Another great book that follows our friend Molly as she tries to solve yet another murder that happens at The Regency Grand Hotel.

Molly and her co-workers are stunned when a very famous author, J.D. Grimthorpe, quite literally drops dead right before making a very big announcement!

This book goes back and forth between the present and the past when Molly was a child. I really enjoyed the chapter from her past as they helped us see how Molly's gran raised her and dealt with the issues Molly faced.

The little twist at the end put a big smile on my face!

I really enjoyed this book, but the first book is still my favorite! I hope we get to hear more from Molly in the future!

Molly the maid strikes again! I just love Nita Prose’s writing style. I love how quickly Molly is and I hope there are many Molly the maid stories to come! These are the perfect light mystery books. Nothing too heavy and definitely nothing to be scared of with these. Highly recommend!

3.5/5

I was thrilled to receive an e-ARC of The Mystery Guest, the follow up to NIta Prose's popular mystery novel, The Maid. I greatly enjoyed The Maid, and I was excited to see where Molly's story would go next. There were a lot of aspects of this sequel that were truly enjoyable, but overall the story fell a little flat for me.

What I enjoyed:
- Even though I expected this book to be a sequel to The Mystery Guest, it was more like 50% sequel and 50% prequel. The alternating chapters showed present day Molly (after the events of the first story) and young Molly growing up with her grandmother. I really loved the flashback chapters. They helped provide some extra character development for Molly, and I was so happy to read more interactions between Molly and her grandmother.
- The book was an easy read. It moves at a quick pace that I appreciated, and I never felt bored reading it.

What didn't quite work for me:
- The "present day" plot was a little thin. It felt more silly/absurd than the plot of the first book, which had more of a classic mystery arc.
- There were too many red herrings for me and not enough genuine detective work. (Also Detective Stark is a ridiculous character.) When the final reveal came, it felt anticlimactic because the foundations weren't really there.

I still enjoy Nita Prose's writing style, and I would happily read more books by her in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my advanced copy!

Synopsis
In "The Mystery Guest" by Nita Prose, Molly Gray, Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel and all around “good egg,” finds herself entangled in a murder mystery when renowned author J.D. Grimthorpe is found dead on the hotel's tea room floor. As Detective Stark investigates the case, Molly realizes that she holds the key to unraveling the truth. With suspects aplenty and her own innocence in question, Molly must dig deep into her past to uncover the killer's identity.

My Overall Thoughts
Is in the first book in this series, “The Maid,” I was again captivated by the protagonist, Molly. Even as contemporary literature gets more inclusive, this is still a very under-represented minority that I would love to see more of. Molly's kindness and determination make her a truly endearing character. Who would want more characters like Molly? I also love the recurring theme of good always triumphing over evil in the “Molly the Maid” series.

What I Didn't Love
I wanted more Juan Manual. He spends most of this novel visiting his family in Mexico so the novel is missing a lot of his genuine goodness. His absence left a void in the story. Additionally, the mystery itself took a back seat to the character development, resulting in a somewhat thin plot. Don’t get me wrong. As a reader, I need great characters much more than an intricate plot, but this novel didn’t seem to keep any sort of balance between the two.

What I Loved
Molly's delightful personality shines throughout the novel. I find it refreshing to read about a protagonist with special needs, especially one as kind-hearted as Molly. She is just as wonderful as she was in the first novel in this series, “The Maid.” Molly is the head maid now at the Regency Grand Hotel after a much-deserved promotion. Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed the quirky fan club of J.D. Grimthorpe, the LAMBS, who provided moments of humor and entertainment with their antics and internal power struggles.

I Would Recommend This Book To
mystery fans and anyone who would enjoy seeing special needs characters in prominent roles

The repetition got a bit maddening very quickly! Once or twice is fine for Gran's rhymes but it was so many more times than that. Ugh. There's just not enough for me to love about these books but I did come back for the sequel. I missed Juan Manuel. The mystery was fine, maybe a little better than in the first one actually. I did call at the end of the first book that [Mr. Preston was her grandfather. I win! lol

I loved this book so much. It might even be better than the first! I want a whole series of Molly the Maid.

I didn’t expect this to be as good as the first. The first book is still better but this one is close behind. This is still following the maid named Molly. This has a lot more background into her life. I was entertained and shocked at some of the reveals. Good mystery because some of it I didn’t see coming.

I really enjoyed this’! It was even better than the first in the series in my opinion. I enjoyed the characters and storyline and the ending was fabulous. I would definitely reccomend! Thank you for this copy’

3.5, rounded up. This isn’t as strong as The Maid, but it’s a relatively compelling cozy mystery filled with a familiar, charming cast of characters (though I wanted more Juan and less Cheryl). The reveal at the end is surprisingly wholesome.

