2024 the best fiction books review

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2023 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, Short-listed
2024 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize, Short-listed
2022 Ned Kelly Award - Best International Crime Fiction, Winner

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK “A heartwarming mystery with a lovable oddball at its center” (Real Simple), this cozy whodunit introduces a one-of-a-kind heroine who will steal your heart.

FINALIST FOR THE EDGAR AWARD “The reader comes to understand Molly’s worldview, and to sympathize with her longing to be accepted—a quest that gives The Maid real emotional heft.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

“Think Clue. Think page-turner.”—Glamour

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Reader’s Digest
WINNER: The Anthony Award, The Fingerprint Award, The Barry Award

In development as a major motion picture

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, The Guardian, Glamour, Elle, PopSugar, Newsweek, Mental Floss, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews

Reviewer: alex cordova
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Very creative
Review: Written from an interesting POV, and unique in the fact that the protagonist's goal is completely unrelated to the murder. The tense switches between past and present and nearly half the story takes place in flashback, which all tie together in the end. An interesting hybrid of romance/murder mystery.

Reviewer: RSW Kindle Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: 4 Stars
Review: This four-star thriller was a refreshingly fun read. Generally speaking, I get very annoyed by the “falsely accused” thrillers, but this one was so well done that it did not bother me at all, in fact I wholeheartedly enjoyed it.SUMMARYMolly Gray is a maid at a fancy boutique hotel. She absolutely loves her job and takes pride in doing it with meticulous excellence. Although Molly’s cleaning skills are top notch, she struggles with social skills. I think she may possibly fall on the spectrum somewhere. She tends to have trouble interpreting other peoples reactions and doesn’t seem to know what the appropriate thing is to say in many situations.One day, Molly finds one of the hotels most prominent guests dead in his hotel room. Since she was the person who found him, the police question her about the scene. Unfortunately for Molly, since she struggles with social skills and reading people, the police find some of her answers to be bazaar, suspicious and unsettling.Mollys grandmother, the one person who she can totally count on, recently passed away, leaving Molly struggling with both financial issues and having no one to confide in.Molly feels alone in the world, she has no one to turn to. Even though she had no involvement in the guests death, she finds herself getting and more entangled in the situation.WHAT I LOVEDThere is so much to love about this book. I think my favorite part of this book is Molly herself. Molly is the narrator of the book. It is all from her perspective. Hearing the situations from her unfiltered point of view with often hilarious. She misjudged many situations, which at times could be hilarious, at other times was kind of dangerous for her. I love the way she absolutely took pride in her job as a hotel made and was shocked that other people didn’t see it has the best job in the world. I loved her relationship with her grandmother. I just really loved everything about her.The plot itself was quite good. As I said earlier normally I hate “falsely accused thrillers,” but this one did not have that same feel to it.I read this book quickly because I could not put it down.WHAT I DIDN’T LOVEThere wasn’t a lot not to love, but there were a few things that I found a little odd. Not exactly real life. I don’t want to give too much away but one example has to do with the duties of an attorney. Just a few small things like that. But no big deal.OVERALLI totally wholeheartedly enjoyed this book and would be happy to read the next book written by Nita Prose.

Reviewer: Crafty Consumer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Maid in the Shade, Then the Sunshine
Review: When my sister chose Nita Prose's The Maid to read for our book club, I thought it was Maid, the novel that became a gritty TV series. Naturally, I was relieved to find out that it wasn't that book. But once I started turning the pages of Prose's debut not-quite-whodunit, my concern returned.Twenty-five-year-old Molly Gray is a maid at a fancy hotel. But she isn't a clock puncher eager to trade her Pledge for party clothes after her shift. Cleaning is Molly's life. She takes unparalleled joy in "returning rooms to a state of perfection" and maintains a rigorous home housework schedule in the tenement she shares with her grandmother. Molly and her grandmother are best friends. Actually, Gran is Molly's only friend. Her wisdom, often dispensed as aphorisms, helps Molly navigate the daily challenge of social situations as well as the sometimes not-so-nice (i.e. cruel) colleagues and guests she encounters.So it isn't easy being Molly. And it gets more difficult when she finds a dead body while cleaning the penthouse. What happens next tests everything Molly knows -- and doesn't know -- about how people work. Their characters, their motivations, and their shockingly common tendency to bend the truth. Watching her forge through the forest that is this puzzle is painful, memories of her grandmother and other past moments mingling to reveal the extent of her struggles.Prose's story isn't so much about solving a murder mystery, or even the mystery of Molly herself. It's about understanding -- and ultimately respecting -- people who are different. Because as Gran herself often says, "We're all the same in different ways." By placing Molly in a dangerous situation, Prose magnifies her otherness, rousing our sympathies. But she also shows us that Molly has the rare kind of courage that just might save the day.Poignant and human and sometimes hard to read, The Maid is a metaphor for life's messes. In the end, I was glad we read it for book club.If only as a little reminder that we're each equipped with our own kind of mop.

Reviewer: Faith 3
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: pretty good
Review: Interesting but drags through first half of book. Frustrating characters. Not crazy about main character. Eventually ends well and situations resolve. Clever ending.

Reviewer: Wendy M
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Mystery with a twist
Review: I enjoyed this mystery novel. Ms. Prose captured the voice of Molly the Maid. She is a maid at a fine hotel who discovers one of her guest dead. This novel takes you down a few twist and turns of Molly's life and her invisible life as a maid. A good read from beginning to end.

Reviewer: Great Finds
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Book was a bit smaller then traditional book size but not the size of a pocket book.But as far as the story. Amazing I loved it so much. Mystery, drama, romance. I loved it so much I read the rest of the series just waiting on the 4th book coming soon.

Reviewer: Valeria
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Todo en torno a la entrega muy bien, el paquete llegó a tiempo y bien empacado. Respecto al libro, no me encantó, siento que fue lento y predecible, sentí un poco aburrida la historia. Es para pasar el rato, si eres lector frecuente no creo que te enganche.

Reviewer: Mônica de Mattos Silva
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Very good reading. When you think you found the vilan, you are taken to another character. At the same time, a light reading.

Reviewer: LYNNE RITCHIE
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Lots of twists and turns until the last chapter. One of the best I’ve read I can usually guess the ending but not this one.

Reviewer: Anzelika Meyer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I liked a lot the integrity Molly: from the tragic childhood to her vocabulary, from her mindset to her preferences in food and clothes. A well-shaped and unusual character.As for the story, I liked that it's realistic and all the characters are kind of "people around the corner" - you can meet them in real life.In general it's a dynamic and very pleasant read