Once again I meet Molly the Maid, the main character from a book I read a couple years ago. And, once again there is a murder in the hotel where Molly works. This time it is a famous author, on the verge of revealing something important. She is now the head housekeeper and married. Molly is on the spectrum. She has the vocabulary and knowledge of a genius but the social acumen of a child. She has a very literal and linear mind.

To be honest, the very personality traits that endeared Molly to me in the first book, felt annoying during the first part of this story. My first thought was “here we go again.” But it does not take me long to get immersed into Molly's life and once again I start to enjoy her logical way of thinking and the fact that she is very observant. There is a lot of back story of her life with her Grandmother, which I enjoyed.

Being a cozy mystery, I love the fact that everyone came together to solve the murder. A team effort, with Molly as the leader. It is all done with reasoning and logical thinking, similar to Murder She Wrote. There is no violence or blood and gore.

There was a surprise revealed at the end, which made me feel all fuzzy for Molly. And there is also a very open-ended finale to the story!

And, the same areas in the first book, my favourite quote remains: We are all the same in different ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose is book two in her Molly the Maid series and it was such a delight to read!

Molly has been Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel for three and a half years now, and she takes great pride in her work. She has even penned an official rule book A Maid's Guide & Handbook to Housekeeping, Cleaning & Maintaining a State of Pinnacle Perfection.

Unfortunately, Molly's happy world is about to be turned upside down again, when the grand opening of a tea room at the Regency Grand is marred by the sudden death of famous author, J.D. Grimthorpe. Once again, Molly and her co-workers are suspects in a murder investigation.

Through a series of flashbacks we get to see glimpses of Molly's childhood and life with her much beloved Gran and it gives us a lot of insight into her character and her relationship with her grandmother.

I felt like in this book Molly is much more respected by her fellow co-workers, and although the story is still very amusing, there are fewer instances where the laughs are at Molly's expense.

There are a number of familiar characters in this book from Cheryl, the former Head Maid, to Molly's nemesis, Detective Stark, who finally grows to appreciate Molly's intelligence and suggests a surprising change of career. This left me wondering at the end of the book if we would see more of Molly and if so, would she still be in the same position, or would she have taken that suggestion to heart? Only time will tell!

In addition to the familiar faces, there are some new ones on the scene. First there's Lily, the new Maid in Training in whom Molly see's glimpses of herself. Then there are the Ladies Auxiliary Mystery Book Society (the LAMBS), fanatical followers of J.D. Grimthorpe.

The Mystery Guest kept me guessing almost to the very end. I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to any cozy mystery lover, and especially to anyone who loved The Maid. I really hope we see more of Molly.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoyed the first one quite a bit, Molly is an endearing & unique lead sleuth for a mystery series. She’s on the spectrum & while that may hinder her in life, it’s ideal for detective work. We find her in a much better place than the last book, she’s the head maid, she lives with her boyfriend & overall seems more confident & settled.

I liked this one even better than the first! Going back into Molly & her Gran’s past was a high note. Then when it ties in with the current murder, the book gets even better. There’s some big revelations!

The writing is lovely, it flows easily & intricately & I truly enjoyed flipping the pages. There’s slight gothic vibes when it comes to the chapters in the past. But it mixed in perfectly with the cozy aspects. Like, At Bertram’s Hotel meets Jane Eyre. This is definitely an easy recommend.

🗝️

Read if you like:
* The Only One Left by Riley Sager
* Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
* Marlow Murder Club series by Robert Thorogood

“One chapter must end for another one to begin”. So happy to see Molly back. I enjoyed this one. Enjoyed the then and now pov. Cozy mystery and just a real enjoyable read

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Random House Canada, Viking for my arc in exchange for my honest review

Publish date: Nov 28, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with the opportunity to read an eARC before the release date. This has not affected the honesty of my review.

The Maid was one of my favourite reads of last year, so I jumped at the chance to read this early. I even read it immediately the day following, all in a single day. It was everything I hoped for: more of the excellently crafted voice, smart plot, engaging heartfelt characters, and it even has atmosphere!

Molly has so much empathy and care, which makes it so easy to cheer for her and have empathy for her in return. The dynamic of her having her own maid in training while flashing backward to the time in her life when she was first a maid in training worked really well. I also enjoy the ways in which we meet her grandma without her being present in the modern day timeline. Molly has her so engrained into who she is and how she thinks - it’s really sweet.

While I guessed a few of the twists, that didn’t affect my enjoyment at all. It just proves that Molly is realizing the same things that we’re able to see, which I find to be very satisfying. I cannot wait for the next instalment of this series!! Keep them coming!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: November 28, 2023
Molly Gray is back! Nita Prose’s stellar protagonist from “The Maid” returns in “The Mystery Guest” and she is just as spunky and charming as ever!
Molly is the Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, a title she values due to her intrinsic belief in cleanliness, passed down to her by her grandmother. On the day the Regency is hosting an author’s reading, Molly is partially responsible for making the event run smoothly. And it does- until the author himself drops dead of an apparent heart attack. But once the police start investigating, they speculate that the author was drugged, which led to his heart attack and soon everyone, including Molly, once again, are at the forefront of a murder investigation. Even Detective Stark, Molly’s old accuser, returns to look into the details of this case. Molly can’t possibly believe that one of her colleagues at her beloved hotel could actually be a murderer- but all signs point to someone she knows being the culprit.
Lovable, neurodivergent Molly Gray was someone I fell in love with in “The Maid” and I was hoping that Prose would bring her back again so when I saw her featured in “The Mystery Guest” there was no doubt in my mind I’d be picking this novel up and devouring it!
In “Guest”, parts of Molly’s past are revealed, which helped me understand our delightful protagonist even more. Some of the characters from “The Maid” return, such as Angela and, of course, Detective Stark, but “Guest” flows so well that it isn’t necessary to read its predecessor, although I highly recommend it.
Prose not only tells an engaging, delightful story, she also manages to throw in a few twists and even an unexpected ending! There was no stopping me once I picked this book up, I was immediately pulled into its addictive plotline. I loved seeing how Molly has progressed since her last appearance, and I couldn’t help but root for her. The ending was emotional and yet left a question hanging over that could change Molly’s entire definition of who she is. Will Molly return? Only Prose can tell us but I really hope the answer is a resounding “Y-E-S”.

I was so excited to dive back into Molly the maid's story! I love this character - she is so quirky, funny and always makes me smile with her antics. This was a great light read - exactly what I expected from the second novel of this series. I loved the look back into Molly's past with her Gran, this definitely added a more complex layer to Molly's character. Overall - very entertaining and engaging read with a great plot and fantastic set of characters!

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great follow up to the debut of Molly Gray! Found this to be more of a cozy mystery than The Maid. We get quite a backstory on Molly and her grandmother via flashbacks, which intertwines nicely with the current murder Molly is working to solve as she finds herself once again under suspicion. Without giving anything away, I absolutely loved the ending and the direction this character "could" go in. I hope there are more books to come!

The Mystery Guest is the sequel to Nita Prose’s bestselling book The Maid, and once again follow the happenings of London’s Regency Grand Hotel. Set a few years after The Maid, Molly Gray is now Head Maid and is immersed in another death. Famous mystery writer J.D Grimthorpe suddenly dies as he is about to give an important speech at the newly restored Grand Tearoom. Molly’s nemesis, Detective Stark is called to investigate and quickly discovers that the author was murdered and that there are many suspects to be considered. Molly must try to keep the hotel’s sterling reputation in tact so she takes it upon herself to find the killer, while bringing past childhood memories to the surface.
What I liked about this book:
-loved quirky, neurodivergent Molly with her proper etiquette, attention to details, love of cleaning, and literal thinking, often missing social cues
-dual timelines of present and Molly as a child
-Regency Grand setting along with its cast of supporting characters of Mr Snow, maid in training Lily, Mr Preston and Angela
-Mr Preston’s evolving relationship with Molly as well as Detective Stark’s newfound admiration for Molly
-the cozy, feel good nature of the mystery where everything seems to work out in the end
What I Didn’t like about the book:
-I would have liked to see more of the Molly and Juan Manuel’s budding relationship
My Rating: 4 out of 5
My final takeaway: This is a delightful, cozy mystery with a quirky, endearing protagonist’s who navigates the world a little differently, yet still manages to solve the mystery and win people over despite her atypical traits.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada Viking for this eARC which will be published November 28, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, so it was such a nice surprise to see the sequel available!

This is a quick, enjoyable read with a mystery that kept me guessing throughout the entire book. I recommend it!

I really enjoyed this book. I like the characters. Molly is interesting. I enjoyed getting to know more of her backstory and childhood in this book. The mystery is interesting. This is a fun book to read.

Well, Nina Prose has done it again! If you loved her novel “The Maid”, you’ll love “The Mystery Guest.

I absolutely loved being back with Molly. Nina Prose writes a good mystery. I loved the plot and i can tell a third book will be coming that I absolutely cannot wait to read!

Thank you publisher and netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and aren’t influenced by anyone else but me

3.5 stars rounded up

This sequel to New York Times bestseller The Maid takes place a few years later and Molly Gray has been promoted to Head Maid at the five-star Regency Grand Hotel. A special event is taking place in the posh boutique hotel's tea room featuring J.D. Grimthorpe, a world-famous author of mysteries, but the writer drops dead after several sips from his cup of tea and before he can make the special announcement that his audience came to hear.

Molly's former nemesis, Detective Stark, arrives on the scene to lead the investigation and foul play is soon confirmed. Molly and her maid-in-training, Lily, come under suspicion at first but Stark soon realizes that Molly's unique powers of observation may help her solve the crime. Told over two timelines with flashback chapters to Molly's childhood when she accompanied her beloved Gran to work at the Grimthorpe mansion, Molly has to decipher clues from the present and her past in order to identify the killer.

I enjoyed The Maid so was happy to read The Mystery Guest and return to Molly's world at the Regency Grand. It's a fun read primarily because quirky (possibly neurodivergent) Molly with her flair for cleaning and her tendency to misunderstand social clues is such a likable narrator. The mystery aspect of this book is not as sharp as it was in The Maid but, like the first book, this is more than just an entertaining cozy mystery. It's an uplifting, feel-good read with an underlying theme about acceptance and that's what I enjoyed most about both books. The Mystery Guest can be read as a standalone but will be enjoyed more by reading The Maid first.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The following isn’t meant to be churlish in the least, but The Mystery Guest is, in many ways, an unnecessary book. It is a sequel to Nita Prose’s bestselling The Maid. That book was, in many ways, so perfect that it didn’t require a sequel. It had a “happily ever after” ending with a few twists, and Prose (whose real name is Nita Pronovost) had seemingly used up a whole book’s worth of puns and double entendres. Surely, it would be impossible to recapture lightning in a bottle, right? Well, as is the case with most sequels, The Mystery Guest doesn’t improve on its predecessor. To be honest, some of the magic has seeped out of the concept: a maid who may exist somewhere on the autism spectrum finds herself in the center of a murder investigation. That’s not to say that the sequel isn’t fun or doesn’t have positive attributes. However, one must approach this book with lowered expectations, because the work isn’t quite as on par with The Maid. The originality and freshness of that novel just aren’t here. Still, if you clamored for more of the same, The Mystery Guest is enjoyable enough. One must wonder how many times the main character’s hotel workplace is going to be the site of murders, but if you overlook that aspect and don’t wear too much of a critical thinking hat, The Mystery Guest brings the same warmth and humor as the previous book.

Set some time after the events of The Maid, Molly (the main character) is back in the crosshairs of the police when an extremely famous mystery author who lives in her city arrives at the hotel to give a press conference where he will make a very important announcement. The police take an interest in her maid-in-training Lily when it is discovered that the honey pot used for the mystery author’s tea contained antifreeze, meaning that said author dropped dead upon taking a sip of tea laced with honey at said press conference — the reason for Molly being once again the target of a murder investigation. However, Molly worked in the author’s mansion as a child and had something of a relationship with the man. Thus, the novel is told both from the present point-of-view and also as flashbacks. Beloved characters reappear such as Molly’s now deceased Gran (who appears in those flashbacks) and Mr. Preston, the friendly doorman of the hotel — who is hiding a secret of his own this time out.

Overall, The Mystery Guest is a pleasant sequel. The thing with this book is that it’s exciting to watch the main character once again go through the motions of being awkward and saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. While these novels never explicitly say that Molly is a high-functioning autistic, she has all the characteristics of someone who does. And she makes for an entertaining character. The nice thing about The Mystery Guest is that it is refreshingly positive. It’s a book where, no matter what bad things may befall its lovable characters, it is meant to uplift and make the reader feel good about themselves. For those reasons, fans of The Maid will be clamoring for more of this stuff and will gobble down The Mystery Guest with delight. However, as noted earlier, some of the freshness of the concept has evaporated and there’s a bit of a feeling of going through the motions with this one. As well, The Mystery Guest suffers from a touch of silliness, such as when members of the deceased author’s fan club mistake Molly for a police detective working undercover. Also, the book sometimes veers into caricature, such as making its mystery author so famous that his mansion rivals something out of Stephen King’s home complete with a bookcase that reveals hidden rooms.

Still, even though The Mystery Guest is yet another sequel that doesn’t live up to the originality of its original, it’s a book that the reader doesn’t have to think about too much. Since this is a work about authors and the mystery of how they power the written word, it may turn readers onto other works of fiction, including classics such as Great Expectations, whose significance permeates this book. And even though the world may have not been crying out for The Mystery Guest, which at times feels more like a coda to The Maid rather than its standalone work, we need more books that look at the positive side of life — which this book does (if you overlook the fact that someone is murdered during its pages). So, if you like cozy mysteries with bloodless corpses, you’re probably going to be enchanted by The Mystery Guest almost as much as you were by The Maid.

Even though there’s a sense that Prose has run out of things to say about her characters to some extent — and one of her more beloved characters from the first book, Molly’s boyfriend Juan, is missing from the narrative (away visiting family in Mexico) — The Mystery Guest is worth reading if you want to know what happened to the people who populated its predecessor’s pages. And if you don’t like the idea of your favorite book having a sequel, you can always just pretend that this one doesn’t exist. That all said, even though The Mystery Guest doesn’t quite hold a candle to The Maid, it’s still a tick better than most thrillers that come out. It’ll be neat to see where Prose goes from here — if The Maid becomes a trilogy or if she writes something new and original. For the time being, we have The Mystery Guest, like it or not, and it is a passable sequel to a true original. Put another way, it is what it is, and you’ll just have to leave things at that.

PUBLICATION DAY: November 28, 2023

Molly the maid is back for another adventure. Much to her horror, another death has occurred at her beloved Regency Grand Hotel, this time a best-selling author. Known to be fiercely private, he was all set to make an important announcement when he suddenly dropped dead in front of everyone. All eyes are on Molly, who had organized the affair - but who really killed this man? How? And why? And does Molly’s history with him have anything to do with the present situation?

PROS and CONS:
The tone of this one is so gentle and cosy. Molly is the same unique person she was the first time around, inspiring friends and co-workers with her wisdom (and her Gran’s) - and steadfastly pursuing the truth. But Molly might uncover more than just the murderer as she digs into this death, desperate to clear the name of her new maid-in-training Lily. Well written and easy to read.

READ IT?
If you’re interested in following Molly on another investigation (where she picks up on some clues and misses a lot of others) - then this one’s for you!

4 Stars

I just finished reading "The Mystery Guest" by Nita Prose. It is a sequel to her first wonderful book "The Maid". Thanks to Net Galley and Edelweiss for an advanced copy of the book in return for an honest review.
First of all I didn't think I every loved a book as much as The Maid by Nita Prose. When I heard about the sequel Iwas honestly skeptical whether it would be as good. I am happy to proclaim that this book was equally awesome. I absolutely devoured it and was so captivated not just by the story but be the characters as well.

Nita Prose has this uncanny ability to creat these multidimensional characters that all have quirks and mysteries but somehow all work together to create such a wonderful story that you have to keep reading. The best character of course is Molly the Maid, who is absolutely delightful. I LOVE her. This time she is helping to solve another mystery surrounding the murder of a famous author at her hotel. The author tells the story of Molly's childhood with her grandmother and we learn more about her and her background. We also learn some information about her family.

The strength of this story is in the rich characters and the way they interact with each other. The mystery is a solid one filled with enough twists turns and revelations that kept me guessing.. I loved all the characters but found the relationship between Molly and the lead detective to be the most ingtriguing. I just loved this book. It made me so happy and I can't wait for Nita Prose's next book....Im sure it will be equally delightful.

This is so far one of the best books I've read this year ...and that is saying something. Highly recomment. Well Done Nita Prose Well Done.

I

Molly Gray and the cast of characters from
the Regency Grand Hotel are back and as loveable as ever. If you enjoy a cozy mystery with a unique protagonist The Mystery Guest will be right up your alley.

