3.5⭐️
I enjoyed this one just ok! In some ways more than the first in the series; in some ways less.

In contrast to the first one, this one didn’t end with problematic ethical issues. Also, the plot moved along nicely, keeping a good pace throughout. There were also some good twists - some I predicted and some I didn’t!

On the downside, the whole of the storyline felt a bit forced and contrived. There are multiple characters who display inconsistent moral ambiguity, and there is a continued negative portrayal of the police force.
I also found it a bit strange that Juan Manuel was in Mexica the whole book - maybe this was a short-cut so that she didn’t have to develop his character more.

The language is only moderate with a handful of s-words, a-s-s, d*mn, omg, GD.
No bedroom action to speak of. One almost assault scene that is not descriptive.

I received a complimentary ebook in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This is a charming character driven mystery of a maid sleuth who works at a hotel. A famous author dies unexpectedly at the hotel prior to making a big announcement and Molly the maid is on it. This book made me think of my mother with the flashbacks of Gran and her precocious granddaughter and a cozy like mystery to solve. I personally like a little more grit in mysteries but enjoyed the story and the memories.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

If you liked The Maid, you’ll like the sequel: The Mystery Guest.

I rated The Maid 3 stars and The Mystery Guest is the same. It’s an easy read but an average plot, I don’t know if it was necessary to make a sequel.

Molly looks into the past to solve this new mystery!

Our fav maid Molly Gray once again finds herself in the middle of a murder. Molly is the Head Maid at the Grand Regency Hotel.
The victim is the famous mystery writer J.D. Grimthorpe. He was all set to make a huge announcement. Alas he dropped dead in front of his fans at a function in the recently restored Grand Tearoom. The Hotel Manager aka Mr. Snow described it as an epic catastrophe!
As it turns out Molly knew J.D. from her childhood. Her Gran was a maid at his mansion. Molly went there with her Gran and cleaned silver rather than returning to school. Her autism with its quirks set her apart. Molly’s treatment by her peers was intolerable, and her teacher persecuted her because of her differences. At the mansion she was focussed and didn’t have to communicate with kids who treated her badly and teachers who couldn’t handle her disability. Molly delighted in cleaning the silver until it shone. In the afternoon she was able to read in the Library. There was a hidden door through to Mr. Grimthorpe’s study. Molly spoke to him occasionally, even though she’d been forbidden to disturb him. Molly’s observations of that time will be surprising.
As we move between the past and the present, between the hotel investigation, and Molly’s time at the Grimthorpe Mansion, a clearer picture of Molly’s history opens up.
Another wonderful mystery with glimpses of possibilities for a sleuth who solves problems through the ‘what’s not obvious’ line of thought.

A Random House-Ballantine ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Molly the maid is back in this cozy mystery from Nita Prose.

"A famous author is set to be the speaker at the newly reopened Regency Hotel Tearoom. Before he can make his big announcement he falls dead. The detective is looking hard at Molly and the other maids. But Moly knows that only she can find the real killer and bring order back to the Regency."

I love this character from Prose. Molly struggles to figure people out but her heart and her intentions are pure. We get more of Molly's back story and see some interesting connections to other characters. Molly gains some family she never knew she had.

Molly is less naive in this book and turns out to be quite the detective. There are hints about a possible new career path for her. I love her loyalty to the memory of her grandmother. And I always love it when characters grow and change.

Slow beginning to this one, but once you're used to Molly again it flies by. You may guess the killer - but not before Molly does. Add this to your 2023 list of books to read.

Molly the maid is back! She's risen to the position of Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel and runs a clean ship even hiring on Lily, a maid-in-training, whom reminds Molly a lot of herself. Although she's been missing her dearly departed Gran, she's living with her love Juan Manuel, who just so happens to be away visiting his family.

It's been about four years since Molly found herself embroiled in a murder at the Regency Grand Hotel but since then things are going swimmingly. In fact, famous author JD Grimthorpe has decided to hold a conference at the hotel where he's supposed to make a huge announcement.

Then, JD Grimthorpe falls dead before he can make this announcement. With Detective Stark back on the scene it soon becomes clear that Grimthorpe was murdered and suspects abound. It's Molly, though, that may hold the key to solving the puzzle as memories from her past bubble to the surface.

I liked The Mystery Guest better than The Maid. I think this series really benefits from having previous knowledge of the characters as well as the writing style of the author. I knew what to expect in that regard. Plus, there was a lot of setup in the first book detailing Molly's day-to-day as a maid and we forgo much of that because it's already established.

This opens up the opportunity to learn more about Molly's past through flashbacks. Specifically how she would help her Gran when she was a maid at the Grimthorpe mansion. That's right, Molly was acquainted with the deceased. While I think it's pretty safe to conclude that Molly is not JD Grimthorpe's murderer, I thought it was a very interesting story choice for Nita Prose to make because it means we can have Gran back as a character via flashbacks, and we get insight into Grimthorpe. It also adds depths and layers to Molly which reinforces the idea that she is not someone to be underestimated. She has a keen mind and a penchant for details which, turns out, goes really well with trying to solve a mystery.

I feel like this time around Molly has more confidence. The first book brought about a lot of new changes for her but she's stepped into her new role of head maid and gained new friends who see all these great qualities in Molly as opposed to seeing her as "different" which is something we see her struggle with in the flashback sequences.

This book was a super quick read for me. I often found myself looking at my progress wondering how I got so far so quickly. But it just moves. I don't think I can say there's truly much fine-tuned mystery solving happening in the traditional sense, there's not a lot of twists and turns, and Molly is almost reluctantly pulled into it as she'd, understandably, rather not have her name, again, associated with a murder. More, I found it about widening the lens to see the bigger picture, and connecting the pieces with how the past influences the future.

Now that we've gotten to know Molly even better than in the first book, I'd love to continue to see more books in this series. I feel like there's still so much to explore in the Regency Grand Hotel and more to discover in Molly's character.

“A good cup of tea cures all ills. And if it doesn't, have another.”

THE MYSTERY GUEST follows the another mystery at the Regency Grand Hotel with everyone’s favorite maid/detective Molly Gray, picking up where the beloved novel THE MAID left off.

These books really shine because of Molly. She is impossible not to love with her quirky naïveté and dedication to her job. The best parts of this book for me were the flashbacks to Molly as a child with her gran 🥰👵🏻 it kept wanting to learn more about how Molly got to be the way she is.

Even though I had a digital copy, I listened to this on audio - and to be honest I don’t think I would have loved it as much if I read it. The narration was fantastic and it just felt like a warm hug.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again: I love cozy mysteries. If you don’t, don’t read this book. Don’t go in expecting a thriller. ALSO - you could probably read this without reading THE MAID but I highly suggest reading that one, mainly because I loved it so much.

Molly Molly Molly. So great to catch up with our favorite maid. I really liked the mystery murder and the back story of her and her gran that was told. The hints at the end gives some tid bits on how this could continue as a series. I say bring it on.

I am loving these Maid books! Molly is such an interesting character, and the level of cozy mystery these books have is hard to find these days. Loved it!

If you liked Prose’s The Maid then you’ll love the second book in her series. It begins with Molly thriving in her new role as Head Maid…until an unexpected death occurs. A famous author, Mr. Grimthorpe, has been murdered at the hotel and Molly is in the middle of it all… again. Will her attention to detail save the day or will it once more put her in the line of fire?

In this book, Prose gives insight into Molly’s childhood and thus how Molly the Maid came to be. As Molly gains understanding of the world around her so too does the reader in regard to Molly. Prose also gives the reader a glimpse into the past lives of the supporting characters. This brings the the Molly the Maid books together with a flow to the storyline that wasn’t as evident in Prose’s The Maid.

I recommend this book to all who fell in love with Molly the first time around and to those who are looking for a character that will inspire them, challenge them, and grow right along with them.

I want to start by saying, I enjoyed this one a lot more than the first one. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the first, but this one felt better planned out. I felt like I liked the characters much more in this one, particularly Molly.

