The Maid, a recent fiction book by Nita Prose, reminded me a bit of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, one of our successful discussion books.
Main character Molly has lived with her grandmother who has now passed away, and takes great pride in her job as a maid in an elegant hotel. However, she is naive and trusting and is aware that her social skills are different from others. When she finds a wealthy guest dead in his room, for example, she still goes ahead and cleans his room immediately. She then automatically becomes a suspect and must try to distinguish which hotel employees she can trust as the mystery unravels.
The plot is comfortably complex; the characters are interesting; and the ending is very welcome, as Molly of course finds support from unlikely sources and lands on her feet.
The Maid was Amazon's book of the month for January 2022, and it appears that it is already getting word-of-mouth attention.
The delight of reading The Maid lies partly in watching a hectic cast of characters unravel as the crime is properly solved. It also lies in seeing Molly learn that thinking differently does not equal giving up friendship or high standards. What begins as a sprightly murder mystery turns into a meaningful, and at times even delicate, portrait of growth.
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