Throughout this novel and its predecessor, Prose vividly depicts working people stuck in tight places with no easy exits ... Isn’t as intricately plotted as its superb predecessor, but Prose scatters enough revelations throughout this tale to keep tension on a moderate setting. Besides, the characters of Molly and her beloved Gran, women who are overlooked because of the kind of work they do, are the overwhelming draw of the Maid Novels. In this affecting and socially pointed mystery series, invisibility becomes the superpower of the pink-collared proletariat.
Takes readers into Molly's childhood and fills in the backstory — some of it painful — of her grandmother's life. Like Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, who's rendered invisible because she's an old woman, Molly and her grandmother are not seen because of the kind of work they do. In this affecting and socially-pointed mystery series, however, invisibility becomes the superpower of the pink-collar proletariat.
A delightful sophomore novel that showcases how Molly has changed since the first entry in the series: She’s as sharp and honest as ever but has grown into her roles of head maid and girlfriend ... Molly’s a singular character—she’s intelligent, unfailingly honest and the epitome of a professional maid—and readers will enjoy checking in to the Regency Grand to follow her and her exploits.
It's a treat to delve into an addled mind, particularly one as witty as Bouillier's. Part of the joy is the mix of cantankerous musings--was his ex's true reason for calling to turn him into 'a sentimental curiosity and a stuffed monkey and a dwarf to be tossed as far as possible'?--and highbrow references, from Charles Baudelaire and Friedrich Hölderlin to Humbert Humbert and Mrs. Dalloway. Bouillier also explores the general concept of a mystery guest, an outsider who is not always welcomed by others. It all works beautifully in this imaginative work.
