Thanks @netgalley and @penguinrandomca for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I love the characters in this series, and I was glad to find out even more about them in the latest book. The book does start off a little bit slower than her last one, but with some interesting information shared about the background of the grandmother. I think the pacing picks up a bit about halfway through, but I still found this book a hard one to put down even though it wasn’t super fast-paced. I did figure out how things were going to end largely, but with one little twist that I did not expect. This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me. Definitely worth checking out when this book is released at the beginning of

The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose is a captivating and suspenseful mystery that blends emotional depth with a cleverly constructed plot. Following the success of The Maid, Prose’s latest installment takes readers deeper into the world of Molly Gray, a young woman with a unique perspective on the world due to her neurodivergence. In The Maid’s Secret, Prose explores themes of loneliness, trust, and the hidden complexities behind the lives of those who are often overlooked.

The novel begins with Molly continuing her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, where her life takes an unexpected turn after she stumbles upon a secret that changes everything. As the story unfolds, readers are taken on a journey that not only keeps them guessing but also offers poignant insights into Molly’s world. What makes this story stand out is Prose’s ability to create an unreliable but deeply sympathetic protagonist, whose innocence and sincerity make her a character readers will root for even in the most puzzling of circumstances.

Prose’s writing is sharp, engaging, and atmospheric, with a keen attention to detail that makes every interaction and every twist in the plot feel meaningful. The hotel, a grand yet slightly rundown establishment, becomes almost a character in itself, providing both a setting for intrigue and a metaphor for the disarray in the lives of its inhabitants.

The central mystery, which involves deception, hidden truths, and moral ambiguity, is artfully crafted. Prose does a wonderful job of balancing suspense with character development, giving us not only a riveting plot but also the emotional journey of a woman who must confront the difficult truths about herself and others. As Molly unravels the layers of secrecy around her, readers are drawn into her world, both emotionally and intellectually.

One of the strengths of The Maid’s Secret is the author’s ability to explore complex issues such as social isolation, trust, and the varying ways in which people perceive the world. Molly’s particular view of the world adds an extra layer of intrigue to the narrative, as it prompts readers to question what they think they know about the characters and the situations they find themselves in.

While the book shines in terms of its character-driven plot and psychological insights, it may feel a bit predictable at times for readers familiar with the genre. Nevertheless, the emotional payoff and the satisfying conclusion make it well worth the read.

In conclusion, The Maid’s Secret is a poignant and suspenseful mystery that delivers on both the intellectual and emotional fronts. Nita Prose has once again demonstrated her skill in blending gripping plotlines with complex, human-centered storytelling, making this book a must-read for fans of character-driven mysteries and psychological thrillers.

Mystery, twists and the same loveable characters! I really enjoyed this sequel. Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

The novel is the 3rd installment of the series Molly the Maid. In this installment, Molly discovers that the Faberge egg that she thought was worthless is worth a fortune. The egg mysteriously disappears and the egg hunt is on. I enjoyed the backstory of Molly’s Gran, how we understand her fall from fortune but becomes the wonderful loving person that she becomes, further our love of Molly and her history. I have read all of this series and this is undoubtedly the best. 4 out of 5 stars!

This book is a good egg!

The Maid's Secret is the third book in the Molly the Maid series and did not disappoint!

An antiques show is filming at the Regency Grand and the staff are invited to bring in a few items to have appraised. Molly selects a few of her gran's keepsakes to be looked at and is shocked to find out a Faberge egg she possessed is worth millions. With her wedding on the horizon and her landlord announcing a renoviction, Molly agrees to sell the egg. However, the egg goes missing and Molly and her friends are faced with solving yet another mystery.

This installment is told in a slightly different format. Instead of Molly's perspective only, we are also taken back in time through diary entries from Gran. We finally learn just where Gran came from and how she came to be a maid raising a child on her own.  Her story had all the feels, and by the end of the book, I was literally sobbing!

Even with the passing of her gran, Molly is thriving in her work, relationship with Juan Manual, and friendships. She is still the quirky, proverb filled character we all love but in a slightly more mature way. I love the way the author continues to let Molly's character evolve while maintaining her simplicity and integrity. 

At this point, I will read anything Nita Prose writes and hope this series will continue. The Maid's Secret is an absolute page-turning gem that should not be missed. Like I said earlier, it's definitely a good egg!

