Nita Prowse’s “The Maid” is the funniest crime story of the season [RECENZJA]

Molly Gray is a maid at the 5-star Regency Grand Hotel. Dressed in a uniform, she makes her way through the corridors and rooms every day, pushing a cleaning cart in front of her. Quiet, almost imperceptible, she says: The uniform gives me freedom. This is the most perfect invisibility cloak. She herself sees much more than the dust on the tables and the fluff on the floor. He knows almost everything about the guests of the Regency Grand.

The hotel is a safe haven for Molly, a perfectly functioning beehive – and she loves it when things go according to plan. Deviations from the norm will throw her off balance. Like the case of Mr. Black – the richest guest of the Regency Grand, whom he one day finds in bed in a state of “irreparably indisposed”. The mess that this event will create in Molly’s life and in the work of all hotel staff will be difficult to clean up.

Who is the pawn and in whose game?

Nita Prowse has written a detective story in which it is by far not the criminal intrigue that comes first. At least it is not she who makes us turn the pages of the novel. There is not so much going on here again regarding the investigation.

Molly is charged with the murder of Mr. Black. After all, she is the one who best uses a wide range of things (…) ready to fight any stains, be it coffee, vomiting or even blood. A well-stocked maid’s trolley is a portable ambulance, cleaning machine on wheels. Although it would seem that the girl is the embodiment of innocence. However, it is also the embodiment of naivety, because it perceives reality a little differently than most people. Social skills are not its strongest point. Molly’s most frequently asked question is: Are you laughing at me or at me? She also finds it difficult to lie. Even less so when other hotel employees are not telling the truth.

Nita Prowse’s “The Maid” is based on a catchy idea – we solve a criminal puzzle together with a heroine with features from the autism spectrum, who does not fully recognize the emotions of others. As we know, many crimes are committed with affect … The crime comedies of EJ Copperman and Jeff Cohen from the series about Samuel Hoenig – a detective with Asperger’s syndrome are based on a similar concept.

Molly’s straightforwardness and credulity create a lot of funny situations. However, although the protagonist gets lost in the thicket of lies, she sees things that others do not pay attention to. In this way, the author of the novel offers us some leads to solve the mystery. Of course, most of them turn out to be false. And finally we let ourselves be led out of the way.

A crime story for readers with a sense of humor

“Maid” is not a detective story of the dark kind. Definitely not. Nita Prowse’s novel is somewhere between a crime novel and a moral one, with situational humor. The search for the murderer is relegated to the background in the book. Molly’s struggles with her co-workers are much more interesting. The arduous investigation into the simple truth that the world is not black and white.

But don’t get too sure when you read “Maid”. Sure you know the solution to this uncomplicated puzzle. After all, there are so few suspects. And sure you figured out the main character.

Although Nita Prowse’s novel is pure entertainment, the author managed to smuggle some interesting topics into it. One of them is the invisibility of certain social groups (e.g. staff, emigrants, people with disabilities). The second – often linked to the previous one – is economic inequality. Another: the relativity of good and bad. A similar crime committed under completely different circumstances gives rise to extremely different assessments. It’s because the motive matters.

At the end, we get an optimistic message that we are all alike, but each in our own way. So if you’re looking for a light and fun novel that packs in a package of criminal intrigue, romance and humor, check out Nita Prowse’s The Maid.

Nita Prowse, “The Maid”, Pascal Publishing House, 2022.