Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Maid

I'm not autistic, so keep that in mind while reading my review.

This writing style, this style of writing about neurodivergent/autistic people has been so overdone and to me it's nothing less than dehumanising. As other reviewers have pointed out, we're supposed to believe this takes place in the present (which I couldn't believe throughout the whole book) and still, not one character thinks "Hey maybe Molly isn't just quirky & annoying, maybe there's some autistic traits here".

I have friends who have autism, you probably have too and it serves none of us if they keep being portrayed as these quirky people who have no clue how to interact with others and seem to have completely different thought patterns — it just divides us even more.

The writing style distracted me from the whole mystery but honestly it wasn't life-changing either.

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simrankohli's review against another edition

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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

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.

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thumbeleia's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad slow-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

3.5

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kataya09's review against another edition

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2.0

I listened to this book through audible and I’m not sure I would have made it through this book if I didn’t. The main character is very two dimensional and naive at times and sharp at others, and yet still other times, completely oblivious. She only realized something when it was convenient for the plot. There were also random twists in this book that just seemed out of place due to the lack of foreshadowing or any hint of this making sense. The narration was great, the story, not so much. 3 out of 5 stars for the audio. 0.5 for the story.

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cannesi's review against another edition

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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.

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dontwritedown's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-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

5.0

Good golly Miss Molly. That was a ride of a mystery novel. A classic whodunnit that, at every chapter makes you think you know who did it, but you won't know till the literal last 5 pages of the book.

As someone who is also neuodivergent and a lover of classic Hollywood, I can also relate a lot to the story of Molly the Maid and how both of those traits are both her downfall and the thing that keeps you guessing.

Definitely worth a read!

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minibean24's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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? Yes

3.0

Loved the main character and the insight into her world view, however the plot was mediocre to me

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davidrb's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I just didn't like it. Sorry about that.

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