Molly Gray wears her Head Maid badge proudly for every shift at the Regency Grand Hotel: plumping pillows, sweeping up secrets, silently restoring rooms to a state of perfection. But the hotel’s reputation is sullied when a guest a famous mystery writer drops very dead on the tearoom floor. As suspicion swirls in the hotel corridors, it’s clear there’s grime lurking beneath the gilt. And Molly knows that she alone holds the key to the mystery. But unlocking it means thinking about the past, about a dusty old house, and everything else she’s tidied away in her memory. Because Molly knew the dead guest once upon a time and she knows his secrets too
I loved it personally. It's a good read for everyone.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for giving me an advance copy.

This book was as great as the first. Very similiar, but new murder and friendship. Still quirky, funny, and mysterious.

Molly is back!! This time as head maid, right where she should be. This one had an interesting twist or two. I was glad to see some of the characters return and the new characters were a fun addition. I think I'll read any book with Molly on it. She is such a sweet, honest, quirky character.

I wasn't as big of a fan of this book as I was the previous, BUT I did like the development of the main character and the introduction of some new characters. I felt like the plot hopped around a bit, and certain parts of the storytelling felt shortened, like it needed more explanation or expansion. Otherwise, a good quirky mystery.

Molly the Maid is back, now the Head Maid of the Regency Grand Hotel, and thrives in her role that she takes very seriously. 🧹👩‍🦱

Since we last saw Molly three years ago, she has grown in confidence and uses her perfectionist traits and attention-to-detail to make her a cunning detective. This book had some more cozy mystery vibes rather than the dark, twisty mystery that was more present in The Maid. This factor made the story easy-to-read, but less sharp and entertaining than the first book of the series. The plot twists and big reveal were a tad underwhelming for me, and while I did not dislike the book, I think I was not as entertained as I had hoped. I would still recommend this book to anyone who loves a cozy mystery, and to go back and read the first book of the series to better understand all the connections between characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading about Molly again, and seeing some of her childhood with her Gran. The story overall was ok, but some of the whimsy of the first book just wasn't there.

I was absolutely thrilled to receive news of receiving an ARC for the next installment of the Molly the Maid series (Molly the Maid #2)! I just adore this character!!

A famous author who is moments away from giving a speech and special announcement at the Regency Grand Hotel suddenly dies... and once again Molly has found herself entangled in the mess. We learn that Molly, and her grandmother were once acquainted with this author, and we get to see a bit of Molly's past life.

I loved the character development we see in Molly, and we also learn more about her grandmother's past.

If you are looking for a cozy, feel good read, I definitely recommend! There is enough re-telling where this could be a stand alone, however I highly recommend reading the first installment too. It was one of my favorite reads last year!

I rated 4.5 out of 5.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for allowing me to review this one! #TheMysteryGuest #NetGalley

𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: fiction, mystery, cozy mystery

✨𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀✨
• whodunit
• flashback chapters
• neurodivergent MC
• standalone in a series

✨ 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 ✨
Molly the Maid returns in this standalone whodunit to solve the unexpected death of king of mystery writer, JD Grimthorpe using her unique perspective.

✨ 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 ✨
I always loved Molly’s quirkiness and was glad to see more of it in this book. She is definitely less naïve in this book, showing us how much she’s grown over the years and ever since the world changed.

The story is meant to be a cozy mystery while also giving us more detail into Molly’s background; more screen time for Gran. The author did amazingly by not only giving us more background, but also tying it into the current storyline/mystery.

This book is for lovers of cozy mystery, and anyone who wants to see the world through the eyes of someone who sees it in a different way.

Molly the maid is one of the most endearing characters I've ever read. It was such a joy to revisit her. Often times a sequel can be let down, but I found this to be the opposite. Nita Prose's writing draws you right back in for yet another charming mystery. I was so pleased with how the story unraveled.

Highly recommend! 4 ⭐️

Nita Prose has created a character whose voice gets in my brain. I hear her and understand her and root for her on every page. She strives for perfection while understanding that it is a very high watermark. And because she has had difficulties and more, she is perfectly attuned to others and their faults, problems and struggles. I love this character, unabashed adoration. Prose has advanced Molly’s character in the four years since her debut in the original installment. Molly makes us aware that she started at the bottom and is on the ascendency. Yay Molly. She is “an employee who sustains an attitude of gratitude.” She is better at reading people which she does by noticing things differently than most. Her awareness of her deficiencies and attributes is breathtaking in its simplicity.

There were so many great twisty little turns that advanced the story and allowed you to keep understanding Molly’s character development. I am so looking forward to the next Molly the Maid Installment but until then I will hear Molly reciting Gran’s advice:
“Treat others the way you wish to be treated.
We’re all the same in different ways.
Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

4-1/2 brilliantly shining stars. So Many thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a copy of Molly the Maid’s latest adventure.

Reading this book made me feel like coming home! It was so nice to come back to all the interesting and wonderful characters in this stunning sequel. I loved that we learned a lot more about Molly's past. I also recommend listening to the audiobook if you can, because the narrator does such a good job of giving Molly a voice that is all her own.

