The Maid

This is another popular book that I had on library reserve for some time and seems to have had a huge following so it has received multiple reviews and I doubt I can add any new insights.
 
Molly is 25, a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. She’s obviously different or “on the spectrum”, with all that entails. She loves her cleaning job, to the point of obsession, is polite and quaintly-spoken, using language that belongs to an earlier generation which may be explained by having been brought up by her recently-deceased Gran who may have been English, going by the amount of tea-drinking that is mentioned and some of the terms she uses, e.g. referring to folk as “good” or “bad eggs”.
 
As Molly has problems with subtlety or hidden meanings behind what people say, she is too trusting. Some of her co-workers laugh at her, but others appreciate her difference and look out of her, especially Mr Preston who is the doorman. Molly has already had one disastrous relationship with a man, and it seems she could be headed for more trouble when she turns her sights on Rodney, the slick barman.
 
After Molly finds business tycoon, Mr Black, dead in his bed, a police investigation begins as to whether he died of natural causes or was murdered. Molly has already developed an unusual friendship with his second trophy wife, Giselle, who was badly treated by Black. As the mystery builds, we can see – even if Molly can’t - that there are nefarious dealings involving Rodney, her snarly supervisor Cheryl and the hotel’s Mexican immigrant dishwasher, Juan.
 
For the most part, I enjoyed this tale but I felt that the improvement in Molly’s intellectual capabilities towards the end didn’t quite ring true as to what someone in her situation might achieve. The earlier grittiness of the plot also deteriorated into a saccharine cosiness with a couple of twists that stumbled rather than surprised.
 
Three-and-a-half stars.
 
 
amazon.com
 
amazon.co.uk
 
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