THE MYSTERY GUEST was such a fun return to the world of The Maid. Taking place three years after the events of the first book, we once again have Molly at the center of a murder case. While this book didn’t add anything to this story, I found that this book was just as fun as the last one. I think if you liked the first book, you’ll enjoy this one.

Part of what I loved about The Maid was being on Molly’s head. This continues with this installment, but this time, I found that Molly had grown into a much more confident character with who she is and her neurodivergence. Additionally, this time around, we get insight as to who Molly is in her younger years and her relationship with her Grandmother. These are presented as flashbacks throughout the story and ended up being really interesting. It was wonderful to see Molly grow into herself and, at the same time, to see how those that are neurotypical sometimes underestimate and undervalue the insight that individuals who offer alternative ways of being or thinking.

While I loved the story, I will agree that this book is similar to The Maid. I can see how those that were looking for something different from this story could be disappointed or underwhelmed. I was not one of these individuals, as I really liked The Maid and this book. Those looking for something new might not be as invested in the story or might even wonder why this story needed telling in the first place.

Overall, I loved this book and flew through it in less than two days. Those who really loved the first book would probably really enjoy this one, as it’s extremely similar. Those that wanted something more unique or different from the story might not enjoy this one as much.

Thank you to Random House-Ballentine and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

We are back with the lovely Molly where she is once again caught up in a murder at the hotel she works at. Molly’s character was the saving grace in this story for me. She is delightful to be in the head of.

But I felt this was lacking in a lot of areas that made the first book so special. The tension of Molly being caught up in the crime was almost non-existent in this installment whereas the first one had me nervous for Molly the whole way through. There are also, what I feel, many less character moments and interactions that were a highlight in the first story. I did like the “before” chapters that give us a glimpse into Molly and the victim’s past.

The end of this book opens up a pretty big story arc for Molly the Maid, and I would definitely be open to seeing where that goes!!

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books and Libro.fm for my gifted copies.

I was really worried about reading and reviewing this title on time for its publication and was so happy to see it was an available ALC via Libro.fm for the month of November.
I definitely prioritized this audio when I saw it was available to me.

The narrator for this book is Lauren Ambrose and she did a phenomenal job. She embodies this character perfectly when narrating this series.

The book itself is a great read. I was fully invested in the characters and the mystery.

I loved the visits into the past and the glimpses of Molly and her Gran. The bond that they have / had is very heart warming.

I just love Molly and I cannot wait to see if there is a book 3.

After giving the first book in this series (The Maid) 4.5 stars, I was honored when my request for an ARC of this book was accepted and this was sent to me. That was actually this past summer, and I forced myself to wait closer to the publication date to make sure I didn't recommend it too early and drive people nuts. lol

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC!!

This book takes place about three years after The Maid, so if you haven't read that, I'll try to not give too many spoilers. Molly is still a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, but is now well respected among her peers.

When it is announced that the famous mystery author J.D. Grimthorpe is planning to use the Regency Grand's new tea room to make a very important announcement, Molly is determined that everything is perfect for the event. She and her new maid-in-training, Lily, prepare everything to the highest standard. But, as the old, ornery author steps up in front of the hotel staff, his assistant, the press, and his most adoring fans, he drops dead before he's able to get out his proclamation.

In a horrible case of déjà vu for Molly, the Regency Grand is once again thrown into an investigation. Did the old Grimthorpe die of natural causes, or something more sinister? What will happen when Molly's old nemesis Detective Stark shows back up to the hotel, especially when she finds out that Molly is hiding a secret about her past?

This one was great. I loved seeing the flashbacks of Molly as a little girl with her beloved Gran, and it was so nice reading more about Gran's back story as well to find out why Molly adored her so. The twists weren't horribly shocking, but I loved to read how it all came together.

This lovely book comes out November 28th, but if you haven't already, make sure to check out The Maid first so you're ready when The Mystery Guest comes out!!

Not only did I enjoy The Mystery Guest, but it redeemed the Maid for me. This is the definition of a cozy mystery. I enjoyed switching between the past and present, and especially enjoyed getting to know a younger Molly. I appreciated Molly’s character development and also the side character’s understanding her more. In terms of the mystery, I actually did not guess the culprit, which is always an added bonus in a detective like novel. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys mysteries, but doesn’t love the anxiety that sometimes come with them. I would also recommend people give this a go, even if they didn’t like the Maid.

