Housekeeping! Quite Literally
We mean it in both senses of the word: a review of Nita Prose's debut novel The Maid and housekeeping from the Library
“I am your maid.”
Hello friend.
I like to go on a staycation every year, usually for countdown. Last year was no different, and I had a lovely break with my fiancé! But whenever I’m staying in a hotel, I’m always worried that we’ve left too big of a mess for housekeeping. I don’t mean that we leave anything disgusting behind, I’m just worried that the unkept bed and used towels are too much. (But since I’ve never been charged extra for housekeeping, I think it’s safe to say that I’m an alright hotel guest.)
In Nita Prose’s debut novel The Maid, Molly Maid (yes that is her actual name) spends her days hustling away at Regency Grand Hotel. “Charmingly eccentric”, she takes immense pride in her job and works extremely hard, even to the point of working the day after her only family member, her grandmother, has passed. However, when Molly chances upon the dead body of one of the hotel’s VIP guests, she is quickly investigated for murder and has to prove her innocence, even though everyone is convinced she did it.
The Maid was a chance buy for me; I was making my way to the bookstore for the second time that day to buy another book when I happened to see it in the shop window. And I was so enticed by the blurb that I ended up buying two books instead of one. I found out after I left that the book was actually released that same day!
The book is marketed as a mystery, but it's light on any of the investigative elements; the focus is more on Molly trying to prove her innocence rather than figuring out who the real killer is. I finished the story within two hours of starting it because I was so intrigued by how Molly was going to come out victorious (and also because I really wanted to figure out who the killer was).
It’s a pity the reveal at the end was a bit deux ex machina. While it wasn’t entirely unexpected, I don’t think there were enough clues to suggest who the killer was. It would have been more satisfying had it been more developed, same for some of the other reveals within the novel. There were parts that felt rather shoehorned in, but I think even just changing the order of them would have helped them land better.
Something that really struck me about The Maid was that Molly definitely comes across as neurodivergent. She’s frequently described to be unable to read cues and the way she behaves leads to other hotel staff to bully her. But she’s never given any particular sort of label and instead is just described as “special”. In some ways, Molly reminds me of Eleanor from Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine; the characters give off extremely similar vibes.
Personally, I think that Prose should have just fully leaned into having an autistic main character and maybe invested in sensitivity readers if she was worried about how it may come off. The groundwork is already there and it’s always great to see representation for ND characters.
The Maid is a lighthearted read and one for fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Even if I didn’t feel like the book was perfect, it’s still definitely worth a read.
Rating: 3.5/5
Housekeeping
Your inboxes should have announced this change on my behalf—and hopefully I haven’t been sent to the dark depths of your junk folder—but ICYMI, the newsletter has been renamed to Library of Io.
Towards the end of last year, I’ve started thinking about ways to improve upon the newsletter: ranging from rebranding to migrating it to a different platform entirely.
Originally, The Reader Who Came in from the Heat was a homage to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré, and a nod to my well-documented love for mystery and thriller novels, plus the country where I reside. However, I’ve never actually read a John le Carré novel, though not for lack of trying! And ultimately, that made the title feel a little inauthentic.
Also the title was way too long to be put into an URL and the condensed version heatybookreviews didn't work in the way I wanted it to.
Library of Io is a title I feel encapsulates more of what we talk about here, plus it also gives me room to grow if I wanted to expand on this newsletter in any way. I also don’t think it’s too far of a leap from my socials (@distanceofio on Twitter and Instagram), where I document my personal writings and reading habits.
I’m still exploring what it would mean to move the newsletter elsewhere, although I can’t say for sure it’s an idea I’m entirely married to. My main reasons for migrating would ultimately be because I want more control over the aesthetics of the Library and to have a custom domain. At this time, I think the Library is not quite ready for such changes, but it’s definitely something we can consider later on.
I hope you had a good new year and that you’re staying safe wherever you are!