This post discusses the events that took place before chapter 15 in The Maid by Nita Prose. Make sure you’re all caught up!

Checkpoint Book Discussion – Friend or Foe?

So far, The Maid by Nita Prose has been my personal favorite of my most recent reads. I love how there is so much shady business going on around Molly, yet she’s oblivious to it all. It makes for a very humorous and charming read.

As of page 157, just before chapter 15, our dearest protagonist has just come under suspicion of playing a role in Mr. Black’s mysterious death. We may know she is innocent, but her dishonesty paints her out to be the bad guy. What better way to prove her innocence than find the true culprit ourselves?

There’s already so much going on in the book that has yet to be outright stated due to the naivety and ignorance of our narrator Molly. At this checkpoint, let’s take a look at Molly’s closest relationships and try to sniff out exactly what is going on since she can’t seem to do it for herself. Who is a friend and who is a foe?

Rodney – Foe

Rodney is Molly’s love interest whom she trusts and admires. How could she not? He looks out for her, loves Olive Garden as she does, and most importantly, he just gets her. At least that’s how Molly sees him. 

In reality, he’s only using her. Unfortunately, Rodney is like Molly’s ex-boyfriend, and it goes far beyond than just his looks.

It’s obvious that Rodney is into something very illegal, and he carries quite a bit of influence in whatever organization he’s secretly working in. Molly has been a big help to him and his associates, in more ways than she knows.

Let’s take his best friend Juan Manuel as an example.

Molly lends Juan a keycard to empty rooms everyday so that he has a place to sleep at night. As someone struggling herself financially, Molly wants to help Juan who apparently can’t afford an apartment because he’s sending all his money to his family back home in a foreign country.

Truth be told, we don’t know if Juan Manuel is actually homeless, nor do we know the details surrounding his family situation. All we know is that Molly walked in on Rodney, Juan, and two other men while they were up to no good. 

Molly’s ignorance of the whole situation saved her from receiving any further trouble involving them, for now. Rodney is doing whatever it takes to make sure Molly isn’t disclosing this information to the authorities. He takes Molly out on “dates,” indulges her, and listens to her problems.

Now that Molly is in a bit of deep water, Rodney is helping her. At least it seems that way. I’m not sure exactly what role Rodney will play in proving Molly’s innocence (if any at all). All I know is that he can attest to how gullible and unknowing she is.

Giselle Black – Foe

Molly shares a very personal and deep relationship with the infamous Giselle Black. Everyone makes her out to be a gold digger who only wants Charles Black for his money. Not Molly, she is compassionate and understanding of her. She adores Giselle for the kindness she’s shown her, and hates Mr. Black for the way he treats her, as anyone else would if they knew the truth about their relationship.

Giselle understands Molly too and takes rather good care of her. They’re relationship seems sweet on. The surface.

It might surprise most people, but I’d consider Giselle a foe because the most recent favor she asked of Molly was too much for me.

I can’t be the only one thinking of the consequences that might follow Molly after retrieving Giselle’s personal gun. What if the cops find Molly’s fingerprints on Giselle’s gun? And as for Rodney, why is he so willing to help Molly retrieve it? I can’t be the only one suspecting ulterior motives when it comes to these two characters. What do you think? Is Giselle to be trusted?

Mr. Snow – Foe

Mr. Snow is another one of the people in Molly’s life who takes advantage of her peculiarity. The first thing that made my jaw drop was when he asked Molly to cover Cheryl’s shift the day after finding Mr. Black dead. And the audacity Cheryl has to claim she is traumatized from the situation when Molly is the one who should have the day off.

Mr. Snow cares a whole lot about the hotel’s reputation. And he cares so much about the hotel’s reputation because he cares a whole lot about money. In my mind, he is still unpredictable as ever.

Mr. Preston – Friend

I am going to say it now, and hope I don’t regret it later: Mr. Preston is the only one I trust in this messy situation. He truly seems like a good-natured gentleman. He’s warned Molly about Rodney, and also warned her about her upcoming arrest.

With Gran no longer in her life, it’s nice that Mr. Preston is looking out for Molly. I pray that he has nothing to do with the murder of Mr. Black, although it’s still quite early to completely rule him out.

Cheryl – Foe

According to Molly, Cheryl’s business is all about getting the best tips for the least amount of work. For that reason, she tries to clean the rooms of the most wealthy guests and steals tips from other maids.

Is that all she is doing? Could Cheryl play a part in Mr. Black’s death? Would she take a bribe to do something a bit sketchy? I’d hate to make baseless accusations without any proof. All we know is that like Rodney, she can easily confirm Molly’s lack of common sense.

Riley – Foe

As a well respected detective, if there is any foul play involved in the death of Mr. Black, then Riley certainty wants to find out.

Riley finds Molly suspicious because of the lies she told her concerning her relationship with Mrs. Giselle Black, including her most recent lie of how she received a gift from her. As someone who doesn’t know Molly, it’s logical for her to assume that Molly could maliciously be involved in Mr. Black’s case.

Or maybe she’s the perfect cop out. What if Molly is simply the easiest and most vulnerable person to blame such a cruel crime on?

Conclusion

There is still much to be uncovered in this story, and it excites me. Who will be by Molly’s side, helping to defend her? And who will be against her, secretly conspiring so all the fault will land on her?

So far I’m struggling to decide who is truly a friend to her. Everyone appears to be a foe. I suspect there’s a group of people working together to cover the tracks of the true culprit. What do you think? Who is a friend and who is a foe?