Discussing The Maid by Nita Prose: Ending and Other Spoilers
Let’s talk about the ending and other key twists from The Maid by Nita Prose.
Welcome to the spoiler discussion for The Maid! If you’re looking for a spoiler-free review, check out mine here. For book clubs looking for discussion questions, you can find that here.
I really enjoyed The Maid! I thought it was quite charming in many ways, which is not how you typically describe a murder mystery. I rooted for Molly throughout her journey and I really enjoyed her character development.
Overall, it’s a clever and entertaining read. Like all murder mysteries, this one features quite a few twists. And they were surprising!
First, a quick synopsis: Molly Gray is a maid at a five-star hotel. She has trouble interpreting the intentions of others and struggles in social settings. But she takes great pride in her work. Molly’s life is upended the day she enters the suite where she finds a famous guest is dead. Molly’s unusual demeanor results in her becoming the lead suspect. She’ll eventually work with a cast of characters to help clear her name.
The Big Reveals
Spoilers from here on out!
It initially appears that the mystery is fairly cut-and-dried. Rodney, the head bartender, ran a drug cartel at the hotel. He murdered Mr. Black. Case close.
But it wasn’t.
It turns out while Rodney is a very bad dude, he did not actually kill Mr. Black. It was Mr. Black’s first wife, the original Mrs. Black. I have to say, I was very surprised by this reveal! I had assumed it was Rodney all along.
I did reread a couple sections and the author does give hints that Molly knows more than what she’s letting on—to both the police and the reader.
For instance, toward the end, when Detective Stark clears Molly of all charges and says Rodney will go to jail for a long time, Molly says: “That seems appropriate. He’s a liar, an abuser, and a cheat.”
“He’s also a murderer,” Mr. Preston adds.
I say nothing.
On my initial read, I didn’t put much stock in that. But now, I can see she clearly knew Rodney did not commit the murder and also did not volunteer that information.
And when rereading Molly’s time on the stand, she never explicitly says she saw Rodney but implies it in a somewhat discreet way. Molly claims she simply told her version of the truth and how people interpret it, is up to them. But I think she knew what she was doing.
Molly and Gran
I truly enjoyed the dynamic and relationship between Molly and her gran. It was so sweet and lovely—well to a certain point in the book. I will say, Molly’s actions revealed at the end kind of clouded it for me a bit.
Gran’s pain became absolutely unbearable and they didn’t have the money to keep up with the pain prescriptions as needed or more hospital stays. So gran asked Molly to, I don’t know how else to say it, assist with her death. Molly put the remaining pills in her tea and then used gran’s pillow to suffocate her.
Again, this was gran’s idea and she pushed Molly to do it. But agh, that whole ordeal left me with a weird feeling!
A strange story choice, in my opinion. I get that this action helped with her eventual connection to Mrs. Black. But I don’t know, it was way out of left field for me. What are your thoughts about it?
The Ending
Mr. Black was a cheater, abuser and a criminal so no one was sad to see him gone. What happened the day of his murder is that Mrs. Black went to confront him and Mr. Black was pretty much drugged out but still managed to grab her by the wrists so hard that she would get bruises.
He eventually stumbled into bed and laid down. And that’s when Mrs. Black suffocated him with the pillow.
Upon this reveal, she says to Molly, “In my experience, there are times when a good person must do something that’s not quite right, but it’s still the right thing to do.”
This resonated with Molly as gran asked her to assist with her death, and while it was a horrible thing to ask, Molly felt it was the right thing to do for gran in the end. Molly says to herself, “mercy takes unexpected forms.”
Between that and the acknowledgement that many bad people seem to go free while they continue to hurt good people, Molly decided not to report that Mrs. Black was the actual murderer.
Tell Me Your Thoughts
I thought the twists was interesting—both the fact that Mrs. Black was the real murderer and that Molly knew all along. It showed Molly was more perceptive than she let on.
But still a bit strange regarding Molly’s actions with her gran’s death. And that’s one reason she bonded with Mrs. Black. It’s certainly a twist but an odd one at that.
One more item to point out that it seems Mr. Preston is actually Molly’s grandfather! I wonder why that was only heavily implied but Molly did not seem aware of it. Maybe a sequel is in store?
