January 2022

In Nita Prose’s debut novel, THE MAID, Molly Gray is a socially challenged hotel maid who prides herself on delivering top service to the guests at the Regency Grand Hotel. One day, she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black and finds him dead in his bed. All fingers point to Molly as the killer, so she works to unravel the mystery of what happened to Mr. Black to free herself as a suspect. Molly’s life has been shaped by the words of her Gran, who died a few months ago. She approaches each seemingly insurmountable task by sharing what her Gran would have said to do.

The book is brisk and fun! It’s both a locked-room mystery with many possible villains and a look at a young woman navigating her way, finding out who to trust along the way. It also has an upstairs/downstairs theme as we go behind the doors where the maids and other hotel staff store their vacuum cleaners and feather dusters. Reading it, you will think twice about how you leave your hotel room when you are out for the day!

Book clubs, this will be a fun one to dive into. And if you are curious about where Nita got her inspiration for THE MAID, you can watch my interview with her here.