Shelf Life: Nita Prose
Molly Gray—the socially awkward murder suspect, crime solver, and protagonist of Nita Prose’s The Maid—is back: The fourth of Prose’s internationally bestselling, award-winning series, The Maid’s Secret, is out this month. After ascending from a publishing intern to the role of vice president and editorial director of Simon & Schuster Canada, Prose got the idea for her blockbuster series on a business trip to the London Book Fair, when she caught the housekeeping staff in her hotel room by surprise. She wrote her debut novel’s prologue on a cocktail napkin on her return flight, and the book—which she wrote in secret—later became the subject of a heated multiple-publisher auction.
The Toronto-based Prose, born Nita Pronovost (Prose is a work nickname), studied English and drama at the University of Toronto and took the publishing program at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University); has a pug named Theo; writes at 5 a.m.; dedicated The Maid to her late mother, Jackie; has written a couple of short stories for Amazon (“Murder at the Royal Ruby” and “The Nosy Neighbor”); and once lived in Mexico.
Fan of: Hotels; tea; Agatha Christie; bakeries.
On her travel bucket list: France; Sweden; and Japan.
Superpower she’d like to have: Invisibility.
Good at: Wearing sweatpants.
Bad at: Taking selfies; math.
Peruse through her book recommendations below.
The book that…:
…made me miss a train stop:
Ironically, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I was an editor at Penguin Random at the time, and I was reading the book in manuscript form when I totally blew by several stops. I got home late and didn’t even care—the sign of a winning manuscript!
…made me weep uncontrollably:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. (For the record, I was about 10 years old. Also, for the record, if I read it now, I’d probably still weep uncontrollably.)
…I recommend over and over again:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
…I swear I’ll finish one day:
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. (Um, is there an abridged version?)
…has the best opening line:
Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent: “All three of the Drumm brothers were at the funeral, although one of us was in the coffin.”
…features a character I love to hate:
Eleanor in Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I later hated to find myself loving her.
…is a master class on dialogue:
The Hunter by Tana French—so much said with so little!
…fills me with hope:
Anything by Matt Haig, but especially The Humans.
…should be on every college syllabus:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
…I’ve re-read the most:
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
…I consider literary comfort food:
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.
…I would have blurbed if asked:
Anything by Lisa Jewell, even a pamphlet.
…I’d want signed by the author:
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, and I’d like the inscription to say, “Dear Nita, persevere!”
Bonus question: If I could live in any library or bookstore in the world, it would be:
El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s built in a breathtaking, old theatre, and you can grab a coffee, buy a book, and have a seat on the stage to read it. Heavenly!