Brown Baggers book club met Thursday, June 15 at Central Library to discuss The Maid by Nita Prose. This has been a popular book with wide appeal. Mystery readers will find instant appeal in the mysterious murder, and those who generally don’t love mysteries will gravitate toward the heartwarming characters, especially Molly, the main character, who is bound to make all readers smile.
To begin our discussion, we wanted to decipher: where is this novel located? The setting is generically “city”; the only defining features being an opulent hotel, a noticeable wealth divide (as evidenced by Molly’s very humble not-up-to-code apartment building), and a chain restaurant (Molly’s beloved Olive Garden). There are quite a few distinctly British phrases in the book, such as “cuppa” and “crumpets,” which had us hypothesizing London. But then, an observant member of the group mentioned the use of “dollars” (not pounds). Plus, there are no Olive Garden franchise locations in the UK! So, a completely anglophilic New York neighborhood? Ultimately, we settled on Canada.
Speaking of setting, we found Molly’s apartment to be perfectly described. We could picture it completely. In fact, we could access it using all of our senses. So much so that we determined this would make a great play. Molly’s apartment, the hotel lobby, and the Olive Garden – a complete setting!
The characters are another highlight of this book. Molly elicited so much empathy from us as readers; the mocking, ridiculing, and feeling of outcast against her was subtle but sharp, and we felt relief when she found steadfast support in people like Charlotte and Mr. Preston. Those two were rock-solid, tough as nails, gentle as lambs – all around perfect. It’s comforting to have characters you can trust completely when you’re reading a mystery.
At its baseline a “rich family murder story,” the novel is one of those stories that provides a safe feeling right from the get-go, and you know all the way through that ultimately everything will be well and okay. At the ending of the book, one reader’s reaction was “I just read a rom-com!” We were in agreement with the marketing language that this book: “reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.” If you’re looking for a character-driven mystery novel with plenty of heart, this book is for you. Don’t miss Prose’s next book, in which Molly’s story continues! The Mystery Guest will hit shelves in November 2023.
Related reads mentioned in the meeting:
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
Murder on Bedford Street by Victoria Thompson
You might also like:
Pretty as a Picture by Elizabeth Little
The Color of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah Harris
Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
The Body in the Garden by Katharine Schellman
Upcoming titles:
July 20 – Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
August 17 – Horse by Geraldine Brooks
September 21 – Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
October 19 – Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
November 16 – Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell