This was pretty entertaining. I liked the evolution of the characters from the first book to this one as well as all the new quirky characters added.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for my gifted ARC!

Molly, the maid is back and caught up in yet another MYSTERY murder! Molly Gray has now been Head Maid for 3.5 years and is training new maid Lilly. She has accomplished quite a bit in the last 3.5 years, including penning the maid handbook for the Regency Hotel and maintaining her live-in relationship with fellow coworker, Manuel.

A new event is being held at the Regency and Molly is large and in-charge! With the help of quiet Lilly, she sets up the Grandtea room for the arrival of local best selling author, J.D. Grimthorpe, who has a big announcement to make. In attendance is also the LAMBS-Ladies Auxiliary Mystery Book Society members who are OBSESSED with the famous author.

J.D. Grimthorpe is murdered by poisoned tea and Detective Stark leads the investigation with Molly as number 1 suspect, AGAIN. Molly conducts her own investigation with her co-worker/amateur sleuth as the plot flashes from past to present.

I very much enjoyed this COZY, fast paced MYSTERY! I adore Molly and hope that Nita Prose writes one more book to continue her story.

The second book about Molly Gray, maid at a grand hotel, does not disappoint. Molly gets drawn in to another mystery after a death at the hotel, this time of a famous author who has longstanding ties to several people on the hotel staff and among the guests. Molly’s skill at recalling details puts her at the center of the investigation again. The author does a wonderful job of capturing Molly’s voice and showing the reader how her mind works without ever being condescending. Molly is a fantastic character who continues to grow and develop. The book alternates chapters set in the present with those that gradually reveal a key part of Molly’s past, which leads to a really touching development at the end. This could be read as a stand-alone but I highly recommend the first book in the series as well. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Maid was one of my favorite reads last year so I couldn't wait to dive into this review copy.

It was so great being back in the world of the Regency Grand Hotel and it was so good to see Molly, our quirky heroine, again, and to learn that she is now Head Maid at the hotel.

I just loved everything about this book! The mystery itself, while compelling and entertaining on its own, is especially intriguing because the dead author has some unexpected ties to Molly. This leads to an in-depth look at Molly’s past through flashbacks and I just loved getting to know more about how she grew up and more about her relationship with the grandmother who raised her. This glimpse into Molly’s past, along with seeing her continue to come into her own in the present, just made me fall in love with her character even more and I hope there will be more books in this series.

I alternated between the e-book and the audiobook. Lauren Ambrose narrates the audiobook and I thought she did such a wonderful job of capturing all of the nuances of Molly’s personality, that special combination of astuteness and naivete that is uniquely Molly.

If you enjoy books with quirky heroines and wonderful cozy mystery vibes, you’ll want to check out this series!

The Maid was one of my favorite reads from last year, so I was very excited for this book!
Nita Prose writes a unique cast of characters that makes her books reminiscent of Agatha Christie. The characters are all so well-developed, they truly feel like real people. It’s rare that I’ve read characters that feel as real as these!
The whodunnit of these books is so intricate, leaving you suspecting every character along the way! The dual timeline adds depth to the mystery and keeps you guessing the entire time!

Such a fun quirky follow up to The maid. I love Molly and her oddities and felt she was much more developed and understood in this novel. She was actively involved in the murder investigation without being suspected and it was great to see the growth of her character. Also enjoyed the tie in from her previous life as a child with her gran to the plot. Definitely enjoyed!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random house publishing for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Mystery Guest doesn’t really do anything new from The Maid, but that’s okay. It’s cute and cozy. I’m generally not a fan of mysteries but I just really like Molly’s voice/perspective, and how much the storyline in each book empowers her and changes the way other characters see her. I think anyone who liked The Maid will like this too and that readers who don’t seek out mysteries should give this series a try.

Molly the Maid is back for another mystery at the Regency Grand Hotel. When world-famous mystery writer J.D. Grimethorpe turns up dead at the release party for his new mystery novel, Molly's world is turned upside down. J.D. Grimethorpe was set to make a big announcement at this party, was someone trying to silence him to keep him quiet? And will Molly's history with the dead author become a problem during the investigation?

