The Maid's Secret: A Maid Novel by Nita Prose

April 2025

There are moments when you finish reading a series that you love, and you exhale and smile. You know that the characters have been through a lot, but they have ended up in a better place.

We met Molly the Maid back in 2022 in Nita Prose’s first book, THE MAID, which went on to win the Anthony Award, Barry Award, Goodreads Choice Award, Macavity Award, and Ned Kelly Award. There was something about this quirky young woman that captivated readers. We went on to learn more about her in the second novel, THE MYSTERY GUEST, in 2023, and the holiday novella, THE MISTLETOE MYSTERY, last year. We knew that Molly loved her grandmother. But now, in THE MAID’S SECRET, we finally get to hear from Gran and learn about her history.

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Books Mom Will Love 2025

Mother’s Day is a time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us. To celebrate, we gave you the opportunity to win 10 books for you or the special lady in your life in our 20th annual "Books Mom Will Love" contest. Scroll down to see the five winners!

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The Far Side of the Desert by Joanne Leedom-Ackerman

Sisters Samantha and Monte Waters are vacationing together in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, enjoying a festival and planning to meet with their brother, Cal. But the idyllic plans are short-lived. When terrorists’ attacks rock the city around them, Monte, a U.S. foreign service officer, and Samantha, an international television correspondent, are separated, and one of them is whisked away in the frenzy.

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Claire Anderson-Wheeler, author of The Gatsby Gambit

Greta Gatsby, Jay's younger sister, is finally free of her dull finishing school and looking forward to an idyllic summer at the Gatsby Mansion, the jewel of West Egg. Nothing could disrupt the blissful time she has planned…except finding out that Jay’s cadre of dubious friends --- Daisy and Tom Buchanan, along with Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker --- will be summering there, too. It's hard to be noticed when the luminous Daisy Buchanan is in the room, and Jordan keeps rather too close tabs on handsome Nick Carraway for Greta’s liking. But by far the worst is Daisy’s boorish husband, Tom, whose explosive temper seems always balanced on a knife-edge. But soon, bad blood is the least of their problems, as a shocking event sets the Gatsby household reeling. Death has come to West Egg, and with it, a web of scandal, betrayal and secrets.

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Emma Pattee, author of Tilt

Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, there’s nothing to do but walk. Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and kindness: strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. If she can just make it home, she’s determined to change her life.

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Colum McCann, author of Twist

Anthony Fennell, an Irish journalist and playwright, is assigned to cover the underwater cables that carry the world’s information. The sum of human existence --- words, images, transactions, memes, voices, viruses --- travels through the tiny fiber-optic tubes. But sometimes the tubes break, at an unfathomable depth. Fennell’s journey brings him to the west coast of Africa, where he uncovers a story about the raw human labor behind the dazzling veneer of the technological world. He meets a fellow Irishman, the mysterious John Conway, who is a skilled engineer and a freediver capable of reaching extraordinary depths. When the ship is sent up the coast to repair a series of major underwater breaks, both men learn that the very cables they seek to fix carry the news that may cause their lives to unravel.

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