For those who have not read the first one, you could read this as a stand alone. However I would recommend reading the first one so you can fully appreciate the story.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to what comes next! Thank you so much for this arc

Thank you Random House/Penguin Random House for this ARC of “The Mystery Guest” by Nita Prose. Also to Nita Prose. I loved the book “The Maid” and could hardly wait for “The Mystery Guest” to come out.. I was just as enamored with this book as the first! Any book that can take me into their world, create characters with such depth is my kind of book! Molly was as smart as a whip, she didn’t believe it herself, although she proved it time and time again. I can’t believe what happened with Mr.Preston! And I’m anxious to see what happens with Juan Manuel. I just got lost in this book in such a great way! Please tell me there will be another “Molly the Maid” mystery!! Many kudos to Nita Prose, so looking forward to your next book!

Nita Prose returns with the follow up to her best selling novel, The Maid. The Mystery Guest is a heartwarming mystery featuring the return of our charming protagonist, Molly, who has now been promoted to head maid. When a famous author dies suddenly at the Regency Grand Hotel, Molly is determined to crack the murder.

Just as the author J.D. Grimthorpe gets ready to start his press conference, he drops dead in the hotel’s tea room. Molly’s nemesis, Detective Stark, begins the investigation and determines that the author was poisoned when drinking his tea. Clues point directly to Molly and her maid in training, Lily, who prepared the tea cart. All Molly ever wanted to do was be a maid like her beloved Grandmother who worked in the Grimthorpe mansion. Molly is smart while also socially awkward and has trouble trying to fit in. Her detail oriented personality makes her the perfect maid and sleuth to notice the clues for uncovering the truth behind the murder.

With fully developed and likeable characters and a heartwarming ending, The Mystery Guest is a perfect cozy mystery. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the advanced reader’s copy in return for my honest review.

I was hoping the follow-up to The Maid by Nita Prose would be good. Sometimes sequels are just a huge letdown. But I am happy to report that The Mystery Guest was just as good as the first book and I loved it from start to finish. I enjoyed the character of Molly and the author’s writing is excellent, I think that if you liked The Maid, you will not be disappointed!



Plot:

Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J. D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead—very dead—on the hotel’s tearoom floor.

When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: Who killed J. D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the high-profile death threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past, as long ago, she knew J. D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery posthaste. Because if there’s one thing she knows for sure, it’s that secrets don’t stay buried forever.

Molly the Maid is back in The Mystery Guest. If you were a fan of The Maid you will love this as well, it is not technically a sequel and can be read as a stand-alone. I would suggest reading The Maid beforehand though to get a little background into the characters!

This is a cozy mystery that actually has two mysteries to solve, to figure out who killed the famous author and how Molly the Maid is connected to him before his appearance at the hotel. It was fun to follow along, although I did find it a bit predictable but I mean it's a cozy mystery. A fun and quick read.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House, Ballentine books for the ARC copy of this book!

I love Molly the maid and all of her quirks! The "mystery" portion of this book is good but Molly and her Gran make the book great.

Molly the Maid returns to the Regency Grand Hotel with a new (murder) mystery to solve after a famous author drops dead in the ballroom. Did The Maid need a sequel? No. Did this make me happy and scratch my cozy mystery itch? Absolutely it did. I really appreciated the flashbacks in this one that allowed us to spend more time with her grandmother, see their relationship, and experience some of Molly’s childhood. Fans of Juan Manuel will be sad to learn he spends the book almost entirely off page but that was my only (minor) complaint. BotM fans should also note this was recently added as a December add on!

Pub Date: 11/28/23
Review To Be Published: 11/21/23
eARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A fun, cozy mystery that's a fantastic follow up to The Maid. You don't necessarily have to read the first book to enjoy The Mystery Guest but it does make for a richer experience. An intoxicating whodunit that keep me guessing. Just a solid, entertaining read

I went back to the Regency Grand Hotel for another mystery with Molly, and I was not disappointed. I enjoyed getting to know this character more and watching her grow and better navigate the world around her, even if she doesn’t always seem to fit in.

Just as the boutique hotel is recovering from the death of Mr. Black, another unexpected tragedy strikes, and everyone wants to know who did it. There are quite a few suspects, and everyone seems like they have something to hide… including Molly!

I really love this series, it is light, cozy, and gives you hope in humanity. In addition, I feel this is a great insight to the world of neurodiversity, even if the characters are fictional. This was a great sequel to “The Maid,” and I hope there will be more to come!

4/5 Stars

You don't have to have read book 1, but you will want to because Molly is a fantastic character.

This was a great follow up to book one and I am so excited to see where the next one goes.