I loved every moment in this book. It was a great follow up to The Maid! You learn more about Molly’s life growing up and it’s kind of sad. But you get to know Molly better a little better! The mystery in this book was just as good as the first one! If you read The Maid, I would highly recommend reading the sequel!

I absolutely loved The Maid by Nita Prose. The characters were all so unique and the plot was carried out perfectly. So when I had the opportunity to read The Mystery Guest and delve back into those characters I had come to love, I couldn't wait. The Mystery Guest brings us back into the world of Molly the Maid as yet another person has mysteriously died at the Regency Grand Hotel, and we soon learn that Molly herself has a connection to the deceased.

I really loved how The Mystery Guest gave us a glimpse into more of Molly's backstory, while continuing to develop the investigation into the death of author J.D. Grimthorpe. Molly the Maid is such a unique character whose voice is both at times insightful and humorous. I really hope more of Molly's adventures are on the way.

While you could read this book as a standalone, I would recommend reading The Maid first to have a greater appreciation for the characters, and quite simply because The Maid was just so good.

I received this book courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Molly the Maid books are good cozy mysteries. The characters are fun and quirky, the storyline is creative, and book is a quick read. I think I like this one best of the series.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC of The Mystery Guest, the latest in the Molly the Maid series, available everywhere now.

Not all of us are fortunate enough to pursue our dreams from a young age. For Molly Gray, that dream led her to a position in the service industry. With the exception of her Gran, nothing has brought more joy into her life than the smell of cleaning products, the sight of everything tucked away in their respective corners, the sound of footsteps on a freshly vacuumed carpet. As the Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, she wears her badge proudly. Little about her day to day changes, and perhaps, that's for the best. Since childhood, she has found it difficult to relate to everyone else, and vice versa. Surprisingly, being wrongly accused of murder has helped change that. Molly has friends, a boyfriend. Things are going swimmingly ... until a renowned mystery author drops dead in the grand tea room, and she's looked at as the main suspect again. Letting the police know she knew the victim is unlikely to help alleviate that suspicion. Then again, neither will keeping quiet. Life was much simpler when it was about ensuring each room was perfect.

I enjoyed the second installment in the series but admittedly, not as much as the first book. Molly is an endearing character, and in the first book, her personality felt charming. Here, it started to feel redundant, as did all the things Gran shared with her. Second, the ending felt underwhelming. There was so much build-up when it came to the secondary mystery that when the reveal happened, it didn't feel important. Still, this is one cozy mystery series I plan on continuing with.

The Mystery Guest is the second book in the Molly the Maid series by Nita Prose. I fell in love with the characters in book 1 and book 2 brings us a brand new mystery to solve. Molly is the Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel and responsible for the staff of maids. She is a very detail oriented person and that comes in handy a lot of time. Molly notices things that others miss, even detectives.

A famous author has scheduled a secret announcement to be made at the hotel. He has lots of fans and the hotel is packed with everyone wanting to know what he's going to say. The author is JD Grimthorpe and Molly knows him from her childhood. Her gran worked for he and his wife as a maid when Molly was in school. Once school got too difficult for Molly due to teasing and being different, Gran pulled her out of school and brought her with her to work. She became the silver polisher for Mrs. Grimthorpe and she was very good at it. Something happened while she was there and she never felt the same about Mr. Grimthorpe once she witnessed it.

As the room is packed and tea is being served to the fans, JD is introduced, and comes to the podium. No one knows what he's going to announce and the fans are excited. Lily, a maid in training, rolls the tea cart towards the stage to serve JD. He comes down and gets his cup of tea and then puts a bunch of honey in it. After he takes a couple sips, he starts swaying, and drops to the floor. He's dead. Panic erupts and an ambulance is called. Detective Stark arrives on the scene and immediately thinks Molly might have something to do with the murder. It was her maid serving JD when he died. Molly and Detective Stark know each other from book 1 in the series and it wasn't a good relationship.