Still, I did very much enjoy the story, even if a couple parts were a little clunky.
What are your thoughts about the novel? Were you surprised by the twists? What do you hope to see in the movie version? Let me know below!
About the Author
I just finished “The Maid” last night. I couldn’t even go to bed until I had finished. I am a prolific reader and have read every night before bed my entire life. I am a retired Elementary School Principal and have always tried to teach my students to be lifelong readers. It was a fabulous book. Having a son who was on the autism spectrum, but very well spoken and articulate I could see how some of Molly’s behaviors and her innocent take on reality could be misconstrued to others. My son graduated college and lives independently. His take on reality and his inability to read nuances or facial cues has always been something I have tried to teach him to do. He has never been able to understand if something is literal or not. Everything is literal to him. I was captivated by Molly. I have to say that the two twists at the end were surprising. The serenity prayer and Gram was a little hard for me. I live with my 90 year old Mom and have been talking about the book constantly, but after that chapter I am not sure if she could handle that part. Very interesting take. The end with her helping Giselle was perfect. I wondered if Preston was, in fact, Molly’s Grandfather but I couldn’t feature that he wouldn’t have stayer with her. Then the part with Ms. Black the first wife was a twist and I tried to see if I was missing something. Part of me thinks the first Ms. Black was there, part of me thinks it was Molly with the pillow. I plan to read back through to be sure and see if I missed something. Excellent book and I can’t wait to read more of your work. I couldn’t believe that it was her first novel. Thanks for the review and it was a fabulous read.
@Lynn Leaders, Hi Lynn! Thank you for your thoughtful comment and sharing a bit of your story as well. Very nice to meet you! I’m really glad to hear the novel resonated with you. I also agree that the twist with Gram was hard to read—I love the novel but I wish that was handled in a different way. And what an interesting point about whether it truly was Mrs. Black or was it Molly with the pillow…I took away that it was Mrs. Black but I’ll have to reread it!
I read this book in one day! Could not put it down! I’m still considering the ending, though. It occurred to me that Molly may have killed Mr. Black (which doesn’t make me love her any less!) My thoughts…when Mr. Preston says in addition to Rodney being a liar, an abuser and a cheat, he is also a murderer, Molly chooses to say nothing. Is she protecting the first Mrs. Black? Getting revenge on Rodney? Maybe; or is she protecting herself? Also, Mr. Black and Gran die in interestingly similar ways. Both, weakened by drugs/medication, are then suffocated. Coincidence? Maybe; but Molly is the common denominator in each case. The book seems to be clear that Rodney is the murderer of Mr. Black, as do most of the reviews/comments I’ve read. But still…
@Janice T, Oh gosh, that is so interesting!! I did wonder why there was such a focus on how Mr. Black and Gran did die in similar ways. I took it that Molly felt a somewhat kinship with Mrs. Black (who I had assumed murdered Mr. Black) but now I do wonder if it was actually Molly in the end. I’m going to have to re-read that section now! What a great book.
Why did Molly say that the reflection of Mrs Black in the mirror reminded her of herself and her Gran… it made me think that Mrs Black was her mum. But Gran had cried because Molly’s mum had died, so that bit was unclear to me and I wanted a little more clarification.
@Kristin, Oh wow, that would be an interesting twist if Mrs. Black was indeed her mother!
I do think this section was a bit confusing overall. My interpretation was that Molly felt a kinship with Mrs. Black as she used a pillow as well (as per Gran’s request). It’s bizarre though and I would be curious if the author will give more insight into this once the book has been out long enough. Or maybe the film version will make it more clear.
@Kristin, I also think that Mrs. Black is Molly’s mom
@Heather, I think the intention of that ending with Gran was to convince how Molly came to accept, when coming across Mrs. Black, her point about ‘doing the wrong thing but for the right reasons’. In Molly’s case, her Gran had her reasons and wanted this ending. Molly while hesitant wanted to respect that. The original Mrs. Black also engaged in murder which, by all accounts is an unjustifiable act, but she also had her principles and conviction which led to that act. It was through her experience with Gran that helped Molly sympathize with Mrs. Black’s act on such a profound level that she went as far as to risk her arrest to keep the secret.
