Over the years, there has been plenty of hype for Loreth Anne White books, and while I have been interested in discovering what that hype was all about, The Maid’s Diary is my first, and again, I seem to have started with the wrong one. I enjoyed this one; however, that overthinker prevented me from enjoying it as much as I wanted to.
My two cents
The Maid’s Diary is an intriguing, suspenseful page-turner uniquely told to keep us guessing right up to that final reveal. The clues are layered in to figure out that reveal, and whether you or don’t, it is a rewarding twist. What makes it intriguing is we know someone is murdered, but there is no body discovered. So we don’t know who was murdered by who. We are then taken back in time before the murder as we learn the events leading up to the murder, eliminating who the murderer and victim could be. We also follow the clues in the present as homicide cop Mal solves the crime. Things do get convoluted as that final twist is revealed, and it is hard to buy into that could happen and feels over the top.
The motivation for the murder is a sensitive theme, and that is not handled so sensitively. It is not one I like to see as a plot device, but because I try to avoid anything that might tip anyone off, I will not say what those themes are. There are plenty of other reviews that do.
Overall The Maid’s Diary is a thrilling, suspenseful, twisty plot that is expertly woven together with multiple storylines from unlikeable characters with a rewarding payoff in the end.
I received a copy from the publisher on NetGalley
Penny For Our Thoughts 