I enjoyed this book more than the first in this series. I felt the story was better than that of the first, also I think I was more familiar with Molly and eccentricities and that made it more enjoyable. Her personality kind of got on my nerves in the first book. This book is told in present day and through Molly's childhood memories, which is always great for giving the reader a little background before coming to the conclusion. A few twists and turns, nothing drastic but definitely kept me interested. And I enjoyed that I felt I had an idea of what was going to happen, the reader is given possible suspects, but liked that I really didn't know "who dun it" until the end.

Would definitely recommend to any readers that enjoy a lighter, clean mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Molly the Maid is back! If you enjoyed the first story, you will enjoy this newest installment in the Molly series. All of the usual suspects are back, along with a few new faces and characters. In this story, a famous writer dies at the hotel, moments before he is to make a huge announcement. Chaos and questions ensue, as the hotel staff and the police work to determine how he died, and if it was murder, who might the culprit be? This is a fun and heartfelt story, which is much more about the characters than it is about the mystery itself. I thought the writing was clever, and the backstory about a reclusive writer and his famous novels was a fun backdrop to the story. Please pick this up if you want a feel good read and an opportunity to spend some time with well-loved literary characters – and are open to a few surprises along the way, too!

Molly the Maid is back, and there’s another “situation” at the Regency Grand! I love Molly’s innocence and quirky ways, and her character is just a delight. There are quite a few interesting revelations in this book, but the best one happens in its final pages.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Y'all, I just love Molly. I cannot help it. She is just a refreshing breath of realness even if it is a "disability." And to see her thriving and standing for herself in The Mystery Guest only made me love her more. I also enjoy the past/present perspectives to learn more about her childhood. The book is really good, funny, and a quick read. If you enjoyed The Maid, read for your book club, you'll want to jump into book two!

Loved this book! I actually thought it was even better than the first one. I really enjoyed the alternating timelines and how the story kept me guessing.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

Molly Gray is at it again -- cleaning, polishing, and solving murders! It was fun to spend time again with Molly in this second book by Nita Prose. She is such an unusual, but fun, character that, along with the mystery, it makes for quite a compelling book. I hated to put it down!

In this one, the Regency Hotel is preparing for the famous author, J.D. Grimthorpe, to make a big announcement to all of his readers and fans. However, things do not go well for Mr. Grimthorpe, which means that they also do not go well for the Regency Hotel, the fans, or Molly. So Molly does what she does best and rolls up her sleeves and cleans up the mess! But little does anyone know that Molly has a history with Mr. Grimthorpe and this turns out to be very helpful to her in the end.

Of course, Molly is the hero -- she will always be the hero! But the way she deals with every situation is so different than anyone else’s way, that she keeps you on the edge of your seat, and then makes you laugh!

I enjoyed this one a lot and hope that there will be another “Molly the Maid” book in the near future.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Nita Prose, and Random House for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

The Mystery Guest proves that Nita Prose's smash debut, The Maid, wasn't a fluke. Molly is of the most delightful and even at times frustrating amateur detectives to come along in years. Prose creates a story that shines and sparkles just as a suite cleaned by Molly herself.

Taking place years since the first book, Molly has now been promoted to Head Maid and is well-respected at the Regency Grand. She is training Lily, a new maid, and working on a VIP event in for a famous author, when the guest of honor suddenly drops dead... in Lilly's lap... after drinking tea Lilly prepared for him... All eyes are on the hotel's newest hire, but Molly knows the young woman didn't kill the man. Along with the other staff of the hotel, Molly works out to uncover the true culprit, all while keeping her connected to the deceased a secret.

I really enjoyed The Maid, but I LOVED The Mystery Guest. There was just something about this one that made me like it more. Perhaps the flashbacks, to Molly's time as a child, spending time alongside her grandmother working as a maid. Perhaps that Molly wasn't our primary suspect, being railroaded by the police. Perhaps the hopeful and intriguing note this book ends on, in terms of Molly's potential, that I don't want to spoil. Perhaps the way the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Perhaps the wonderful audio narration, to really give me a sense of Molly as a character. All of these elements were wonderful and made this book a smash hit for me.

