Since Molly’s gran died she’s found it difficult to manage the everyday challenges of understanding people’s tone or meaning. Things which her gran had always interpreted for her. But, at least she could still take pride in her job as a hotel maid. Until the afternoon she found a guest dead in his bed, and everything she thought she knew begins to fall apart around her.

 

It takes a little bit to get used to the pattern of Molly’s narrative. She’s social awkward and her particular neurodiverse traits mean she doesn’t always read the true motivations or feelings of people she’s talking to. That makes an at times unsettling reading experience as you’re both getting insights where Molly has interpreted a situation wrongly, and wondering what the impact of seeing what’s happening through Molly’s eyes has on what we’re being told.

 

The style of writing is very effective in demonstrating Molly’s overly formal and very literal way of interacting with the world, and I enjoyed that as a concept. However, there were times, particularly in the opening chapters, where it felt like there was a lot of repetition. Molly’s initial summary of her day up until discovering the body is then spelled out in her detailed recall of everything that happened while she is waiting for her witness statement to be taken. This worked well to show Molly’s character, but it was also quite dull and off-putting to read as I was still trying to get into the book.

 

Overall it’s a good concept and an interesting read, although I’m not in a rush to try the sequel.