The minute I read the chapter about Gran’s death I put all my suspicions onto Molly. I thought she had experience of justifying a death, in this case to rid her friend of the abusive husband. The first Mrs. Black was a surprise and great twist.
@Janis, I thought the same! And I wouldn’t have faulted her for it. But I am glad it wasn’t her haha.
I love a good mystery! I’m not sure this qualifies, but it was interesting. There is real struggle with writing from a character’s point of view, if it’s not your own. I don’t know if the author is neuro divergent, but I suspect not.
My thoughts about presenting a specific disability/difference/etc is that the author can make it what they want it to be. Monk? Didn’t have OCD, he was just particular. People who are deaf don’t always speak while signing (neither do their companions translate aloud).
I can’t help but think that Molly’s secrets and the things she tells people are awfully convenient. And she freezes or faints under strain. She doesn’t pace, hit herself, pull hair, scream, or anything “unattractive”.
Yeah, perfect neuro divergent Molly the Maid.
The thing that just doesn’t make sense to me is that Mr. Preston didn’t reunite with Molly’s Grandmother after her family had disowned her. The only reason they broke up in the first place was because her family objected to the match. So with the family no longer in the picture, and Gran pregnant with Mr. Preston’s baby, why not get married? I realize that’s not central to the story but it’s the one thing about the novel that really irritated me. On the positive side, it inspired me to clean my house!
@Donna, I didn’t think that Molly was Mr Preston’s baby? It got a little confusing while reading that part.
I too thought it was Molly after reading what she did to her grandmother, and both died of asphyxiation, seeing both actions as “good”. Firstly, her grandmother knew her cancer was incurable, that she didn’t have much time left and was in so much pain, the pills , presumably Morphine, were no longer enough, hence the pain Molly witnessed her gran to be in. Gran did not want to die in hospital but in her own home, and told Molly to do it although Molly did not want to go through with it, she loved her gran and honoured her promise for her gran’s sake. Hence, it was a “mercy killing”. Secondly, Mr Black was “a bad egg”. He abused both wives, Molly seeing the bruises on the second Mrs Black. I thought she was trying to help her by stopping the beatings.
Mr Black portrayed as a mean, angry man who left his first wife and daughter with essentially no inheritance, was softened, in my opinion, by leaving his second wife the villa in the Cayman Islands. She did love him and I think he did love her, in his own way. It does not excuse the beatings though, but death? That was caused by betrayal [being left for a younger 2nd wife] and over money for the daughter. There is so much going on in this book that makes people think. Good books do that, and opinions may change, even mine perhaps on further analysis.
The book was injected at times with a humour that made me laugh out loud, she has a rare insight into people’s behaviour. Lastly, she showed that people within the autism range can be highly intelligent. What a person lacks in one area can be enhanced in other ways ie sight and hearing. Overall, a good book.
Molly sees the world in black and white and has trouble interpreting the shades in between. Are the surnames of the victim and the accused of any significance?
@Paula Barton, Oh I bet it does for sure. Thanks for your bringing that up – I can see the connection.
I just finished this book too! I do wonder if (the first) Mrs. Black was never even there for the murder. I suspect it was only ever Molly, just like it was only her with her Grandma at her deathbed. And just like she hid the truth of what she did to her Grandma from us readers, she can easily twist the truth to claim it was Mrs. Black using the newspaper articles about their marriage / inheritance drama to mislead us. She always stressed how much she hates cheaters and “bad eggs,” so I think it was Molly alone who killed Mr. Black, and she’s misleading us in the story she narrates just as much as she does with the police and her friends.
I believe the fact she can only enter her Grandma’s room after she’s cleared of Mr. Black’s murder confirms this. Seeing “the good” that comes from his murder, confirms her belief that bad deeds sometimes have to be done for the greater good. When she sees this come true for Mr. Black’s murder, she can then face what she did to her own Grandma.
@Mary, Ooo very interesting perspective! I didn’t consider it but now I see how that narrative would fit as well. I couldn’t get over the fact Molly killed Gran, even if Gran asked her to do so. I’m going to see if the author has talked about this story choice in any interviews. Thanks for your comment!