I listened to the first several chapters on audiobook--thank you to PRHA for my ALC. I finished the book on e-reader--thank you to the publisher for my eARC. Both formats were great! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

“I may miss what you think is obvious, but I’ve always been attuned to what others ignore. We’re all the same in different ways, Detective Stark.”

“Sitting at our table, legs dangling, I come to an important realization—that education is not something that happens exclusively in classrooms, that education is a state of mind.”

4.5 stars! Oh man I simply LOVE Molly the maid #polishedtoperfection. I just adore her character! She may be one of my favorites ever. I was so excited to be given an advanced copy to review because I devoured the first book and gave it five stars. It’s also a @gmabookclub pick! I will continue to revisit Molly at The Regency Hotel on any and all of her adventures and I hope there are more to come.

The relationship between Molly and her Gran is just so precious and I love how she builds confidence in her despite her learning differences. Reading this prequel is like receiving a warm hug.

@laurenambrose, the narrator of this audiobook, is absolutely superb. She NAILS Molly. Her quirks. Her mannerisms. The different voices that she uses for each of the characters. She transitions seamlessly between them making it easy to get lost in Molly’s world. A narrator can make or break an audiobook in my opinion and she managed to make Molly all the more real and beloved to me with her narration. 10/10 recommend.

Thanks for the free audiobook @PRHAudio #PRHAudioPartner and to Netgalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for the ARC.

I requested a copy of the ARC from the publisher, Ballantine Books, on NetGalley and was approved in exchange for consideration of a review. All opinions discussed are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.

”If I’ve learned anything from Columbo and from past experience, it’s that living acquaintances of the dead quickly become suspects, and that’s the last thing I want to be right now.”

Molly Gray, Head Maid of the Regency Grand Hotel, is back in a delightful new novel in which she finds herself embroiled in the murder investigation of J.D. Grimthorpe - the acclaimed best selling author known as the master of mystery. Grimthorpe booked the newly renovated tea room at the Regency to make a huge “secret” announcement, but before he can reveal that secret, he keels over dead.

Molly’s nemesis, Detective Stark shows up to investigate and among the persons of interest is Maid-in-Training, Lily - an employee recently hired by Molly herself. Molly is steadfast in her belief that Lily is innocent and her loyalty to her employee is what leads to Molly’s fortuitous help in solving the whodunit. Well, that and because Molly hasn’t told anyone that she’s actually met Grimthorpe before…

”It doesn’t matter if you understand another person’s pain because their injury is real nonetheless.”

I adore the character of Molly Gray. Nita Prose writes this novel in a dual timeline to connect Molly’s past to the current events in the present. Molly has always known she was different, but readers are given insight to how she was treated - and misunderstood - by her teachers and classmates. People can be so ugly and impatient when it comes to those who are different or require patience or perhaps a different approach to learning.

I really love how much Molly loves to clean - how much joy it gives her in a job well done. She takes so much pride in her work as Head Maid. She inspires me. I love having a clean house and spend a lot of time cleaning, though I don’t enjoy the cleaning part as much as I do the end result, lol.

I loved being back at the Regency Grand Hotel and its delightful employees, but I hope further novels will take place elsewhere. I think it a bit unrealistic for folks to keep getting murdered at the same place…at some point, folks would stop staying there. There was a little nugget thrown in that I think points to the direction of where the author may go and I am extremely excited to see if my hunch is right.

Honestly though - even if the next novel is set in the hotel, I’ll still be just as happy and thrilled to read it. I just can’t get enough of Molly!

I’ve spent the last day trying to think of anything I didn’t like or would change and the only thing I could come up with is I wish that Juan Manuel played a larger role in the story. He and Molly are just so precious together.

”Stories are a way to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.”

Nita Prose has such a great writing style for cozy mysteries. It’s accessible and free flowing, it makes it easy to consume the story as fast as your little eyes can go. I enjoyed reading about Molly’s childhood, her relationship with her grandmother is so wholesome and heartwarming. I equally enjoyed all the humor from Molly as an adult. She tries so hard to keep a positive attitude and not speak ill of people, so her ways of communicating her thoughts about other people’s actions never fail to produce a belly laugh.