As Molly defends Lily and stands up for the other maids, she and Detective Stark begin working together. Molly has a keen eye and notices things that the police and Detective Stark missed. Molly shares her past and how she knows JD from when she was young. Detective Stark and Molly go to the mansion with a search warrant to get more information about what JD was going to announce. Things disappeared from the event that were sold online for a lot of money. Who took the items and why? Was it the murderer? Was someone on staff responsible after all? Was someone in JD's fan club responsible? Why would anyone want to kill the author?

The Mystery Guest is very good and I rate it 4 stars. I love Molly with all of her quirks and the staff she works with. This is a fun mystery to try to solve and I enjoyed going back into this world once again. Nita Prose does a wonderful job of showing us that heroes come in all different shapes, sizes, and can be a bit different from others. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy of The Mystery Guest in exchange for a fair review. #TheMysteryGuest

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. I thoroughly enjoyed The Maid and was excited to read another book featuring Molly Gray.

Molly is the Head Maid of The Regency Grand Hotel. She takes pride in doing job with perfect precision. A well known author is making a special announcement in the newly renovated Grand Tearoom at the hotel, and Molly is in charge. All is going well until the author drops dead, leaving Molly's Maid In Training, Lilly, as the main suspect. Can Molly solve the case and save Lilly?

There is so much to love here. It is a tale involving both past and present, which are woven together beautifully. Molly is a wonderful narrator, her keen observations, adherence to rules, and difficulty navigating social situations on full display. The mystery is multilayered, complex, and engaging. The characters are endearing.

I truly loved this book! I am eager for more adventures with Molly.

This is the second book in the series, but believe me when I share that you don’t have to read The Maid in order to enjoy this book! Molly is back, but now she is the Head Maid for the Regency Grand Hotel. She was raised by her grandmother who helped her navigate life and gave her great advice, which she uses to this day even though she has died. With less than an hour before an important author event, a famous VIP guest drops dead in the Regency Grand Tearoom where it was going to take place. With Molly being in charge, will she be accused of poisoning them? I love the quirkiness of Molly's character. How will Molly convince the investigators she is innocent? This was a fun and entertaining mystery with a few unsuspected twists that will keep you turning the pages!

I just love Molly. It was so good to be back in her world. I really enjoyed going back and seeing her origin story and finally getting to meet Gran.
It was like coming home getting to see all the side characters as well. I’ve even grown quite fond of our curmudgeon of a detective.
The actual case wasn’t as solid this go around but the back story of the victim kind of made up for that, for me at least.
Also tickled by the little twist at the end. That would be a hoot.
Thanks to the publisher for my early review copy.

I enjoyed this one more than the first! So rare and surprising. The novel follows the same premise of murder, but with a new twist. I find this author's books easy to digest and recommend!

This was a really sweet and cozy mystery. I enjoyed learning more about our oh so literal FMC! While the story was engaging, I definitely felt the first installment had a little more suspense. But overall, the twists were great and it was a great read

I really enjoyed being back with Molly the Maid in the second book of this series. The mystery in this one was really well done. I liked that we were back in the same hotel as the first book & I enjoyed getting little glimpses into Molly's earlier life. While nothing shocked me, I genuinely enjoyed the route we went on to get to the end. Overall, another great one from Nita Prose! I am excited to see what is to come in this series!

Thrilled to continue the mystery in this second installment of The Mystery Guest. This book was satisfyingly delicious (not sure why I link a lot of books to food…) because it answered a lot of leftover questions that I had from the first book. The background is so important sometimes and for this book- it tied up the strings nicely.

I know the first book is being made into a movie, and hopefully this will be part two of the movie, or somehow the backstory will be included in the movie- it really did explain so much. This story is the setting for another murder at the Regency Grand Hotel- is the Hotel the problem? The staff? This was a whodunit that wasn’t very complicated but the circumstances surrounding the murder prove to be like a spider web- everything was interwoven, albeit very entertaining in the process. In my mind, I could picture a suspect board with string linking persons and objects, trying to figure out what or who was being missed so that the case could be solved.

Of course, if I say too much about the book, then no mystery would remain, but this author has made me want anything written by her. Is this book as good as the first one? Well, it’s different from the first one but was it enjoyable all the same? Yes. Enjoy this second installment- I sure did. Hoping that there is a third installment or at least a third book by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Ransom House, and Nita Prose for providing this book without cost in exchange for an honest review.

