The Maid is a complex locked-room-type mystery told in a way that is accessible and enjoyable.
Nita Prose’s writing style swept me up, and the audiobook narrator (Lauren Ambrose) delivered the story perfectly. Each character was well-developed, and their roles were all clear.
Molly the Maid is clearly neurodivergent and the protagonist I didn’t know I needed until now. Her no-nonsense way of navigating life spoke to my Type-A personality heart!
*THE NO.1 NEW YORK TIMES & SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER *WINNER OF THE NED KELLY AWARD FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL CRIME FICTION *A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME PICK
'An escapist pleasure' SUNDAY TIMES 'Delightful' GUARDIAN 'An instantly gripping and delightful whodunnit' STYLIST 'Smart, riveting, and deliciously refreshing ' LISA JEWELL
I did not seek this book out. It found me by way of a random box of paperbacks my father had read and mailed to me. I consider The Stranger Diaries my gateway book into Griffiths’ writing.
Since reading it, I have read Griffiths’ books exclusively, one after the other, for the last several months. My local librarian must think I am obsessed. All of this to say,this bookreally sucked me in.
Harbinder Kaur is a closeted lesbian and a damn fine police investigator. Without giving too much away, I will say that I enjoyed all the characters, which were well-developed and unique.
The mystery kept me curious until the end. Griffiths does a fantastic job of enveloping each scene with lovely descriptions, including the seaside and other spaces where the story takes place.
THE TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR. THE RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK.
'Utterly bewitching ... a pitch-perfect modern Gothic' AJ FINN, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
A dark story has been brought to terrifying life. Can the ending be rewritten in time?
This is what the police know: English teacher Clare Cassidy's friend Ella has just been murdered. Clare and Ella had recently fallen out. Found beside the body was a line from The Stranger, a story by the Gothic writer Clare teaches, and the murder scene is identical to one of the deaths in the…
Unpopular opinion, but I don’t normally enjoy Barbara Kingsolver’s writing. However, in a moment of being "between books" and needing something to read, I gave it a shot. I enjoyed this story for two reasons.
1) The present-day part of the story was an unvarnished picture of a family truly struggling to get by. Bills, a dilapidated house, a multigenerational living situation, and the overwhelm that comes with those things. It’s not often that fiction books address ‘real’ life.
2) I enjoyed the historical fiction side, which spoke about religious zealotry and resistance to scientific fact, with horrible consequences for those speaking the truth. This story was colorfully written with strong characters and a compelling plot.
THE NEW NOVEL FROM ORANGE PRIZE WINNER AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER BARBARA KINGSOLVER
2016 Vineland Meet Willa Knox, a woman who stands braced against an upended world that seems to hold no mercy for her shattered life and family - or the crumbling house that contains her.
1871 Vineland Thatcher Greenwood, the new science teacher, is a fervent advocate of the work of Charles Darwin, and he is keen to communicate his ideas to his students. But those in power in Thatcher's small town have no desire for a new world order. Thatcher and his teachings are not welcome.
Randy Cox, a woman staring down the barrel of retirement, is a curmudgeonly blue-collar butch lesbian who has been single for 20 years and is trying to date again.
After an exhausting shift, Randy finds her supervisor, Bryant, pinned and near death at the warehouse where they work. Upon the news of his death, she battles to find a balance between the joys of an exciting new relationship and the struggles of processing her supervisor’s unexpected passing.
The manner of her supervisor’s death leaves Randy unsettled and suspicious as she gets sucked into both a criminal investigation led by the police and an administrative investigation conducted by her employer. As Randy seeks the truth, trust erodes, key friendships are strengthened, and more loss awaits her.