”Never fear a new beginning. One chapter must end for another to begin.”

The above quote gave me hope that it was the author’s promise that we haven’t seen the last of Molly Gray!

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

I love Molly the Maid! I love how her mind works and how she values loved ones, family, and friends. I also love how she firmly took the new maid, Lily, under her wing. She may be neurodivergent, but she shows that does not mean she’s incapable of excellence. She has her strengths and is self-aware enough to recognize their worth. I can’t imagine being anywhere else but firmly on her side, rooting for her with each and every turn of the story.

One of Molly’s strengths is noticing things other people don’t, which is an excellent skill when investigating a murder. It’s been three years since there was a murder in the hotel, but once again, Molly must prove the maid did not do it and find who actually did. She investigates with an attention to detail that leaves nothing to theory.

I loved all of the twists and turns the story took and the red herrings that led me down so many rabbit holes. There are plenty of reasons for many people to have killed the famous mystery writer. Plenty of past connections and storylines could easily cause someone to want him dead. But Molly sees through all that to the undeniable facts that lead to what happened.

The Regency Grand Hotel has been polishing itself to leave the last murder that happened there behind, and Molly the Maid is helping lead that with a grand event at the hotel's new tea room. A famously reclusive mystery writer is going to make a grand announcement and there are tons of fans and press awaiting it. Only, just as he's about to make it, he suddenly dies in front of everyone. Molly had enough of sleuthing when she was falsely accused of the last murder, but memories from the past and some wrongdoings in the hotel have her jumping in with both feet to once more help the police figure out who the real culprit is.
I had to really think about my review of this book. I really do enjoy the story and how Prose crafts the plot, but Molly is the kind of original character that takes a bit of getting used to even when you're already familiar with her quirks from the previous volume.
I will say it's an excellent representation of an autistic character and shines a light on all the ways their differences make them great. Molly has a very unique way of looking at things and interacting with the world and it helps her see things that others might miss. It keeps things interesting in what is otherwise a run-of-the-mill mystery.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the enjoyable read!

4.0

“The Mystery Guest” is a beautiful kind of torture that is worth the ride. I ‘read’ “The Maid” audiobook when it was new and was recommended by someone with excellent book recommendations. I requested to review an advance copy of this sequel as soon as I saw it, but only a little bit later realized what I had volunteered for. I had remembered the rich cast of characters and some of how, even with her many disappointments, it was not just her attitude keeping Molly positive, but the many positive turns that came to her life at the end of the first book. For that reason, it wasn’t until “The Mystery Guest” started, that I was reminded of all of her challenges and the emotions they evoked.

This story picks up I believe three years later. A big author is coming to the Regency Grand to make a surprise announcement but dies in front of everyone before he can. OK, Head Maid Molly, you’ve got this!

Unfortunately, that’s when we start getting hints about how her past is tied to the author and I was suddenly waiting for shoes to drop right and left (without cleaning them and leaving them by the door). Reading a book is hard when you’re covering your eyes. It’s easier to literally or figuratively speed through uncomfortable or troubling bits when listening to an audiobook – I’ve been known to really speed up some particularly awkward flashbacks elsewhere. Therefore, it took much longer to read this than I liked, and my thoughts are disjointed, but a promise is a promise and I persevered.

If you don’t want to give Molly a hug initially, okay, but young Molly leaving school and walking hand-in-hand with Gram up to the mansion where Gram worked as a maid was heartbreaking. Thus, the slowed-down completion of this book.

Fortunately, it is otherwise a quick read, so I persevered, and the story takes a definite upturn before too late. I don’t even know how to describe this book, and I haven’t gotten an entire grasp of the how the mystery was solved, but the cast of characters that she has created is enough to draw you in and you will get all the good feels at the end. It’s enough to make up for how hard it is for Cheryl to get fired.

There were mentions of TV agents and networks in the acknowledgments, but no mention as to whether there is some plan to produce “The Maid” as a movie or series. No matter what your experience, this is a true Molly book where things just really start going her way one day and you finish feeling empowered.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for providing an unbiased review.