I was lucky to read Ms. Prose's first book The Maid as an ARC and I was thrilled to be able to read the follow up, The Mystery Guest. Second books can be tough, especially when following a blockbuster book that had such a fresh and distinctive voice with the protagonist, Molly the Maid.

I was a little skeptical it would measure up, but I was most definitely wrong. The Mystery Guest is another charming mystery with the bonus of going deeper into some of the characters from the first book and introducing some new ones. Much of the book is in flashbacks when Molly was ten years old and helping her beloved Grandmother at a large mansion. These chapters both inform the current mystery and flesh out more about Molly and her family backstory.

I liked the arc of new maid-in-training Lily and it was good to see Detective Stark back again.

A definite recommend!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an arc of The Mystery Guest. First off, I love Molly the main character who is now the Head Maid. She is quirky and fully herself. It is fun to read books when the characters are real and raw. A famous author dies while giving an announcement at the hotel and now it is who did it. The book feels a bit like Clue. But, I enjoyed how the ending wrapped things up.

Molly the maid is BACK and ready to tackle yet another mystery at the Regency Grand Hotel!
With her classic can-do attitude, a trusty new protege, and her Gran's wise words to live by, Molly is ready for anything life throws her way— even a famous author's murder in the Tearoom!!!

If you're in the mood for a low-stakes, cozy mystery with lovable MC's this is the book for you. If you loved the first one, chances are you'll love this one too. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook!

Thank you @PRHaudio and @Libro.fm for the complimentary audiobook and @NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC.

Eek. This was not it for me. I liked the setting of a hotel and the general vibe of the book, but I found myself bored while reading it. The end also wasn't particularly surprising. I also didn't really connect with any of the characters.

My biggest complaint with this is that it went so quickly! I would've sworn this was a novella; I just flew through it, and now it's over. While I think I liked the novelty of meeting Molly and seeing the world through her eyes the first time (in The Maid), and I think the storyline may have been stronger in that book, Prose's skills as a writer have gotten much stronger. There's far greater clarity in <i>The Mystery Guest</i>, even just in who Molly is and how she sees the world, as well as in the overall tone. The whimsicality is clearer here, whereas in the first book, the straddling of murder mystery and fairy tale was a bit less comfortable. Prose writes with greater confidence in this follow up, and she leans into character development, which makes up for a slightly less compelling mystery. And it certainly seems like she's setting up the world for further development, so I'm hoping to read another in the series soon enough!

I devoured this one in two days and I'm sad I'm done. The writing improved so much from the Maid which was still a five star book for me. I liked feeling less angst and dread with this one and Molly is such a fun quirky character to love and read. I want a book 3!!

Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine, and Nita Prose for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I liked this one better than the first book. I thought that the pacing was better in this one and I couldn’t put it down. It goes back and forth between the past and present and you learn a lot about Molly and those around her. This was a five star read until the last bit because something about the end wasn’t entirely satisfying, but I’m not sure what it was… It may have been wrapped up too quickly for me. Overall, though, I LOVED this one! Be sure to check it out if you like mysteries.

I am conflicted by this one! On the one hand, I read it in under 24 hours, thats how easy it was to get through. I was definitely enticed by the back and forth story telling of past and present, but there was no wow factor. There was no major twist or shock about who the culprit was... I was expecting so much more. I loved Molly as a character though and her story with her Gran was precious, and how she evolved over the years. Not my favorite mystery/thriller though.. even the revelation in the epilogue was interesting but not shocking.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱”The Mystery Guest" by Nita Prose

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Expected publication November 28, 2023

Thank you to @netgalley for the digital ARC. 

Molly the maid is still working at the Regency Grand hotel and has been given the title Head Maid. Her confidence has grown leaps and bounds since the first book. The best part of this book was more of Molly's quirkiness, and just her embracing it all. Even the detective began to understand and appreciate Molly's attention to detail and amazing memory. I truly enjoyed the chapters that went back in time, about Molly and her Gran’s relationship, and what originally got her interested in becoming a maid. 

The story opens when a VIP guest drops dead on the tearoom floor. The twist: Molly was acquainted with this guy as a child and her history with him could be the key to solving the murder. Due to Molly's unique self-dialogue there is a lot of repetition in the book- things Gran told Molly that she recites back in her head. And Juan Manual, who was a wonderful addition in the first book and Molly's true love is not in this novel. He is away visiting his family in Mexico. I missed the light-heartedness he brought to Molly's world. 




