I enjoyed this one more than the first! So rare and surprising. The novel follows the same premise of murder, but with a new twist. I find this author's books easy to digest and recommend!

This was a really sweet and cozy mystery. I enjoyed learning more about our oh so literal FMC! While the story was engaging, I definitely felt the first installment had a little more suspense. But overall, the twists were great and it was a great read

I really enjoyed being back with Molly the Maid in the second book of this series. The mystery in this one was really well done. I liked that we were back in the same hotel as the first book & I enjoyed getting little glimpses into Molly's earlier life. While nothing shocked me, I genuinely enjoyed the route we went on to get to the end. Overall, another great one from Nita Prose! I am excited to see what is to come in this series!

Thrilled to continue the mystery in this second installment of The Mystery Guest. This book was satisfyingly delicious (not sure why I link a lot of books to food…) because it answered a lot of leftover questions that I had from the first book. The background is so important sometimes and for this book- it tied up the strings nicely.

I know the first book is being made into a movie, and hopefully this will be part two of the movie, or somehow the backstory will be included in the movie- it really did explain so much. This story is the setting for another murder at the Regency Grand Hotel- is the Hotel the problem? The staff? This was a whodunit that wasn’t very complicated but the circumstances surrounding the murder prove to be like a spider web- everything was interwoven, albeit very entertaining in the process. In my mind, I could picture a suspect board with string linking persons and objects, trying to figure out what or who was being missed so that the case could be solved.

Of course, if I say too much about the book, then no mystery would remain, but this author has made me want anything written by her. Is this book as good as the first one? Well, it’s different from the first one but was it enjoyable all the same? Yes. Enjoy this second installment- I sure did. Hoping that there is a third installment or at least a third book by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Ransom House, and Nita Prose for providing this book without cost in exchange for an honest review.

Having absolutely loved The Maid because of quirky Molly, I was eager to read The Mystery Guest. I totally enjoyed getting to know more about Molly’s childhood and Gran’s connection to the famous author J. D. Grimthorpe. I relished the few instances where they conversed and found myself vividly picturing their interactions. His wife was an interesting character. The more I learned about him the better I understood her. The connection between Gran, Molly and the Grimthorpe’s was fortuitous and set the stage for the entrance of Detective Stark once again.
Molly is definitely more assertive and comfortable in her own skin since she is now the head maid, a r job she cherishes. She has taken a maid in training under her wing and Lily begins to bloom under her tutelage.
Once again Gran is a huge presence throughout this read through her sayings which Molly repeats so frequently. Her story is also revealed and the reader is given more insight into both Molly and Gran.
Molly’s ability to notice things others don’t plays a major role in the solution of the mystery surrounding the murder of J. D. Grimthorpe. I found the LAMBS to be an interesting group. Their involvement in trying to solve the murder was somewhat comical. I foresee Molly in a new role in the next book.
It will be interesting to see where Nita Prose takes Molly in the future.
Many thanks to Nita Prose, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of reading an arc of The Mystery Guest which I totally enjoyed.

This book was truly a delight! When I first read The Maid, I instantly loved Molly’s character. I was thrilled to learn this sequel was coming out. We learn so much about Molly and her backstory (and her wonderful gran). The ending made me so happy and gave me hope for a third book (possibly with a wedding and new career track?!). Thank you for the opportunity to read this lovely book!

I loved this book! I love reading about Molly and her crazy adventures and how she is able to help solve such awful crimes. I definitely hope there will be more in this series because I would love to see where Molly goes next! I devoured this book.

I love the main character in this book, and loved her in the maid as well! I love the representation. Another great story. I didn't see the main twist coming!

Reading Between the Wines book review #141/115(met goal in Sept!) for 2023:
Rating: 3 ½ 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: The Mystery Guest
Author: Nita Prose
Available Now!!

Sipping thoughts: The Maid was my favorite read of 2021! So, you can imagine how excited I was to read book #2. Molly is back and just as interesting but I can say the mystery was not as thrilling as the first book. I was able to figure out one of the mysteries but the killer did escape me. Either way, I really enjoyed reading this one and hope Molly becomes a household series.

Cheers and thank you to @RandomHousePublishingGroup and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @TheMysteryGuest.

#TheMysteryGuest #NitaProse #RandomHousePublishingGroup #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

Molly the maid is back! The mystery in this second installment is engaging and the story is perfectly paced. I highly recommend reading the first book and this book before the next book comes out, sometime in 2024. It’s a perfect time to jump into the series before there are too many books to catch up on. My book club is reading the first book and I can’t wait to schedule this one for sometime in spring 2024.

I loved Molly the Maid in the first book in this series, and I still loved her in The Mystery Guest, book 2 in the series about her. This time she is caught up in the mystery of a wildly successful author who is murdered in Molly's beloved hotel. Turns out she has a past with this author, and the more she learns from his fans and her co-workers, the more she learns that there are plenty of people out there that may have wanted him dead. I loved that somehow Molly's fastidiousness about cleanliness and is brilliantly worked into how she stumbles onto solving crimes. I loved the small arc that included some past wrongs being righted, as well as Molly learning some really good things about her family. This is a very uplifting series that also challenges the reader to look differently at people who don't fit social norms.

Molly, the maid, is back! She’s now the head maid at a five-star hotel where a well-known mystery author drops dead. Molly must look back in her past and use her exquisite attention to detail to solve the case.

I loved The Maid last year and I adored Molly’s quirky character, but this time around I felt like something was missing. It’s told via the present and of Molly’s past as a child going to work with her grandmother. I was more intrigued by the past timeline and had no interest in the current murder mystery. In my opinion this book lacked the charm in both the storyline and in the side characters that I loved in the first book. Overall, it was a short cozy mystery that hinted there might possibly be a third installment.

I laughed. I cried. I loved this book y’all 🥹🫶. It’s a murder mystery, but it’s about so much more. It’s one of those books that seeps into your core and wrecks you (in the best possible way). The passages with young Molly and Gran are beautiful and heartwarming, while the present day murder mystery keeps you furiously flipping pages till the very end.
.
Molly Gray is living her best life as Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Her precision and attention to detail are unmatched. When the infamous mystery author J.D. Grimthorpe drops dead in the hotel tearoom, Molly knows that she alone can solve the murder. To do so, she must comb through memories of her childhood working as a maid in the Grimthorphe mansion with her beloved Gran. When everyone begins to look like a suspect, will Molly’s unique set of skills lead her to the killer?
.
As the mom of a neurodivergent kiddo, Molly’s story really pulled on my heartstrings. Prose walks the reader through Molly’s childhood struggles to process the world around her, and Gran’s assurances to Molly that she is brilliant and perfect just the way she is 🥹🫶.
.
Thank you to @randomhouse @netgalley and @librofm for these digital ARCs. I read and listened to this one. The narration by Lauren Ambrose was perfection.
.
.
I pulled so many beautiful quotes from this one. It was hard to narrow it down!
.
.
.
.
“Strengths. You have plenty of them. You may miss certain niceties from time to time, but your heart and soul are in the right place.”
.
.
“There are moments in life that are so seismically altering they divide everything, cutting a clear rift in time between Before and After.”
.
.
“Shame is the scar the demons leave behind. You remember that, Molly.”
.
.
.
The Mystery Guest - Nita Prose
5/5⭐️
Pub Date: 🎉11/28/23

Reunited with Molly the Maid and even more murderous hotel hijinks! I think I actually liked this one more than the first one in the series though it would not work as a standalone. Molly is such an incredible character and I loved the way this story connected memories from her childhood to the case at hand. It seemed like the ending set up a way for there to be more stories and offshoots in the future so I hope to be brought back into this fictional world again sometime soon!

In this book, Molly helps solve another mystery, the death of a prominent writer who turns to be a ghost from her childhood.

I was really hoping that book 2 would be as good as the first novel. And it not only met, but exceeded my expectations! Wow, this read had everything I hoped for and more! Molly was at the top of her game assisting detective Stark in the investigation. She was no longer a timid maid, she was so much more in control of her life and social relationships that I couldn't be more proud of her. I loved that the second book had a dual timeline and we got a glimpse of Molly's childhood and got to know her gran better. The book is full of humor, jingles, but also heartbreak. So much more emotion in this one.

What a wonderful series! I am really hoping Molly's adventures will continue. I would recommend reading these books in order to get to know the characters better and watch the storyline develop.

We fell in love with Molly in The Maid, and now she’s back solving another murder mystery at the Regency Grand Hotel where she works. When acclaimed author JD Grimthorpe drops dead in the tea room just before he makes a big announcement, suspicions abound. With the entire hotel staff under investigation, she’ll have to dig back to her childhood, when her Gran actually worked as the maid for Mr. Grimthorpe.

The first book in this series was easily five stars for me, and this one was also pretty darn endearing. Some of the quirks we already understand about the character felt a little redundant this time around, but I really enjoyed the flashbacks to her childhood, getting more insight into Molly and her late Gran.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the copy!

A continuation of Molly the Maids story at the Regency Grand. She uncovers another rat problem that could bring the hotel to a stop! The beauty of this one are the details that we find about Mollys life as a child, as well as learning more about the roll of her grandmother. Detective Stark grows to appreciate Molly even more through this one. If you enjoyed The Maid, you will love this one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read!

Chin up, Buttercup! Molly the Maid is back for another whodunnit in The Mystery Guest! A huge thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ebook and give my honest review this book! The Mystery Guest is the sequel to Nita Prose's The Maid. Honestly, one could read one without having to read the other. Prose does a wonderful job of bringing in key points from the first novel. Many old characters return, including the protagonist, Molly and her coworkers. New characters appear including Molly's new maid in training, Lily and of course the victim, JD Grimthorpe. This cozy mystery starts off with Molly years later, who has been promoted to Head Maid, organizing a special event at the hotel for an infamous mystery writer. As mysteries go, the writer drops dead in the middle of the event as he is about to make a big reveal. What was the big reveal? Who would want to kill this writer? Well, just about everyone since he wasn't the warmest soul.
The Mystery Guest is definitely a cozy mystery with a light-hearted feel. Molly is such a delightful woman. She takes everything literally and has an Amelia Bedelia quality about her. We definitely find out more about Molly's childhood and to my delight, learn more of Gran's favorite sayings and her story. The story jumps between past and present to reveal just how Molly figures out the case. This was a quick, cozy read with a few chuckles and life lessons thrown in the mix. I look forward to following Molly in future adventures!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me preview The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose. This was a charming follow up to Prose's The Maid featuring Molly, a unique maid at a high end hotel. There's been another murderer at the hotel, and Molly gets thrown into the investigation again.

I quite enjoyed getting flashbacks to Molly's childhood and learning more about her background. Prose stops short of using "on the spectrum" or "autistic" to describe Molly, but we are given plenty of information to let us know that her brain functions differently from those around her. This comes in handy because she's able to make connections that others aren't during the investigation.

Like The Maid, I enjoyed The Mystery Guest. I look forward to future books featuring Molly.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Molly The Maid is back in the thick of it yet again with another untimely death in her midst. In this endearing second installment of the series we find Molly training a new maid and another cozy mystery to sort out. In this book we learn a bit more of Molly’s childhood and her beloved gran. The characters are wonderfully written and the story engaging.,I truly hope there are more Molly stories in the wings
5 stars all around