I think it’s fair to say the bulk of the novel focuses on the relationships between these three people, highly dysfunctional and tormented in their own ways. At times humorous and at other times quite dreadful and worrying, the interactions they have with each other are what moves the story forward and, personally-speaking, I never got tired of witnessing them. House of Twists and Bends Stephanie Land on Putting the Pieces of Your Life Together and Finding Your Way". Literary Hub. November 15, 2022 . Retrieved November 18, 2022.

a b c Gerard, Kathleen (2022-01-07). "The Maid". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-05-27 . Retrieved 2023-08-30. I thought I was going to like this. It started out well. Gothic setting and brooding dude. Our Brontë-esque main character actually has a little more edge than expected. I was in.

The setting is Highwood Hall, a Downtown Abbey-like household in modern England. A young housemaid is starting her new job there and on the down-low, trying to find out what happened to her mother after she disappeared while working at the very same house 20 years ago. I will concede the first half of the book does move a little more slowly, largely to give the author the chance to drum up the mystery to her liking, to leave clues laying about for our benefit, and naturally, to create expectations which will subsequently be shattered. The author obviously takes great pleasure in misdirecting her readers and getting them caught up on red herrings, to the point where it felt as if she was challenging me directly. After six years of cleaning in Washington and Montana, she was eventually able to use student loans and Pell grants to move to earn a Bachelor of Arts in English and creative writing from the University of Montana in May 2014. [8] During her studies, she published her first public writing in the form of blog posts and local publications [13] followed by Internet-based publications such as HuffPost [7] and Vox. [11] Upon graduating from the University of Montana, Land ended her dependence on food stamps, [14] started working as a freelance writer, and became a writing fellow with the Center for Community Change. [15] Career [ edit ] External video a b Easter, George (2023-05-08). "Anthony Award Nominations 2023". Deadly Pleasures. Archived from the original on 2023-08-30 . Retrieved 2023-08-30.

Honestly, it took me awhile to get into this book. I thought it was going to be the cliché maid falls for the lord of the manor and they have a torrid, steamy affair troupe. And it felt very much like that for the first half of the book. The more we learn about the two women, the more their inner worlds become nuanced, and the more difficult it becomes to accurately determine who’s really good and bad between the two of them. They both have their reasons for doing what they do, as well as their fare share of skeletons buried in their personal graveyards. Funnily enough, it almost seems like the more they clash against each other, the more their similarities become unveiled. Rogers, Jenny (February 1, 2019). "From Middle Class to Homeless: A Mother's Unapologetic Memoir". The Washington Post . Retrieved February 16, 2019. Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather.I could NOT put it down !… An incredible roller-coaster ride … This book left me hungry for more and I could not believe the ending!! ” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's not unrealistic that a posh rich high class families still have "housemaids" in the 21st century. However, it is naive to still think it's a captive narrative on the year 2021. If it wasn't for a mildly interesting development in the latter third of the book, it would have been a one-star boring "high class" family drama - looking at tv series ads, I would guess something like "Downton Abbey"? But since the author tried to make it a tad more interesting, I will award one more star for the effort. Land has spoken openly about the stigma of receiving government assistance and the assumptions people had of her when she was relying on food stamps. In a 2021 interview with The Washington Post, Land said: [36] Announcing the Winners of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards!". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09 . Retrieved 2023-08-30. McFadden knows exactly how to consistently raise the stakes in her novel, always keeping them in sight and never letting us forget the seemingly constant danger our characters are in. The fact she found a way to make two cunning enemies inhabit the same house only benefits the plot, doing wonders in maintaining a tense atmosphere with little room for respite.

Land, Stephanie (September 24, 2019). "I Used to Clean Houses. Then I Hired a Maid". The Atlantic . Retrieved December 2, 2021. Trying to make a life on her own after being abandoned by her mother when she was a child, a young woman is accepted as a housemaid for a rich family of Highwood Hall after years of battling addiction and rehabilitation. Gripping, deftly written, and led by a truly unforgettable protagonist in Molly. I'm recommending it to everyone I know' EMMA STONEXAs I shut the door, I notice marks in the wood. Long thin lines running down the length of the door at about the level of my shoulder. I run my fingers over the indentations. They almost seem like… Scratches. Like somebody was scraping at the door.” There's a general atmosphere of unease at Highwood Hall, from the narrow tunnels laced throughout the sprawling house, to the abandoned north wing, rumoured to be haunted. It's easy to imagine the secrets hidden within these walls, like the secrets I hold close. New book explores single mom's rise from the grips of poverty". WJLA. January 28, 2019 . Retrieved November 18, 2022. Combined Print & E-Book Fiction". The New York Times. 2022-01-23. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07 . Retrieved 2023-08-30. Land, Stephanie (January 21, 2020). " My greatest honor: I wrote a book that touched people living in poverty". The Guardian.

Molly the Maid has captured my heart! I loved this charming and utterly original whodunit . . . Put this on your to-read pile immediately’ Sarah Pearse Mr Preston, the hotel doorman, saw Rodney depart and warned Molly to be careful of him: he is a bad man. But Ruby receives a box on her first day at work. A mysterious box wrapped in red ribbon and white paper that reveals a grotesque scene of her as a doll lying in a pool of blood at the foot of the stairs. Babb, Christina Hughes (February 14, 2022). " 'Maid' author Stephanie Land to speak at Salvation Army fundraiser". Lake Highlands . Retrieved March 9, 2022. Weinman, Sarah (2021-12-23). "She Thought Her Brother-in-Law Was a Killer. No One Believed Her". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-02-17 . Retrieved 2023-08-30.Audie Awards Winners". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2023-04-06 . Retrieved 2023-05-08. a b Dunne, Susan (January 18, 2019). "Meet Stephanie Land, Author of Maid, a Mother's Memoir on the Reality of Poverty". The Hartford Courant . Retrieved February 16, 2019. Former Washington resident Stephanie Land's bestselling memoir inspires Netflix series 'Maid' ". The Seattle Times. September 27, 2021 . Retrieved November 18, 2022.