The Maid by Nita Prose

 

    The Maid has received extraordinary buzz, with reviewers and critics calling it a "Clue-like locked room mystery" and a "heartwarming journey of the spirit."

    Pfui.

    The novel is about Molly, an autistic or developmentally delayed maid at a posh hotel who discovers a murdered guest and becomes embroiled in the homicide investigation. 

  It kept my interest long enough to make me obliged to finish it, but in my opinion this one's all hype and no substance. 

    First off, the elephant in the room: Molly's condition is never explained. Is she autistic, delayed, or merely socially inept? You can argue it doesn't or shouldn't matter, but as its the central tenet of her character - and rest assured, Molly is the only character that even hints at being more than caricature - it would be helpful to understand her more. Especially when some of her actions are so oblivious as to defy explanation. 

 Then there's the little fact that there is no mystery here, with the murder being so understated and secondary that it barely moves the action. Annoyingly, despite Molly professing time and again to be a fan of Columbo, we not only don't start the proceedings with the murder, the entire thing is resolved in an epilogue - and then,  in a morally ambiguous fashion. 

And is this thing set in England, America, or some weird hybrid? Characters talk of "having a cuppa" and being a "solicitor" but then others mention being an undocumented worker from Mexico, while others talk in clear American dialect. 

Worst of all, WORST OF ALL, the author set a few scenes at an Olive Garden restaurant, and I swear her knowledge of the place comes from once - and only once -seeing a commercial about it. The characters (even OG servers) routinely talk of "salad and bread" - not breadsticks! and Molly blithely orders a "large pepperoni pizza and mozzarella sticks" to take home, like it's dang Pizza Hut. 

No no no. 

If you want to read it, spare yourself regret, and at least get it from a library.