The Maid

This is touted as a whodunnit but to be honest, although it is, it's much more about the style of it. It's written in the first person and our hero is ... special ... as becomes increasingly clear as the book progresses and you grow to love her, despite her weirdness.

If I had a criticism, although it's only a small one, there's a final twist in the tail which I didn't think really fitted well with the rest of the narrative and it wasn't really needed, but this shouldn't distract you from what is a very fine, if rather different, novel.

I enjoyed this. It was more drama and less cerebral than I usually read, but the main character was likeable, and she had good people around her when she needed them - which is pretty much all you need, really.

I got distracted about halfway through with some research, so perhaps I enjoyed it a bit less than I would have done had read it straight through. But it was still worth reading.

3.5 rounding up. Some aspects of the plot and character development are a bit lumpy in execution, but I'm giving the author points for crafting a fast-paced mystery with an unlikely protagonist.

Wild tone vacillations, the writing style did not appeal to me. I can see what Nita Prose was trying to get with the character, but she did not do it well.

This is a wonderful and often inspiring read... full of joy, stress and tears. Truly the world is not black & white but rather a rainbow of shades, each with the capability of being good or bad. The heroine in this story reminds me of many rule-based people I have know; she is a wonderfully complex albeit naive young woman. This may be the best book I have read this year.

Was I in a bit of a reading slump whilst reading this? Yes. Is it the book's fault? Absolutely not. Did I finish it in one go when I picked it up again? Yes! Did I guess the ending? Hell no!

Poor representation of a neurodivergent character, and of course the Mexican without a work permit had to be the one caught up in a drug scheme. The entire book was filled with cliches and stereotypes. Molly had moments where she appeared to be a mastermind criminal, which is not in line with the rest of her portrayal. The entire epilogue was so frustrating and it completely changed my already negative perception of the rest of the book.

I enjoyed this debut novel by the author. One of my favorite reads for this year. I found the story interesting and I enjoyed the character, Molly, alot. I would recommend this book to mystery thrillers anywhere. Many thanks to TBC and Netgalley for allowing me to review the book