**Received with thanks from Penguin Random House and the author.**

I had the privilege of previewing the Maid’s Secret and I am so glad that I did. If you have enjoyed the previous Maid books then this is a must read! This seems as though it is the last in The Maid series and Nita Prose has capped the series off in fine style. We learn so much of the back story of these coveted characters and there is of course some mystery and sleuthing that is required. I will miss reading about this quirky cast of characters but what they have taught me about life will stay with me for many years to come.

Thank you, Net Galley, Nita Prose and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to preview this title in exchange for my honest review.
The Maid’s Secret is expected to be released April 8, 2025.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Charming, whimsical, and unforgettable!

Molly will always have a key to my heart.

Returning to the Regency Grand feels like stepping into a world where kindness, loyalty, and just the right amount of mischief hold everything together. And at the center of it all is Molly Gray, precise, endearing, and wonderfully herself, even when life throws her into yet another tangled mystery. This time, it’s not just a stolen artifact; it’s a whirlwind of long-buried secrets, hidden treasures, and a past that reaches out with a story of its own.

I loved watching Molly navigate the chaos with her signature earnestness, from reality TV crews to the surprising discoveries she brought with her from Gran’s treasures in her curio cabinet, carefully placed in a shoebox for appraisal. The glimpse into Gran’s past was just as enchanting as the present-day heist, weaving together love and intrigue into something far greater than a mystery. It became a celebration of resilience, deep connections, and a love that endures across generations.

One of my favourite parts was how the previous books and a certain item tied into this one. I always had a feeling about it. I also love how light and cozy these mysteries are. It’s fun to just sit back, enjoy, and have a good sense of where the story is headed. That said, I was a little surprised by Gran’s backstory. I wasn’t expecting it, but I really enjoyed it and thought it answered a lot of lingering questions. The dual timeline made this read even more suspenseful and interesting, adding an extra layer to Molly’s already delightful world.

And of course, no trip to the Regency Grand would be complete without the heartwarming friendships and delightful quirks that make this world such a joy to visit. Whether solving crimes, preparing for her upcoming wedding, or simply being the Molly we adore, she proves once again why she’s impossible not to root for. And that ending—I absolutely loved it. It was extremely satisfying, wrapping me in warmth and leaving me with the happiest of feelings. In the end, I felt it was deeply moving and touching.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy. I highly recommend picking this one up. It’s an absolute delight!

Molly the Maid is not only the star of this book, but is also a trending sensation when footage of her and her quirky ways gets online. And it's all thanks to the show that's currently being filmed at the Regency Grand.

Unfortunately the ship has sailed for Molly the maid. Felt like a historical romance novel instead of a mystery. The mystery component was very predictable and was disappointing

I must start by thanking both NetGalley as well as the publisher for me eARC in exchange for my honest review.
What sadly looks to be the end of the Molly Grey Trilogy, ties up the loose ends and provides a heart tugging conclusion. The best was left for last.

Thank you, NetGallery, for the ARC.

If The Maid's Secret is the last chapter in the Molly the Maid series, it's a lovely way to wrap things up. Prose does a great job weaving together Molly's story with her grandmother's, creating a heartfelt and engaging mystery. That said, the plot was a bit predictable, and the constant shifts between past and present made the first half drag. I struggled to get into it initially, but I'm glad I stuck with it—the ending made it worthwhile. If you're looking for your next cozy mystery, this one's worth picking up!

Read the book for 1.5 hours and just couldn't get into it. Wanted to give it a chance but not for me.

thank you NetGalley for the eARC
I really liked this installment and really loved the POVs we got! it's been a wild ride and I hope there is more!

With the TV show Hidden Treasures filming at the Regency Grand hotel, Molly Gray finds that one of her own hidden treasures has been pilfered from the set. Threats against her person are made, but Molly bravely soldiers on, facing her family's past and embracing her future.

This entry in the Molly the Maid series is a love letter to all the main characters who have graced the pages of the previous books. Finally, we, the readers, are granted access to the rich history that makes up Molly's heritage. And what a joyous ride it's been.

Initially, I was sad to realize that Molly is not the same person I grew to love in the first story. Then I realised that she has grown and matured in a very natural way into a lovely honourable woman and I celebrated her personal achievement. The best of this novel is the slight maturing of all the characters, which felt authentic.

