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madamenovelist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Physical abuse
The heroine has overt autistic traits (and possibly OCD traits? it’s unclear what the author’s intent was) but the manner in which her neurodivergence is handled was vaguely… flat. Like a caricature rather than a real person. I’m not sure if the author had a sensitivity reader/discussed what it’s like to be autistic with actual autistic people. Fantastic premise that would have made 5 stars if neurodivergence was handled with better care.misskitty14's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Many murder mysteries are helmed by a neurodivergent detective (Holmes, Poirot, Monk), but most of them rarely get into how their mind works and even fewer acknowledge the challenges faced by these characters' disability (their attention to detail is simply a superpower). The main character of the novel, Molly Gray, is neurodivergent but this does not make her a superhuman detective. Instead, the reader comes to realize how much Molly doesn't see or understand because of the way her mind works. It can be frustrating at times to watch as she trusts the wrong people and misunderstands situations that are very obvious to the rest of us. I've heard many people with neurodiversity discuss how they hate that their disability is oftentimes represented as a superpower rather than an actual disability (comedian Fern Brady has a whole stand-up about it). Overall, I found this aspect of the novel to be incredibly educational and led to increased empathy on my part.
The reason I don't give this book 5 stars is because of the ending. Prose fell into the classic murder mystery trope of keeping valuable information from the reader.From the beginning our main character knows who killed Mr. Black (it isn't anyone ever put on our radar) but never tells anyone or discusses it in her own mind. Before I got to the end of the novel, I thought I figured out the answer, which seemed very obvious from the beginning, but I was impressed by how the pieces had come together. Instead, like all other murder mystery authors before her, Prose decides to justify a left-field answer by withholding information from the reader, information that should be known to us since we are inside Molly's head.
The reason I don't give this book 5 stars is because of the ending. Prose fell into the classic murder mystery trope of keeping valuable information from the reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Classism
mercy killingchondritesandchondrites's review against another edition
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, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Murder, Abandonment, and Deportation
Additional Content Warning: Assisted Suicidechaotically_katie's review against another edition
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: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Deportation
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
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: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
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, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Minor: Emotional abuse, Classism, and Deportation
rebeccamm's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
2.5
If this hadn't been such a quick read, or a whodunit, I would have abandoned this book early on. The main character clearly seems neurodivergent, but the author doesn't share that identity - AND - her differences are frequently exploited by other characters. Not a favorite.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse
cannesi's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
I do agree with a majority of the comments below... The first half of the book dragged on and even toward the end it felt like the same message/cliché being repeated over and over again. I can understand Molly being neurodivergent and would agree with those who mention the autism spectrum, however, I do not believe this was something worth badgering on about throughout the entirety of the book. We, the readers, can see that she is, as the author would put it, "different"; it reflects in her actions and I felt the author spent too much time putting it into words. That being said, I enjoyed listening to this book and found the ending to be slightly shocking in the best way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Racism, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Grief
Minor: Deportation
jackieyvette's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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? N/A
4.25
This book was circulating at the library a lot this summer and after it died down I decided to see what the hype was about and I was very happy with this book. I’m not partial to mysteries usually other than an Agatha Christie novel here and there, but I loved this type of mystery. The Molly Gray character was very interesting and lovable and I wish I could read about her again and again. The people she surrounded herself weren’t always the best kind of people, but the way she sees them makes me not care because I just want to hear her point of view more and more.
The mystery itself was good a little twist that I didn’t figure out so that was fun as I usually feel in mystery novels I figure out the ending half way through.
Crying score: I got watery eyed for Molly, but right after she would make me smile.
The mystery itself was good a little twist that I didn’t figure out so that was fun as I usually feel in mystery novels I figure out the ending half way through.
Crying score: I got watery eyed for Molly, but right after she would make me smile.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
blackcatkai's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
CW: drug trafficking/use, violence, blood/injury, death, ableism, gaslighting, cancer/illness
I loved this so much, I devoured all in a day, completely unintentionally. once I started I just couldn't stop. I love molly and I got so angry at all those around her treating her poorly and taking advantage of her. her character reads as possibly autistic, and even though it's not explicitly stated, I'm sure it's intentional.
I will absolutely be picking up more from Nita Prose in the future, I had a blast with this one!
I loved this so much, I devoured all in a day, completely unintentionally. once I started I just couldn't stop. I love molly and I got so angry at all those around her treating her poorly and taking advantage of her. her character reads as possibly autistic, and even though it's not explicitly stated, I'm sure it's intentional.
I will absolutely be picking up more from Nita Prose in the future, I had a blast with this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail