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.

I uploaded my review to Goodreads. I will upload it to Amazon on release day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Nita Prose for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Mystery Guest coming out November 28, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was so excited to be approved for this book from NetGalley! I was obsessed with the first book and was so excited to learn that another book was being released. Hotel mysteries are one of my favorite genres. I love Molly’s character. I love that she has a different perspective than other people. I know this book is set in the present, but it feels like an Agatha Christie novel. Molly is an old soul and she sees things differently than other people. It was a little sad that her boyfriend wasn’t there with her, so she was on her own most of the time. I enjoyed the flashbacks. I didn’t think there would be that many, but I think they provided some insight into her past. I would love it if there is another book in the series! I’m just obsessed with hotel murder mysteries, so it was perfect for me!

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys amateur detectives and hotel murder mysteries!

The Mystery Guest is phenomenal and in my opinion even better than the first Molly The Maid book and Nita Prose has created a brand new entry into mysteries with this series!!

Molly the Maid is back and dare I say...better than ever?! I absolutely adored our first book with Molly and shocking to nobody...I loved this one as well!

The writing Prose blesses us with is impeccably done and the characters she's created are just so warm and I missed them!

I enjoyed this sequel to The Maid. The characters are rich and well developed. The story line was intriguing and kept me guessing. Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

this was a really cute cozy mystery, it was fun to return to Molly's world and I hope the hint at her becoming a detective means we are getting more in the series!

Nita Prose is absolutely a new favorite author for me! After devouring the maid i was so excited to get approved for this one!! Did not disappoint. Would absolutely recommend this for any cozy mystery lover. highly recommend!

The Mystery Guest (ARC)
Nita Prose
4.5⭐️

Pub Date: 11/28/2023

The Regency Grand Hotel, with all its glory, is back yet with another scandal. Another dead body in the new tea room. New head maid Molly is not the primary suspect this time but there are several poeple involved, some she cares for deeply. She must try to solve this post-haste! With her past entagled with the famous, now dead, author, Molly knows the answer to who the killer is lies within her memories. And is she really all that innocent as she seems? "Dirty secrets don't stay hidden forever."

Molly the Maid is back!
The synopsis said that this is a standalone novel however I personally don't think so. It's definitely related and much more fully enjoyable if you've read the first book The Maid. The character growth of Molly is so huge and I enjoyed it thoroughly. She is using figures of speech and modern abbreviations!!! 😱 I love it! The murder mystery itself is so good. And the history that came with it when Molly was reminiscing her past made it so much better! It made the plot whole. I practically inhaled this book.

There's still that similar cozy??? (I'm actually not sure how to fully describe it) feeling that I got from The Maid, and the rush and prickly cold sweats feeling from Molly and the rest of the staff getting in trouble is also there. The writing style is very unique and it's consistent with the first book. I really appreciated that. The only reason why I didn't give it a full 5⭐️ is because I thought there's a small hole in the plot. But don't let this discourage you from reading, friends! I still adored this book so much! Yay for more of Molly!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this one as much as the first one, but I couldn’t put it down. Molly is a hoot and so smart and I love her interactions with the other characters. The ending was a little too tied up in a perfect bow, but that’s okay for this style of mystery I think.

It's no mystery why Nita Prose wrote a companion to her debut novel The Maid. The Maid was a bestseller and reader's loved Molly, the maid, Prose's central character. Molly is the star of The Mystery Guest and many of her original friends and foes have returned. Hooray! This novel can stand on it's own, but it's an extra fun read for Molly's previous fans. Molly has been promoted to Head Maid at her beloved Regency Grand Hotel. When an illustrious author dies there in the midst of a fan event, Molly puts her detective skills to good use. Molly has previous history with the author and Prose does a good job of enticing her reader with this bait. Molly seems to have matured since we last saw her, but she still depends on her late Gran's witticisms. They Mystery Guest is a very entertaining read and would also make a great gift.

I was a huge fan of The Maid, and The Mystery Guest was just as good! The same cast of characters appear in this second installment, and relationships are further developed. I did think that the use of the cliche phrases, was a little overdone this time around (ex. they were used by all characters and not just Molly), but overall I really loved this book.

BOOK REVIEW ✨The Mystery Guest ☕️ Nita Prose's The Maid was one of my favorite reads last year. I didn't anticipate it being a series but when I saw the Mystery Guest I was excited to see what Molly has been up to. I don't think the Maid really needed a sequel but I enjoyed being able to dip into Molly's world again. Molly is one of my favorite characters and she has me laughing out loud at times. This book was no exception to that. Much like The Maid, this is a slow burn, but I found myself no where near interested in the mystery as I was in the first one. It took me a little longer than usual to get through and overall it was enjoyable but not my favorite. OUT TOMORROW, November 28th Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. #penguinrandomhouse #netgalley #themysteryguest #bookreview #bookstagram

If you loved The Maid you’ll love book 2! Learn more about Molly our favorite hotel maid. The same characters return and we learn more of Molly’s back story.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Molly the maid is back and every bit as charming as she was in her first mystery!

Set four years after the first book's events, Molly is now Head Maid at The Regency Grand Hotel and living with her beloved Juan when another murder turns her world upside down. A renowned mystery writer drops dead in front of a tearoom full of people. Molly knew the victim from childhood and must reach back into her memory to help figure out whodunit.

I fell in love with Molly in The Maid and was excited to see her story continue. And this one is as good as the first, maybe even better! Molly is such a refreshing and lovable character. Through dual timelines, we learn much more about Molly and her childhood in this book. We also get to know her wise and loving Gran, who passed away shortly before the events in the first book. This look back not only impacted the present-day mystery but was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, showing how beautiful Molly and Gran's relationship was. I loved this character arc for Molly, and Prose does a good job of sensitively showing Molly's strengths and challenges as a neurodivergent woman.

Prose has an engaging writing style, creating a captivating world that is fun to visit and full of interesting characters. The dual timeline was very well done and woven together in a way that made for an intriguing mystery, slowly dripping clues and uncovering secrets. It is a fast-paced story, and each chapter ends on a slight cliffhanger, making it tough to put down. So cozy and delightful, this was one of my most anticipated reads of the Fall, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Hoping we get more Molly soon!

Thank you to Random House Ballentine for the gifted ARC!

Having read The Maid fairly recently (like, was it a few weeks ago, right?), and now having read this one, I can say that I have had more than my yearly share of cozy reads. Those two have been slightly more than enough of coziness. I’d say the 2nd book is even cozier than the first one. It is cute. It is adorable. It is super cozy. Did I say it was way OTT cozy? Yeah, it was. So, so cozy.
Also, this one felt like almost a clone of The Maid, not like a sequel. It’s like I was reading the same thing, only with minor adjustments here and there. This one also had more glimpses into what made Molly the Molly it is today, what her life was like back when her Gran was alive and what was her Gran like.
If you loved The Maid, then most definitely go and grab this one – especially if you read The Maid a while ago when it was released. Also, if you enjoy anything cozy, this one is for you. If you like thrillers but prefer them to be super-lite edition, this will work like a charm for you. With a hefty dose of a super-lite murder mystery, with lots of cuddly emotions, this is such a cute feel-good read.
And now, I am, like, 100% sure I dislike cozy murder mysteries. Here. I said it. It’s me, it’s not the book. It’s all me. The book is well-written, and the story is good. It's just me, I'm not the cozy reader this book needs.

I was beyond excited when I was able to read the follow up to The Maid

I liked catching up with Molly again. I loved the flashbacks to Molly's time with her gran. For me they were the best parts of the book. I liked the current mystery that is happening in the hotel too, but was more captivated by the earlier time period.

The scenes when Molly is talking to the police are hilarious. I love how they came around to Molly's way of thinking eventually. So many people have underestimated Molly and clearly shouldn't have.

I hope we get to hear more about Molly in the future.

4.5 stars

Thanks to netgalley and Ballantine Books for the arc.

Molly Gray is a sweet, special 29-year-old woman who works as a maid in the five-star Regency Grand Hotel. She's always known that she was different. While growing up, her neurodiversity made her an outcast at school. Through the love and support of her grandmother, she was able to channel her differences into assets. Following in her "gran's" footsteps, she became a maid. Her need for order, cleanliness and following rules earned her the title of Head Maid at the hotel. When famous mystery Writer J.D. Grimthorpe is scheduled to appear at the hotel's Grand Tearoom to make a special announcement, his legions of fans are shocked when he dies at the podium before speaking. The police rush in to investigate what appears to be a murder. But Molly's special way of thinking enables her to analyze the situation and come up with her own investigation, even when she becomes an early suspect.

After I read author Nita Prose's debut The Maid, it was not apparent that a second adventure featuring this unique and appealing character was going to be developed. I was happy to learn that a second book about Molly had been written. While not a big reader of "cozy" mysteries, The Mystery Guest, like the first book, was very enjoyable. The story has some good surprises although this book isn't meant to shock or hold you on the edge of your seat. It's a perfect book to snuggle up and read with a good hot cup of tea. I suspect there will be a third book, which will surely make my list.

It is wonderful to find a book that celebrates people's differences.