The Maid, published in 2022, is part mystery and part literary fiction (I think). The story takes place in a big city. However, unless I’m mistaken, the specific city is never mentioned. Let me know in the comments if I missed something. Regardless, the true setting of The Maid is the Regency Grand Hotel where Molly Gray works as -- you guessed it – a maid.
Molly, who is twenty-five years old and socially awkward, was raised by her Gran, who has recently passed away. Molly has a hard time reading body language, and Gran was always there to help her. Not any longer, though. Molly really struggles without Gran.
Molly, however, loves being a maid. She likes things to be simple and neat and pinches herself every day at the thought that she is privileged enough to work at the Regency Grand. Her maid’s uniform gives her confidence and feels like the ultimate invisibility cloak. The hotel itself turns Molly’s bland world (especially now that Gran is gone) technicolor bright.
Then one day, Molly finds a VIP guest dead in his room. The thing about Molly is that she has very few friends and trusts people she shouldn’t. She protects people at the expense of her own well-being and eventually is arrested for the murder. Molly’s arrest is partly due to her being set up by one of her so-called friends and partly due to her awkward demeanor, which annoys the police. In the end, though, Molly gets help from her true friends while the bad guys get their comeuppance.
I really enjoyed Molly’s story. Although she’s awkward, she is someone I rooted for. I was angry at the people who took advantage of her and loved the people who helped her. There was a bit of cliff-hanger regarding Molly’s grandfather, whom she never knew. And although I would have liked to have my suspicions confirmed, Molly had no such suspicions. Her happiness was what mattered, and she was happy in the end.
Comments
Post a Comment