Thanks for your insights on the Maid, which I agree with. What I would add about the ending is that as well as Molly ending her Gran’s life feeling weird to me also, that this was a justification for Molly not revealing the truth about the murderer! Mr. Black may have been a terrible person but that doesn’t mean the murderer should not be brought to justice. The truth is the truth. Molly conflating her ending her Gran’s life with her reason for not revealing the murderer I found bizarre and disturbing and turned me off the book to be honest.
@Steve Brett, hi, thanks for your comment! I think it was a bizarre story choice too. I need to do some research to see if the author has spoken about why she made that choice. I think there could have been several different ways to have a similar ending without it resorting to Molly ending Gran’s life.
I liked the book very much. I want to re-read the last chapter.
I like the way you explained it all. I am thinking she also knew who the real killer was, but was not going to turn her in because in reality, Molly was a murderer herself, as she aided in her grans death. She killed her, be it right or wrong.
She didn’t tell anyone that Rodney didn’t kill Mr Black, she said nothing I’m thinking because she knew he was a bad egg anyway.
I didn’t see the ending either. Then Molly ended up with Juan Manuel as her BF.
I also picked up that Sunshine’s son that got the job in the hotel as another maid was gay, and that didn’t seem to bother Molly at all.
I was happy they both got thier jobs back. It was a nice story and a good easy read. I did enjoy it.
@Adrastos, hi, thanks for your comment! I agree with your perspective as well regarding why Molly didn’t reveal the truth about who killed Mr. Black. The author wrote a sequel, The Mystery Guest, which is also entertaining! It features flashbacks to Gran and a younger Molly. I quite liked it a lot too so definitely check out if you’re looking to read more about Molly and company.
I am still not clear on if Mr Preston was indeed Molly grandfather, that part was not very clear. I did re-read many parts over and over to see if I was interperting it in a way that was wrong, but to no avail, I still couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
As for Mrs Black suffocating Mr Black with the pillow and Molly comparing both her and Mrs Blacks actions as both of them used a pillow in…
I am a little disturbed that Molly did infact, suffocate her Gran. While we know that was the Grans idea, I am a little disturbed that Milly did as her Gran wished. We know it was what the Gran wanted, but still, it is murder and that is illegal. As for the medical examiner not finding out that she was indeed suffocated leaves something to be discovered because in this day and age, the suffocation would have of been discovered.
I enjoyed the book, but many a parts are not really clear, so the reader has to e-read a few parts a few times.
@adrastos, hi, thanks for your comment! Yes, I agree the author left it somewhat ambiguous in the first novel regarding Mr. Preston’s true relations to Molly. This is addressed further in the sequel, The Mystery Guest. So if you liked The Maid, I encourage you to check it out as it goes into Gran’s history in more detail as well as more about Mr. Preston.
Yes, I agree regarding Molly, the pillow and Gran. I truly enjoyed the book but that story choice did not sit well with me and I wish the author would have made a different narrative choice. In the end, it was murder and that fact being glossed over, was bizarre to me. I had to reread it to be sure that’s in fact what happened.
Why is Molly not charged for stealing Mr. Black’s ring?
I’m years late on this conversation, but I just read the book. I just can’t let go my unease about Rodney being convicted of the murder. He did enough terrible things that are known and true for him to be convicted and go away for a long time, that’s justice. It’s not justice for him also to be framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Why couldn’t it have just been left that there’s not enough concrete evidence for him to be convicted of murder but he got all the other counts and goes away for a very long time. Also, Rodney was a teen runaway and lived in countless different addresses and fell into bad behavior. He was also used and abused by Mr. Black. I get Rodney is a bad dude and only cares about himself, I’m not saying I like him, but why does he get no empathy for being in pretty much same situation as many other characters as far as being a runaway, trying to find his way in life, making bad choices–similar to Molly’s mom.
I hated this book, I’m an avid Thriller book seeker but this book was boring and slow I was able to know the outcome at the beginning but kept reading because my anxiety won’t allow me to leave things unfinished, skipped a lot of pages because I felt like a lot of information was unnecessary, I’m glad it was a short book.