Book Review: The Maid’s Secret

A review of Nita Prose’s latest installment in The Maid series, with Molly the Maid back for her best mystery yet!  

Nita Prose's latest installment in The Maid series releases on April 8!

Since we’ve highlighted every one of Nita Prose’s books in The Maid Series—The Maid, The Mystery Guest and the Christmas-themed novella, The Mistletoe Mystery—it’s clear we’re big fans here at The Bookery. Prose’s next installment, The Maid’s Secret, releases in just a few days on April 8, and, well, it might be our favorite book in the series! 

In The Maid’s Secret, Molly and her beloved fiancè, Juan, are happily planning their wedding, which is just a few weeks away at the beginning of the novel, and working at the Regency Grand, where Molly serves as head maid and head of special events, and Juan is busy as the head pastry chef in the kitchen. The book opens as the hotel staff—including all our familiar favorites such as Mr. Snow, Angela and Cheryl, who’s back to her old greedy ways—is preparing for a big event. The hosts of a popular TV show “Hidden Treasures” (think PBS’ “Antique Roadshow”) are on hand for a taping that could change someone’s life forever. 

And that someone, as it turns out, is Molly. 

Molly brings a knick knack of her Gran’s for appraisal only to discover it really is a valuable Faberge egg. Of course, the egg is stolen, setting off a mystery that delves into not only Molly’s past but also her Gran’s and Mr. Preston’s. Finally, readers get a chance to hear Gran’s story, told in her own words through diary entries written for Molly, and learn more about Molly’s elusive mother, Maggie. 

One of the things I’ve personally loved about Prose’s The Maid series is Molly. She’s likely on the autism spectrum, and it’s interesting to see how she interprets and reacts to things. Of all of the novels in the series, Molly feels the most well developed in this installment. Maybe it’s my current place in life, but I felt like I connected more with Molly in this book, and she began to feel a little less like a character and more like a person I knew and understood slightly better. 

But the real power of this novel is the flashbacks that reveal Flora Gray’s, Molly’s gran, story. We learn that Gran wasn’t always the thrifty, commonsense maid who worked for everything she had, but a privileged young woman of means. We learn where so many of Gran’s catchphrases came from, like “A tissue for your issue,” and get to see the series and its characters from a whole new point of view. Gran’s history is recounted through diary entries that are beautifully written and infuse the novel with Gran’s warmth and love. 

While I love all of the novels in Nita Prose’s series, The Maid’s Secret is my favorite. Molly is such an interesting character, but she’s always appeared a little two-dimensional to me, and Prose achieved a new depth and perspective in her portrayal in this book. The plot is tightly paced, maybe a little better than in other novels in the series, and the mystery is captivating. I actually stayed up late to finish the book “on a school night,” because I wanted to see if the pieces all fit together the way I thought they would. 

The Bookery Rating: 📙📙📙📙📙

The Maid’s Secret is the best installment in Nita Prose’s The Maid series yet! 

The Maid’s Secret releases on April 8! Get your copy. 

As an Amazon Associate, The Bookery earns from qualified purchases.