases or nail-biting moments. The detectives were 2-D, flat characters. The baddies were so obviously baddies to everyone but Molly. The end took far too long to materialise, and then the murderer was caught and there was still 1 hour left and I was like, noooo!
Anyway, I wouldn't recommend it. It was not well written, it was pretty boring, there was nothing unique or interesting or fun about it, and I just couldn't engage with Molly or her world. When I finished listening (on double speed just to get there....), it was with an enormous sigh of relief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Deportation, Emotional abuse, and Classism
simrankohli's review
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Spoiler
Very rarely does an author manage to pull-off a genuinely good twist in the final chapter, in a way that doesn’t feel forced or cheap. My hat off to you, Nita. That aside, there are some major issues with the way characters act in this novel. The clearly neurodivergent protagonist’s inability to read social cues waxes and wanes to suit the plot. The villains are petty and cruel in a very obvious way, that makes the book feel like it was written at least three decades ago. The grandmother’s assisted suicide seemed very unnecessarily violent and out of place. Why a nice old lady who choose to traumatise her granddaughter during her last moments is beyond comprehension, considering the much less dramatic and painful alternatives. Also, the rich white lawyer lady swooping in mid narrative to save the bumbling autistic maid and drug mule-ed illegal Mexican immigrant left a bad taste in my mouth. Overall, a fun easy read, but with some major thematic caveats.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, and Drug abuse
maya_cole321's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Physical abuse, Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Murder
lafocareta's review
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I burned through this book in a few hours and I'm still thinking about it. Molly Gray is coded autistic, but never described as such, and it's hard, as the reader, to watch her being taken advantage of and set up without her realizing it. She loves neatness, order, cleanliness, and routines, so it stands to reason she's a really good maid, just like her Gran before her. Sadly, Gran has died, and Molly has to navigate the world alone. When a perfectly ordinary day at the hotel job she loves turns into a crime scene, Molly's dream job turns into a nightmare as she finds herself the chief murder suspect.
Whew, the ableism, folks. Molly is treated like garbage by almost everyone at the hotel, and because she doesn't pick up on social cues, she doesn't even know. That's as real as it gets. Molly's language is stilted and ornate, she overexplains, and basically everyone just thinks she's weird. People love autistic people when they're like Wednesday Adams, but the Molly Grays of the world get treated like dirt. This was hard for me to get through, but to be perfectly honest, so many of Molly's experiences mirrored my own that I felt like I was looking into an awkward, painful mirror.
If you're neurospicy and have the stomach for it, this can be a thought-provoking read. If you're neurotypical, it's going to seem like a clever conceit for telling a mystery tale. But solving the crime is actually less important than Molly finding people who understand her and care about her just the way she is, without patronizing her or treating her like a child. As a mystery, it's perfectly fine. As a character study, it's thought-provoking and will lead to good conversations about autistic representation and how it's executed, so I'm glad I picked it for my book club.
Whew, the ableism, folks. Molly is treated like garbage by almost everyone at the hotel, and because she doesn't pick up on social cues, she doesn't even know. That's as real as it gets. Molly's language is stilted and ornate, she overexplains, and basically everyone just thinks she's weird. People love autistic people when they're like Wednesday Adams, but the Molly Grays of the world get treated like dirt. This was hard for me to get through, but to be perfectly honest, so many of Molly's experiences mirrored my own that I felt like I was looking into an awkward, painful mirror.
If you're neurospicy and have the stomach for it, this can be a thought-provoking read. If you're neurotypical, it's going to seem like a clever conceit for telling a mystery tale. But solving the crime is actually less important than Molly finding people who understand her and care about her just the way she is, without patronizing her or treating her like a child. As a mystery, it's perfectly fine. As a character study, it's thought-provoking and will lead to good conversations about autistic representation and how it's executed, so I'm glad I picked it for my book club.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Ableism, and Grief
Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse