This was a joy to read. Molly’s engaging personality and Gran’s something "cheap and cheerful" advice from The Great Beyond kept me smiling as I navigated the many plot twists in this whodunit. I think it will be a hit with Molly's current fans and gain her some new ones.

This was really cute! I know it’s meant to be in the thriller genre, but it reminds me more of a cozy mystery type. There are flashbacks to Molly’s childhood that correlate seamlessly with what’s going on present day, and that I appreciate very much. Molly is such a great FMC because she is so different and has been treated as such her entire life- but her skills make her shine so bright in this second installation of the series. My rating has to do more with me knowing how it was likely going to end and the coziness in comparison to the first novel in this series. If you’ve read The Maid and like cozy mysteries- this one is for you! Thank you NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this early! Releases 11/28.

A sweet follow up to The Maid by Prose. I enjoyed the story of Molly at the Regency Grand and once again faced with a murder in the hotel. Fun new characters and I enjoyed the dual timelines.

Book: The Mystery Guest
Author: Nita Prose
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine Books
Pub Date: November 28, 2023

Molly Gray is back and we all know I love her. But….I didn’t love her as much this go around. This is now a “series” and series books are not my favorite. I always feel like they are repetitive and it’s the same story over and over. I felt the same way about this book. I’m not sure Molly needed a sequel or any more books that might follow. I do feel like you need to read The Maid first before reading this one. There are lots of references from the first book and you might get lost otherwise. Molly is now the head maid at The Regency Grand. Lily Finch is her maid-in-training and has quirks just like Molly does. Author J.D. Grimthorpe is at the Regency to make a huge announcement about a secret he has been keeping. As he is getting ready to announce it he falls over dead. This is a cozy, cute murder mystery and it’s a quick read. It’s just very similar to The Maid and there aren’t really any huge twists to it. I enjoyed the “before” story a lot more than the murder of J.D. Grimthorpe. Maybe if the book had just stuck with Molly’s childhood I would have enjoyed that more than another murder mystery. All of that said I still adore Molly and if there is another one then yes I’ll read it. It reminds me of the Finlay Donovan series and they are pretty predictable.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is November 28, 2023.

I enjoyed The Maid, so I figured this would be a fun continuation of the series, but this was pretty slow and repetitive.

I loved the murder mystery aspect and the past and present day timelines. It was interesting learning about Molly the Maid’s past, but I found a lot of the book kind of bland.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This series is really fun! Molly is back solving crimes, working as a maid. I liked all the twists and the writing kept me turning the page.

Molly is back, and of course there is another murder in the Regency Grand Hotel. This time it is someone from Molly’s past. Even without anyone truly knowing the connection Molly and her maid in training Lilly are key suspects. Molly is just such fun. I love that this book brings Grandma back in some context. The reflections tie perfectly into the main story and everything builds perfectly into a delightful and cohesive story. I just adore reading these books, I know that others enjoyed The Maid. You will not be disappointed with this book.
Thank you so very much to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. I will be recommending it a lot.

I liked this one. It’s the second book about Molly the maid who finds herself in the middle of a mystery of who killed a famous author.
Molly has her quirks…I find them endearing…and, though they hinder her socially, they help her figure out what happened and whodunnit.
This was a quick read, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to try to solve the mystery themselves when they read.
I got to read an ARC of this in exchange for my review of it, thanks to NetGalley and the author and publisher.

Contrary to popular opinion I thought even better than the first!
A charming, captivating story filled with endearing characters & heartfelt messages.
Hoping there will be more installments in the series!

With thanks to NetGalley & Ballantine Books for this e-ARC!

Molly Gray--the protagonist who captured readers' hearts in Prose's previous novel, The Maid--is hard at work in the posh Regency Grand Hotel, where she is once again tasked with tackling both grime and crime.

When well-known mystery author J.D. Grimthorpe dies suddenly at the hotel, Molly is swept up in solving a murder. Her investigation hits very close to home for Molly, who has a previous connection to the victim. Who killed Grimthorpe? Is it possible that Molly herself is a viable suspect?

With a long list of suspects and surprising plot turns, The Mystery Guest is a satisfying sophmore whodunit in the Molly the Maid series.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Molly the Maid is back ~ in her quirky likable ways! The Maid was a 5⭐️ hit for me ~ so I was very excited to get to preview this ARC coming out November 28. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

What I liked:
•More Molly! I love this character. Call her quirky, or more likely neurodivergent ~ either way I love her. She loves her “prestigious” position as head maid, and in this book, we learn more about why.
•More Gran. Much of this book jumped back in time to when Molly was a preteen and her grandmother raised her. Because she was not succeeding in school, despite her clear brilliance, she came to work with Gran. It’s there she learned more about life, and work, and behavior ~ but found herself getting into trouble frequently.
•the mystery ~ who died? What are the connections to all the people at the hotel? The guests? The fan club? The staff?
•returning characters ~ while this is a stand alone book, I would read The Maid first.
•I could see this being made into a tv series. Kind of a Murder She Wrote style show. Light, cozy murders 😂

What I didn’t like:
•I forgot all the little details about The Maid ~ it was referenced often, but my brain hurt trying to remember!
•my attention wasn’t held quite as well as the first book. But that could just be me and all the crazy stuff going on in my life right now.
•her true love Juan was mentioned often, but played virtually no role in this book. Based on his brief appearance at the end, I suspect a book 3 will be coming (that’s a good thing!)