Having absolutely loved The Maid because of quirky Molly, I was eager to read The Mystery Guest. I totally enjoyed getting to know more about Molly’s childhood and Gran’s connection to the famous author J. D. Grimthorpe. I relished the few instances where they conversed and found myself vividly picturing their interactions. His wife was an interesting character. The more I learned about him the better I understood her. The connection between Gran, Molly and the Grimthorpe’s was fortuitous and set the stage for the entrance of Detective Stark once again.
Molly is definitely more assertive and comfortable in her own skin since she is now the head maid, a r job she cherishes. She has taken a maid in training under her wing and Lily begins to bloom under her tutelage.
Once again Gran is a huge presence throughout this read through her sayings which Molly repeats so frequently. Her story is also revealed and the reader is given more insight into both Molly and Gran.
Molly’s ability to notice things others don’t plays a major role in the solution of the mystery surrounding the murder of J. D. Grimthorpe. I found the LAMBS to be an interesting group. Their involvement in trying to solve the murder was somewhat comical. I foresee Molly in a new role in the next book.
It will be interesting to see where Nita Prose takes Molly in the future.
Many thanks to Nita Prose, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of reading an arc of The Mystery Guest which I totally enjoyed.

This book was truly a delight! When I first read The Maid, I instantly loved Molly’s character. I was thrilled to learn this sequel was coming out. We learn so much about Molly and her backstory (and her wonderful gran). The ending made me so happy and gave me hope for a third book (possibly with a wedding and new career track?!). Thank you for the opportunity to read this lovely book!

I loved this book! I love reading about Molly and her crazy adventures and how she is able to help solve such awful crimes. I definitely hope there will be more in this series because I would love to see where Molly goes next! I devoured this book.

I love the main character in this book, and loved her in the maid as well! I love the representation. Another great story. I didn't see the main twist coming!

Reading Between the Wines book review #141/115(met goal in Sept!) for 2023:
Rating: 3 ½ 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: The Mystery Guest
Author: Nita Prose
Available Now!!

Sipping thoughts: The Maid was my favorite read of 2021! So, you can imagine how excited I was to read book #2. Molly is back and just as interesting but I can say the mystery was not as thrilling as the first book. I was able to figure out one of the mysteries but the killer did escape me. Either way, I really enjoyed reading this one and hope Molly becomes a household series.

Cheers and thank you to @RandomHousePublishingGroup and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @TheMysteryGuest.

#TheMysteryGuest #NitaProse #RandomHousePublishingGroup #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

Molly the maid is back! The mystery in this second installment is engaging and the story is perfectly paced. I highly recommend reading the first book and this book before the next book comes out, sometime in 2024. It’s a perfect time to jump into the series before there are too many books to catch up on. My book club is reading the first book and I can’t wait to schedule this one for sometime in spring 2024.

I loved Molly the Maid in the first book in this series, and I still loved her in The Mystery Guest, book 2 in the series about her. This time she is caught up in the mystery of a wildly successful author who is murdered in Molly's beloved hotel. Turns out she has a past with this author, and the more she learns from his fans and her co-workers, the more she learns that there are plenty of people out there that may have wanted him dead. I loved that somehow Molly's fastidiousness about cleanliness and is brilliantly worked into how she stumbles onto solving crimes. I loved the small arc that included some past wrongs being righted, as well as Molly learning some really good things about her family. This is a very uplifting series that also challenges the reader to look differently at people who don't fit social norms.

Molly, the maid, is back! She’s now the head maid at a five-star hotel where a well-known mystery author drops dead. Molly must look back in her past and use her exquisite attention to detail to solve the case.

I loved The Maid last year and I adored Molly’s quirky character, but this time around I felt like something was missing. It’s told via the present and of Molly’s past as a child going to work with her grandmother. I was more intrigued by the past timeline and had no interest in the current murder mystery. In my opinion this book lacked the charm in both the storyline and in the side characters that I loved in the first book. Overall, it was a short cozy mystery that hinted there might possibly be a third installment.