Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! In a spoiler free setting, as always, we are going to be discussing a book that simply delighted me from start to finish: The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose. This is the third installment in The Maid series and if you are like me, you fell head over heels for the unlikely heroine, Molly, and a cast of supporting characters that can’t be beat. Like its predecessors, The Maid’s Secret welcomes us back to the Regency Grand Hotel for Molly the Maid’s biggest mystery yet. Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on The Maid’s Secret for physical abuse and sexual assault. Now, let’s get to it:
It’s a big day for Molly and her beloved fiance, Juan Manuel. The Regency Grand is hosting a live taping of the hit show, Hidden Treasures. The Hidden Treasures! Hosted by the adoring couple, Baxley Brown and Thomas Beagle, the two art aficionados uncover lost art and heirlooms in the most unexpected places and shed light on hidden masterpieces. The hotel is abuzz with excitement from VIP guests and the staff alike because they will be able to get their trinkets and special items appraised too. Before leaving their humble apartment, Molly assembles a box from her dearest gran’s curio cabinet with prized possessions. And, at Juan’s insistence, she brings the “golden huevo” an unspeakably beautiful treasure that fell into Molly’s hands at a manor her gran once worked at as a maid.
With the treasure box in tow, Molly and Juan walk to work and into the hustle and bustle of the big event. After last minute preparations are done to perfection, the staff waits in line to meet Baxley and Brown to see if the old saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” rings true. Before she knows it, it’s Molly’s turn to grace the stage and show the hosts what she brought. Her gran’s teacup and silver spoon that contained priceless sentimental value holds no monetary gain. However, the “golden huevo” catches the eyes of Baxley and Brown. This is no ordinary piece of decor at all: It is the original prototype made from the House of Faberge. Molly is an instant multimillionaire, promptly faints, and becomes an instant sensation too.
When Molly comes to, she is enveloped in a strange new world. Suddenly, her and Juan are rich beyond their wildest dreams and everyone wants a piece of her. From invisible to overnight celebrity, the doting couple tries to take their change of fortune in stride but it proves to be most difficult. At the end of the day, Molly loves her life with Juan Manuel and wants everything to return to normal ASAP. With the hopes of never having to penny pinch again and for her newfound celebrity to die down, Molly agrees to auction off her treasured treasure. The auction will take place at the Regency Grand and when it is over, Molly and Juan will be able to afford their dream wedding, a new apartment, and anything and everything they could ever want.
We return to the tearoom of the Regency Grand where everyone is on pins and needles for the auction’s end result. To Molly’s utter surprise, the lost Faberge is sold for a cool ten million smackers. The lights dim, the crowd goes wild, and when the room is illuminated once again there is one thing missing. The egg! The Faberge was stolen right beneath everyone’s noses and is yet again lost to the world. The only clue? A threat to Molly written on a piece of paper: Find the egg and you die.
Just like that, the buzz on Molly the Maid comes to a screeching halt. No Faberge and no money, but on the bright side – her and Juan get to live their normal life together. That is, until the egg has been returned. The investigation is in full swing once again and it is up to Molly and her companions to solve the case: Her dear granddad, true crime obsessed Angela, Detective Stark, and support from the person she needs the most – the words in a journal from her beloved, departed gran. Will this unlikely team crack the case of the Faberge? Read The Maid’s Secret to find out!
Holy WOW was the third installment of The Maid series amazing. In fact, The Maid’s Secret is my favorite one yet! This book went back and forth between the journal of gran and Molly’s latest adventure and I could not stop reading if you paid me. The multiple narrator format is something I am most fond of and it was incredible to be reunited with gran. She has always been with Molly, but to read her words and hear her story that she kept hidden for so long allowed the series to shine in a brand new light. All of the fairy tales and fables that gran would instill in Molly turned out to have a deeper meaning than you could ever imagine and it was absolutely beautiful to read.
Of course, it was also incredible to be reunited with Molly! Her character is a gift to the literary world and between all of her quirks and darling phrases, I would be hard pressed to find anyone who didn’t instantly fall in love with her. She is the girl you want to root for and see win and everyone in her close circle feels the same way. To have a supporting cast that wants nothing but the best for Molly, just like me, is a rarity in the books I typically read and my heart was bursting with every turn of the page. The true beauty of Molly is that even, in her words, the “bad eggs” have a chance to redeem themselves and that is such an important lesson in and of itself. Molly is a heroine that will encourage, teach, and stay with you and The Maid’s Secret has further solidified her as one of my all time favorite characters.
I am going to award The Maid’s Secret with the coveted ten out of ten stars. If you, too, are a fan of the series: RUN don’t walk to read this book!
Who is your favorite literary character? What is your favorite book in The Maid trilogy? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
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