The mystery shares the stage with Molly's grandmother's backstory. The novel did not suffer for this division, but rather found great profit as they dovetailed together perfectly. When all the shouting was over, I was overjoyed by the conclusion.

A sincere thank you to Nita Prose, Penguin Random House Canada, and Netgalley for the opportunity to view an Advance Reader's Copy.

- enjoyed this installment and was happy to hang out with molly and her entourage again
- book has 2 different POV's: molly's and her grand mothers, which i really appreciated
- i enjoyed learning more about molly's gran and her history/how she truly came to be
- it wasn't the most "mysterious" book, as i did guess a decent amount of what was going to happen, but enjoyed it nonetheless
- cute, cozy, friendly mystery

thank you NetGalley for the ARC

4/5

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: Apr. 8, 2025
Molly returns in the third novel in Nita Prose’s “Molly the Maid” series. In “The Maid’s Secret” Molly has been promoted, working as the head of special events at her beloved Regency Grand Hotel and she is planning a wedding to her fiancé, Juan. But when the Regency Grand Hotel becomes the centre of an antiques television show, Molly is overwhelmed by the cameras, the crew and the couple who host the show. When she brings her own antique to the hosts for assessment Molly gets more than she bargained for- the ceramic egg given to her by her deceased grandmother is actually a Faberge, and is worth millions. But just as Molly is coming to terms with her windfall, the egg is stolen and, once again, the hotel is the centre of a police investigation.
Molly took the world by storm in Prose’s first novel in the series, “The Maid”, and she has continued to catch the attention of readers everywhere. I was a huge fan of Prose’s “The Maid” and have kept up with Molly and her friends ever since.
Molly’s plotline is juxtaposed with sections of her grandma’s journal, each story headlining opposite chapters. Readers grow to understand and love Molly’s grandmother even more as they hear her story through her own words and I loved that Prose made this a central part of “Secret”. Molly’s grandmother’s story is relevant to Molly’s current situation, making the ending come together seamlessly.
I fell in love with Molly right from the first pages of “The Maid”, and I wasn’t alone. I love how she has grown as a character and it is through Prose’s insightful character development that I connected with such a forthright and brave protagonist as Molly.
As neurodivergent protagonists become more and more present in literature of today, which I am happy to see, Molly will stand out among the rest. Prose’s plot line flows, her relatable characters will make readers laugh out loud and the trouble Molly gets in to along the way make “The Maid’s Secret” a lovable addition to this collection of novels. As I expected, I’m left begging for more.

I was unsure what this installment would be about because how many mysteries can one maid come across? This book was a wonderful way to wrap up the series and get a better glimpse at Molly's Gran. I was smiling everytime we uncovered the origin of Molly's catchphrases. The story was gripping and it was very well paced.

The one drawback for me, which was my problem with The Mistletoe Mystery, it was not very Molly like. The charm of Molly the maid for me was her awkwardness and inability to read social queues. This is what made her a great amateur sleuth and understand the connections others may have missed. This book did not have that, the heist and the secret were rather straight to the point.

Overall, a good read but Molly and her quirks are not a main character.

Rating: Half good half meh / 5

So...it's not the first time I'm saying this--in fact, I've been saying it for every book since after book 1...

...and I'm definitely NOT the first person to say this--in fact, a lot of people have been saying it since after book 1...

...But I really DON'T think that Molly the Maid should be a series. Molly has, indeed, overstayed her welcome; and the author has, indeed, lost track of originality or good ideas to progress things further, indicating that maybe they shouldn't be progressed in the first place.

*shrugs* That's the gist of it, anyway.
______________

To explain my rating in a bit more detail, I'll make things easy as pie: the Molly parts were the good parts; and the Gran parts were entirely skippable--which I'm unashamed to say I DID do.

Ahem.

The plot here is set up pretty well, for what it's worth: a famous antique duo are coming to the Regency Hotel, and it just so happens that everyone wants to have some old trinkets appraised to see if they're worth anything. At Juan Manuel's insistence, Molly also brings along this old egg that she likes and that she received as a gift, only to discover that it is, of course, a Faberge egg--because...yeah, that's about the only type of egg where the word 'valuable' even remotely applies!

This not only makes Molly super rich if she chooses to auction it off, but it also puts Molly in the spotlight and now all of a sudden "everyone wants a piece of Molly". Her insistence that "I'm just a maid!" has no bearing on the situation, of course. Ahem.

