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Molly Gray is a charming “old soul”, someone we would likely recognize as on the autism spectrum were we to meet her, who lives her life by a closely-held moral code largely based on back-in-the-day wisdoms taught to her by her much-loved Gran.

Abandoned as an infant and now orphaned, Molly is twenty five years old, raised by her Gran, who armed her with a creaky foundation of both truisms and social skills, – perhaps just enough to allow her to survive, now that her Gran is deceased.

“If you feel sad, just grab a duster, buster!”

Molly, like her Gran, is a maid – in Molly’s case, in a spectacular five star boutique hotel known as the Regency Grand, where every working day, bringing “rooms clean to perfection”, is a great joy to her. As Molly does her best to puzzle out enough of the world around her to get by, lonely for friends her own age, and all too likely to say the wrong thing, she is keenly aware that “bad eggs” exist – the trouble is, she does not know how to spot them.

Molly is a fascinating and endearing blend of naïveté and clear-sightedness – for Molly notices things, (many of them with astounding clarity) although she may not always understand what they mean.

Without giving the plot away, (no spoilers here, you will have to read the book), Molly’s life takes a dark and stomach-twisting turn when a murdered body is discovered at the Regency, and it suddenly appears to a world expecting “normality” that Molly may not be as innocent as she seems.

Desperate to make sense of things, Molly’s well-intentioned but oddly-inappropriate decisions and actions make for an entertaining and engaging story, as we ride along with one of the most heart-tuggingly wise protagonists encountered within the pages since “The Rosie Project”.

“I must resort to my own ingenuity and my memories of Columbo”.

As we cheer and hold our breath for all that is tumbling now to settle, Molly’s story cannot help but gently remind us of the wideness of the world, the subjectivity of truth and perception, and the wondrous diversity that makes us all unique.

“We are all the same in different ways”.

Wise words indeed, and for this reader, what wonderful reading they make!

A great big thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.