Molly is such an enjoyable character. I love getting into her head!

The author does such a great job at telling the story!

Molly the Maid is a unique character that one can't help but love. She is no nonsense and has a keen eye for those up to no good! She has been promoted to Head Maid at the boutique hotel and relies on the wisdom of her grandmother to help her get through the days. A famous author meets his demise at an event at the hotel and the mystery begins...we are surprised to see the previous connection Molly has to the author.

With some of the minor characters Cheryl, Lily, Mr. Preston and Mr Snow we slowly get the mystery solved. A second story line goes back to Molly growing up with her grandmother. I enjoyed that part of the story and could easily visualize their life.

I overall enjoyed this story and hope to see additional stories from Molly. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review.

This is the second installment of the Molly Gray series. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one and was hopping to enjoy the second one just as much, This one did not disappoint. It delved into Molly's upbringing with an interesting backstory. Don't miss this one!

Have you ever read a book in a series that made you question your memory of the original? That’s what The Mystery Guest did for me. I actually had to look up my ratings of The Maid to verify that I did, indeed, rate it 4 stars and have a fond recollection of reading it.

In this sequel, we return to the same hotel where Molly has been promoted to head maid. When a famous author holding an event at the hotel dies suddenly right before making a big announcement, everyone becomes a suspect and Molly must help the police solve the crime.

Unfortunately, The Mystery Guest fell flat for me, and I didn’t care who the killer would be. The novel lacked the whimsy and humor of the first. The ending also felt rushed and unbelievable.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy to review.

Molly is the Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. She's definitely quirky (think Amelia Bedelia) but she takes her job very seriously. When a famous author dies at the hotel while making a huge announcement, Molly is once again in the position of defending herself and her staff while trying to solve the mystery of who actually did it.

This is such a fun, funny book. I really love Molly's quirkiness and her backstory with her Gran in this book provided so much depth. The characters in this series are just so delightful and funny, while also always a little suspicious.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC of The Mystery Guest.

Molly, as ever, is a loveable character and the hotel she works at seems to get itself into many shenanigans. This was a fast paced read and is a fitting sequel to The Maid.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Ballentine Books.

In The Mystery Guest we once again follow Molly Gray as she works to solve a murder at the Regency Grand Hotel. Molly is now Head Maid and living with her boyfriend Juan. She has a new found confidence and awareness. She feels that her life is perfect when a guest drops dead in the newly refinished tea room. Molly knew the guest as a child and must revisit her past to find clues to help her solve the present mystery.

I found Molly's perspective on the world refreshing. She enjoys simple things like honesty and the sounds of a silver teaspoon mixing sugar into a fine china teacup. It was nice to see Molly and her relationships with others grow. I am glad that Detective Stark has come to realize what a treasure Molly is.

Well, that was wildly underwhelming. I think I really wanted to like this more than I did but I'm not sure what I expected when I wasn't fully blown away by the first book. I will say that I did end up liking The Maid, but it wasn't anything special. This book felt like a carbon copy almost, with a few different little twists but the same 'quirks'. I did binge this book in one afternoon while listening to it at 2.5 speed, otherwise I definitely would have abandoned it. Wasn't the worst, but it won't be memorable or topping any favourites lists.

Recently promoted to Head Maid at the Regency Hotel, Molly knows her way around cleaning and etiquette. which she learned at her grandmother's knee when she lived on a estate. Molly always strives for perfection in her cleaning and her new maid-in-training is eager to learn. The hotel is planning a book signing for reclusive author J.D. Grimthorpe when he suddenly keels over dead. Pitted against her nemesis Detective Stark, Molly searches for cues and discovers her past might be connected to the author. But who murdered Grimthorpe. Was it Lily, the maid-in-training, the secretary, Serena or someone else. With her usual fastidious approach to life, Molly delves into the mystery and brings the criminal to justice. Another sparkling mystery in this series. Hope for more.

i received a copy of this book from netGalley in exchange for my honest review.

WOW. this book was so, so lovely! 5 stars
i loved every part of this story + the epilogue was so perfect!

Although I really loved The Maid and gave it 5 stars, The Mystery Guest was only a 3 star read for me. I was not aware this would become a series untilThe Mystery Guest was announced, and I honestly wish it wasn’t being made into a series. I was a little bored because of how repetitive it felt. That being said, Nita Prose’s writing is amazing, so although I did not enjoy the plot as much, I think I will always enjoy her writing!