In 'The Maid,' a devoted hotel cleaning lady is a prime murder suspect

In 'The Maid,' a devoted hotel cleaning lady is a prime murder suspect toggle caption Ballantine Books Devotees of cozy mysteries, rejoice: Nita Prose's debut, The Maid, satisfies on every level — from place to plot to protagonist. "I like things simple and neat," says Molly, who cleans "twenty-plus rooms" at the Regency Grand, "a five-star boutique hotel." Prose makes a wise choice in Molly's first-person narration, allowing readers to enter Molly's world, where a well-stocked maid's trolley is "a portable sanitation miracle." All of this information about Molly is important to have before the actual murder, because Molly's "trouble with social situations" will both complicate matters, and result in her eventual triumph.