Anyways, while I did find the amount of fame and enthusiasm that Molly received to be a little overdone, I did like how she stayed true to her self and her character, with not wanting to quit her job, not automatically thinking that she can afford everything she wants, etc. If anything, the fame and attention is wearying to both her and Juan Manuel as their lives are intruded upon more and more, to the point that actually auctioning the thing off is a relief.

But then, wouldn't you know it? At the 50% mark we finally get the mystery element of the story as the egg is stolen right before the auction can be concluded, which leaves yet another mystery to solve for Molly & Co.

_______

Now, in itself, this plot did feel unoriginal, in that the whole "priceless artifact is stolen from a glass case in a museum/auction" has been done many times before; but then, I guess that where the author wanted to make up for it was in the whole back-and-forth in switching chapters between Molly and her Gran for narration. Except that...I just didn't care about Gran's past or her chapters at all. It does all connect at the end, to give it fair credit, but that really doesn't meant that it makes me care to read through her entire past in any way. I think that the point was to see some parallels between her and Molly but...I don't know, it just didn't feel enough to bother about.

And, that in a nutshell is kind of how I feel about this book: that it doesn't have enough to bother about, all things considered. It's not that Molly doesn't have enough charm as a character on her own; but that charm in itself isn't enough to keep a series going, and by this point I just kind of have raised eyebrows and...well, disappointed hopes in terms of anything really bringing out the same reaction it did in me as for the first book.

Apologies.

The third time's the charm for Molly Gray, our favourite meticulous maid-turned-manager at the Regency Grand Hotel. When she thinks she's got it all figured out—a dream job, dreamy fiancé, and a chance to shine during a TV show taping—someone decides to crash her party with an art heist that puts her squarely in the crosshairs.

This isn't just another day of perfectly pressed linens and polished silver. With Hidden Treasures cameras rolling and her wedding to Juan Manuel on the horizon, Molly's carefully ordered world suddenly spins into chaos. Someone's stolen more than just art—they've taken her sense of security and are not done yet. As she digs deeper into the theft, Molly uncovers secrets that threaten everything she's built.

Prose hasn't lost her touch for blending cozy mystery with genuine heart. She weaves a tale that's part heist thriller, part love story, and all Molly. Our protagonist has come a long way from her early days with the vacuum cleaner, but she hasn't lost that endearing mix of literal-mindedness and unexpected wisdom that made us fall for her in the first place.

With its clever plot twists and emotional depth, The Maid's Secret proves that some things really do get better with each installment. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to Molly's world, this book promises to be as satisfying as a perfectly made bed—with a few surprises tucked between the sheets.

<b>The Maid delights with the Secrets of Gran</b>
<i>A review of the NetGalley Kindle ARC (downloaded January 27, 2025) of the upcoming Penguin Random House Canada hardcover/ebook/audiobook (April 8, 2025).</i>

This latest in the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/370889-molly-the-maid">Molly the Maid</a> series from Canadian author Nita Prose does have a current heist mystery. The heart of it though is the backstory of Molly Gray's grandmother which we read in excerpts between chapters of the present day adventure. The scenes between the elder and younger maids were always my favourites in the earlier books, particularly with Gran passing on her common sense words of wisdom to Molly.

I actually found myself more engrossed by Gran's story, little of which had previously been revealed to us, aside from her past relationship with the Regency Grand Hotel's retired doorman. We now learn that she had actually been born into wealth and that reduced family circumstances led her to become a maid in later life. Discussing more about that would be a spoiler.

The present day case finds Molly preparing for her upcoming wedding with boyfriend Juan, when they discover that one of Gran's family heirlooms may in fact be a historical rare and immensely valuable treasure. As an "antiques roadshow" type of TV show is filming at Molly's hotel, the item is put up for valuation and then auction, but it is then stolen in front of everyone's eyes!

As always, Molly has to solve the case while she also uncovers the secrets of Gran's past. The two plot threads come together satisfactorily in the end. This was yet another winner from Nita Prose and Molly fans are sure to enjoy it.

My thanks to the author, the publisher Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this preview ARC, in exchange for which I provide this honest review.

<b>Trivia and Link</b>
There does not appear to be any further progress on the film adaptation of the first book in the series <i>The Maid</i> (2022), but Florence Pugh is still attached to produce and star in it. Look for future updates at IMDb <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13704116/reference/">here</a>.