The Mystery Guest is #2 in the Molly Maid series; however, you can enjoy this book even if you missed out on the first (The Maid). This sequel follows Molly Gray, a neurodivergent hotel maid, as she finds herself caught in the middle of yet another mystery at the Regency Grand Hotel. What ensues is a closed room (hotel) whodunnit running parallel to Molly's own childhood memories. The true masterpiece of this series is Molly herself; through this pure-hearted, hardworking, and honest character Nita Prose proves that being "different" can be most advantageous.

Readers will love this feel-good cozy mystery as much as they loved The Maid.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for a free copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the second book in the Molly the Maid series, though you could probably read as a stand alone, I would highly recommend the first book, The Maid, as it was really good. Molly is now the Head Maid, something she takes very seriously and is training a new maid. Molly is put in charge of a very special event, a renowned author is making an announcement at the hotel and Molly has to make sure the room is in perfect condition for it. Her new maid, Lily, has just brought in the trolley with the tea serving, the author has taking a sip and added more honey to it, taken another sip and drops dead on top of Lily. Now all the staff are suspects of spiking the drink. The story is told in two timelines, the present, and one in the past where Molly and her grandmother live together in a small apartment, grandma works at a large mansion as a maid, and when Molly runs into difficulty at school, grandma starts to take her to the Mansion where she makes herself useful by cleaning silverware. Molly has grown much more sure of herself since the first book though she still recites a lot of her grandma's sayings aloud and in her head. The two timelines come together very nicely and it was a bit of a surprise at the end. I would highly recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Nita Prose does it again, producing a fascinating and unique second book with The Mystery Guest that hooks the reader and refuses to let go!
This book delves deeper into the character of Molly Gray, her history, and how that history has shaped her into the one-of-a-kind person she grew into. The switches from present day to her childhood provide insight into her character, and why she interacts with people the way she does.
Throughout the book we see people around her develop a new respect for her obsessive character, as the reader does as well.
The mystery itself is complex, and the unravelling of the clues is done in a manner that only Molly could do. Throughout, there are little eggs of wisdom passed along from her gran, and a satisfying ending wraps it all up nicely.
Just like the first book, this one is superbly written. I look forward to the next instalment.
I was thrilled to receive an ARC of #TheMysteryGuest from #NetGalley.

THE MYSTERY GUEST is the second installment in the cozy mystery series about Molly the maid by bestselling Canadian author, Nita Prose. Having loved THE MAID, a brilliant dark cozy mystery/thriller debut with intriguing whodunnit vibes, I was anxious to continue with this new series, and didn’t realize that it would be the beginning of a series.

Molly the Maid mystery Series:
1. The Maid (2022)
2. The Mystery Guest (2023)

This is my review of the Mystery Guest.

In Book 1-The Maid, Molly Gray is a very detailed-oriented person, a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, a 5-star boutique hotel, who takes pride in her job. She all alone in the world. She is so grateful for her job, after her gran’s death. Every day she arrives to work and feels alive. She loves her job. She was born to do this job. She’s used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime, dust and secrets of the guests passing through. She’s just a maid…

But life has been hard on Molly without her gran to guide her, who she relied on a lot. Molly gets nervous in social situations and struggles with social skills and difficulty interpreting expressions. Her gran used to interpret everything for her. She has no friends but at work she blends in.

After her gran’s death, Molly goes back to work the next day, and finds a wealthy tycoon guest, Mr. Black, dead in his bed.

Before she knows what’s happening, the police soon target Molly as the lead suspect in the death of Mr. Black. Molly is brought into the station to take her witness statement. Molly finds herself in a web of deception, but with the help of friends Molly never knew she had, unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black.

Now in Book 2-The Mystery Guest, Molly has worked hard and followed her late Gran’s directions and now Molly has been promoted to Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. But everything changes on a dime, when her world is turned upside down when J.D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead on the hotel’s tea room floor.

When Detective Stark, investigates the death, it becomes clear that this death was murder. With the entire hotel under investigation suspects include: Lily, the new Maid-in-Training, or Serena, the author’s secretary, or Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, or could Molly be involved.

Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer's identity. But that key is buried deep in her past, where years ago she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side in J.D. Grimthorpe’s mansion.

The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different. In this novel Molly learned to judge friends through their actions. So much depth and wisdom in this novel.

Loved the quote where Molly remembers her Gran saying, “Stories are a way to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.”

I loved everything about this novel and didn’t want it to end. Many thanks to the author, Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for my digital copy.