#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

Thank you very much for the ARC!! This novel absolutely exceeded my expectations. From the writing, to the characters, to the mystery and everything in between, everything was perfect and it was so hard for me to end this novel. Very excited about this being a series, and I look forward to future releases! Already telling all my friends to read The Maid.

Molly Gray is back, still at the Regency Grand, but now the Head Maid, a matter of great pride. As the hotel worked to shine up its reputation after the murder of a guest (See, The Maid), management decided to bring back its once glorious tearoom. Silver tea services and porcelain cups grace the tables at the tearoom's early grand opening. The date was moved up to accommodate the reclusive, mercurial and highly successful mystery writer J.D. Grimthorpe. He is planning to make a major announcement. Molly is in charge of the event. She is training Lily, an extremely introverted and quiet young woman, to be a maid whose standards rise to Molly's. Lily is tasked with serving Grimthorpe his tea. He sweetens it with plenty of honey steps up and begins his speech and … drops dead.

Molly is notably bright, well read, has a vocabulary that rivals anyone's, is so detail oriented that she notices things no one else notices and cleans dirt no one else has seen. She is not so good at reading people's social cues or using a filter when speaking to them. She has a heart of gold, and truly perceptive people have taken her under their wings. Her Gran died before we first met Molly, but she is still with her boyfriend, hotel chef Juan Manuel. He's in Mexico visiting family. Molly's friends at the hotel love and protect her from those who do not appreciate or "get" her. But when the police are called, Detective Stark -- not a Molly fan-- is the one who arrives at the scene. She wants Molly to stay in her lane and Molly tries, but her buddy Angela the bartender is a true crime buff who's dying to get Molly involved. Bouncing around the background and often the foreground are the LAMBS, The Ladies Auxiliary Mystery Book Society, who are fervent Grimthorpe fans.

As Molly is surrounded constantly by all the chatter about Grimthorpe's death, she finds herself thinking a lot about her past, when despite her good grades, the principal wants to retain her for a year due to her poor social skills. Gran takes Molly to work after the meeting. Gran is a maid for a temperamental man and his demanding wife: The Grimthorpes. Woven throughout "The Mystery Guest" is a story about a precocious child who spent time with the dead man. Was he murdered? Many people had a motive to kill the jerk. If murdered, will Molly be accused? She decides not to mention her connection to the departed to anyone. Is her poor trainee going to be blamed? Grimthorpe's personal secretary? Perhaps one of the many attendees?

Nita Prose makes us like Molly a lot, putting us in her head as the narrator once again and placing her in her element, the hotel and the apartment she loves. The characters are fun, not terribly deep but neither are these novels. Yet they have so much heart I want more, more, more. Molly gets through hardships or tasks ahead with a variety of little sayings she learned from her Gran. One of my favorites: "To err once is human; to err twice is idiotic." Gran was the rare, unconditionally loving and incredibly positive person we all could use in our lives. She lives on through Molly. The mystery is plotted well enough and the story is sweet. Very, very enjoyable. Highly recommend.

I loved this book soo much!! Molly Gray is one of my favorite characters and it was SO good to be back with her. I couldn’t put it down and flew through the book. Hoping to see Molly again in another book soon!

This is such a cute and quirky murder mystery.
I was genuinely so happy for Molly in this book. I loved hearing more backstory about her and her Gran, as well as seeing her growth from this book and the last. The relationship she had with her grandmother is so special and I adore their bond.

Although some things were wrapped up a little too neatly for me and didn't make a ton of sense, l overall enjoyed this one and would be curious to read the next book in this series if another comes out.

3.5/5 stars

“My Gran once told me a story about a maid, a rat, and a spoon.” Here are reasons to read the Mystery book:

Sequel - In this sequel to The Maid, we are back at the hotel it all start with
Molly The Maid - Molly the maid has been promoted to head maid
Famous Author - and she is organizing a tea and event for a very famous mystery author
A Murder - but when that author collapses dead, is it a murder?

I really enjoyed the first book in this series as Molly is such an interesting character. She is innocent and sees the world through a specific lens. But she is smart and she sees things that other people don’t. If you haven’t read this series, I definitely recommend. I wasn’t as much shocked by the WHO in this book as I was by the WHY including some interesting facts about Molly’s own connection.

It was another cute and cozy Molly mystery. Just as good as the first. I can't wait to see all of the things that await Molly in the future. I love the way the author uses all of Molly's "quirks" and neuro spicy tendencies to show that you can have a whole life and be of use to the world no matter what your "differences" are. As a mom of two on the spectrum, I appreciate this so much.