If you loved The Maid, you’ll enjoy this one too!

Thank you to @netgalley, @nitaprose and @penguinrandomhouse for access to this advanced ebook.

Note: Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for giving me an ARC of the sequel to The Maid series.

What a delight it was to be back with Molly and the gang at the Grand Regency hotel. I'm eagerly awaiting for the on screen adaptation featuring Florence Pugh to come out so it was very nice to get more of Molly with this second installment. This cozy mystery had all the quirks I look forward to in my more light-hearted reads. I am excited to see what the future holds for Molly's career plans and all the mayhem she will be involved in. Be sure to check out this sequel coming out November 28, 2023.

This was a fun read. It was generally light and witty while also touching some deeper topics. I found it to be such a relief to see an older and more confident Molly in this sequel, and to see some loose ends from the first book tied up. I found some of the plot to be predictable but there were still plenty of fun twists and realizations.

As another reviewer said, I’m not sure Molly the Maid needed a sequel. I think the charm was in the first book and this one was pushing it a bit.

I enjoyed the Mystery Guest. This book shows us that you may think you know a person, but in fact you don't really know them at all. This proves true for multiple characters in the book, such as: J.D. Grimthorpe, Molly, Mr. Preston, and others. This books also shows us that in most cases, when you treat people with respect and kindness, you will most of the time get that in return. Mr. Grimthorpe dies suddenly at the Regency Grand Hotel, and Detective Stark automatically suspects Molly, the maid as there was a previous incident at the Hotel years back. Molly must set out to prove who the real murderer is, and it is up to her since she and her Gran used to work for Mr. Grimthorpe when she was a child. It is because of working with her Gran at the mansion, that she has insights that no one else would know about the mysterious death of Mr. Grimthorpe. I rate this book a solid 4 stars, especially due to the multiple surprises at the end. Thank you to Nita Prose and NetGalley for this electronic ARC.

at the start of the novel, i wasn’t convinced that molly the maid deserved a sequel & i’m still not convinced. this was a very sweet, simple read but i wasn’t wowed by anything that happened here. the initial charm of the maid now just feels overdone.

4.5 stars, because I rated book one a 4 and this one was a bit better in my opinion!

Personally, my favorite part about this book is that all the backstory of Molly and Gran that is referenced in The Maid is FINALLY explained. I love how we got to learn about Gran’s past, Molly’s past, and even Mr. Preston at the end.

My one problem was with how rushed the ending felt. I wish we got more closure on what happened to Serena and what happened to the Grimthorpe Mansion and to Jenkins. I also wish Cheryl has more justice served to her, instead of getting off scot-free.

Overall, great read! I would definitely recommend!

I got access to an advanced reader’s copy of this book and am super grateful :)

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC. Ms. Prose brings back her heroine from The Maid. I will say this again - isn't Prose the best name for an author? Molly is now Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. While she still misses her beloved Gran, she’s now in love with Juan. Then disaster once again strikes at the hotel. A famous author dies at the podium at a press conference, and of course, Molly finds herself in the thick of things. This book wasn’t my cup of tea at all. The mystery was ho hum, and I found myself truly struggling to finish it.

Molly Gray is back solving mysteries in the second book of the Molly the Maid series by Nita Prose. Molly has been promoted to Head Maid, and unfortunately there's been another murder in the Regency Grand Hotel. Once again, her attention to detail helps her get to the bottom of the (cozy) murder of a famous mystery writer who is about to make a big announcement to a gathering of his super fans. Many of the characters from the first book make a reappearance, plus we find out quite a lot of Molly's back story in alternating chapters entitled "Before." This book is a lot of fun, and I would recommend that you read this series in order.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy. The book is due to be published November 28, 2023.

People might underestimate Molly Gray but they won't make that same mistake with Nita Prose. She delivers another enjoyable adventure with The Mystery Guest. Few characters are as instantly engaging as Molly Gray has proven to be over the course of two brilliant books. Molly The Maid's likability factor is off the charts. Prose combines a nice writing style with entertaining mysteries. The clues are there for Molly (and the reader) to solve. Prose also succeeds with her use of flashbacks to compliment the present time narrative. It is the work of a talented author. Prose plants the seeds for Molly to walk a new path in the next book and I hope that comes to fruition. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion. #TheMysteryGuest