What a treat to return to Molly's world! Molly the maid continues to delight in this sequel to The Maid. This time, a prominent author is hosting a press conference at the Regency Grand to make a big announcement. Before he can, he drops dead at the table. It's up to Molly to discover who wanted J.D. Grimthorpe dead, and why. I loved this book, and really enjoyed getting more of Molly's back story. I was a little sad that her boyfriend was on vacation in Mexico for the whole book, but was still glad to see Molly return. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved The Maid last year and in my opinion, The Mystery Guest is even better! I loved the evolution of the main character from the first book and getting to see a bit more of her backstory. The murder mystery was well developed and kept me guessing until the reveal. I hope we get another book from Molly the maid!

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a great sophomore book in the Molly the Maid series. Molly has been promoted to head maid, supervising her former boss. While working an event for a prestigious mystery writer, he drops dead on the tea room floor. It's believed he was poisoned and everyone is a suspect, including Molly. It doesn't help that she has a history with the author - he is her grandmother's former employer. The one that unceremoniously fired her grandmother.

I loved Molly in the first book, and she's just as great in this one. She has the same focus and tenacity when investigating this mystery. She methodically goes through the evidence and information, gathering tidbits that others overlook to piece together the puzzle. I cracked up when a group of older ladies mistakes Molly for an undercover detective, but it does allow her to get some juicy gossip and helpful information. Most of the same characters from book 1 are in this story. Her former supervisor is just as lazy and nasty as before, but Mr. Preston is just as sweet and has become an even closer friend. If you liked the first book, you're going to love this one too.

I received a complimentary ecopy of this book from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books. All opinions are my own.

What an incredible follow-up to Nita Prose's debut, The Maid! This book is somehow even better than the first. The Mystery Guest is set four years after the first novel and Molly, our favorite neurodivergent maid, has grown in confidence and her position. The Regency Grand Hotel, which is still recovering from its first murder, is hoping to get better publicity by hosting a renowned mystery writer for a "surprise announcement." But as the writer keels over, poisoned, everyone at the hotel once again becomes a suspect. And Molly has a surprise past with the writer that she hasn't shared with anyone. I hope we continue to get more Molly the Maid books in this series!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an advanced audiobook copy for an honest reviewThank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an advanced copy for an honest review

I really enjoyed this sequel to Nita Prose's The Maid! While, Molly has no official diagnosis listed in the books, many readers, myself included, recognize signs of neurodivergence in the way she thinks and views the world. It does take a minute to settle into the writing style, but I think that it is part of the point. Molly's charming narrative and insight thought processes as she solves the mystery remind those around her, and us as readers, that different is valuable and beautiful.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books, and Nita Prose for the eARC of The Mystery Guest. Another four star read and great story. Molly the maid is back for more and I really enjoyed every minute of it. Love the character and could we see more to come from Molly the detective???? That would be awesome..... Looking forward to more from this author.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose is just a charming as The Maid. I didn’t think I could love Molly anymore than I already did but it happened over the course of this book. Molly is so literal and her view of the world can be refreshing at times. At other times, I want to just wrap her up and protect her. Molly is a character that I think about in between books and I really hope we see more of her.

3.5 ⭐️ (rounded up to 4 on Goodreads) i struggled to rate this one.
3.5 stars because I struggled to get into it, wasn’t wowed with a plot twist, but I would recommend to certain people! If I had been hooked a little quicker, I would give it 4 stars.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. At the beginning of the book I was dreading it, so much to the point I waited for it to be released so I could listen to it on audio. But once I got into it, I really got invested. In the first book, Molly just made me sad (it’s not explicitly said, but Molly is neurodivergent) because of the bullying she received. However, in this book she really shined and had a confidence about her I really enjoyed. The ending wasn’t super predictable but wasn’t shocking either. However, the epilogue did shock me.

If you’re wanting a thriller- this won’t be what you are looking for.

But if you’re wanting a cozy mystery- I think you’ll enjoy it! I would read the maid first to prevent spoilers, but this can be read as a stand-alone.

The audio on this book was really good and I enjoyed listening to it.

Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Mystery Guest is the sequel to The Maid, a cozy mystery I liked quite a lot. I expected another cozy mystery with a fair conclusion wrapped up in a charming coterie of hotel workers at the luxurious Regency Grand and that is exactly what I got.

Molly is now the head maid and the officious and awful Cheryl works under her supervision. Her beloved Juan Manuel is in Mexico visiting his family. She had hoped to accompany him but was forestalled by an event, the release of a new book by a famous mystery writer with an important announcement that created a mass press event that she had to oversee.

It is a good thing she is there as right in the middle of his announcement, the writer dies and it sure looks like he was poisoned. As it happened, Molly and her maid-in-training were the last to handle the tea cart. Molly has a bit of an inside track as she used to know the author as a child, not that he recognized her.



I really hate to rate The Mystery Guest as a disappointment, but it was. On the good side, the mystery was fair but not too obvious. There were a few herrings swimming around in the story. My struggle was with the overloading of the conversation with the many maxims passed down to Molly by her grandmother and my Molly to her colleagues and maid-in-training. Most of them are trite and shallow and with more than Molly giving them air, they became less a characteristic that developed a character and more of an annoying tic.

I did enjoy catching up with Molly and her colleagues and loved the new characters. I also was pleased by one of the big secrets in Molly’s life coming out and can imagine that becoming more important in a future book which I will probably read because I like Molly. I just think she deserves more interesting words to say.

The Mystery Guest will be released November 29th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Mystery Guest from Ballantine Books | Penguin Random House
Nita Prose author site