Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher & can confirm all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Molly the Maid is unlike everyone else. She spends her days happily cleaning up after the visitors to The Regency Hotel, ensuring no speck of dust is left uncleaned, so when she finds one of the hotel’s regular guests dead in his bed she is understandably shocked, even more so when the Police decide she is a suspect. Before long Molly will realise that not everyone is who she thought they were, and she will have to work together with her new group of friends if she is to find the real killer and ensure her innocence.

Molly was such a brilliant pov to read this story from. As an unreliable narrator, were never quite sure who we can trust throughout the book, who has Molly’s best interests at heart, and who is using her. Her view of the world, and the people who inherit it is a little different from most people, some would say her social skills are lacking, especially with how she reacts to the death of Mr Black but Molly simply wants to do her job to the best of her ability and doesn’t think a little death should get in the way of that. You can’t help but empathise with her as a character, her outlook in life makes the story humorous, heartwarming and incredibly sad in parts, and through her you will find characters that you love and some that you absolutely hate.

The murder mystery style tale of this story was incredibly well done, we have a multitude of suspects that pop up throughout the book, but thanks to Molly being an unreliable narrator were never sure whether we can trust what she is relaying to us. Though I did find a lot of it predictable in ways, this never took away from my enjoyment of the book, mainly because we see everything through Molly’s eyes and, although we might know what’s going on, Molly has no idea the depth of depravity that is happening within her hotel, which make for some entertaining if not infuriating scenes.

This was a kind of ‘warm hug in a book’ kind of read. There’s no real depth to it in any way, but it manages to be light and entertaining while still giving us plenty of things to think about. Molly is a character I couldn’t help but fall in love with, and desperately wanted to make sure she got her happy ending. I do feel like the ending was a little too easy but, like I said, this is more a cozy mystery than a thriller and I can’t say I wasn’t glad it ended the way it did. This is a perfect easy read for those who want a break from the dark and depraved thrillers that are out there, Molly is a fantastic character and reading this story from her POV absolutely made me fall in love with this story.