Molly the Maid is back, and there’s another “situation” at the Regency Grand! I love Molly’s innocence and quirky ways, and her character is just a delight. There are quite a few interesting revelations in this book, but the best one happens in its final pages.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Y'all, I just love Molly. I cannot help it. She is just a refreshing breath of realness even if it is a "disability." And to see her thriving and standing for herself in The Mystery Guest only made me love her more. I also enjoy the past/present perspectives to learn more about her childhood. The book is really good, funny, and a quick read. If you enjoyed The Maid, read for your book club, you'll want to jump into book two!

Loved this book! I actually thought it was even better than the first one. I really enjoyed the alternating timelines and how the story kept me guessing.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

Molly Gray is at it again -- cleaning, polishing, and solving murders! It was fun to spend time again with Molly in this second book by Nita Prose. She is such an unusual, but fun, character that, along with the mystery, it makes for quite a compelling book. I hated to put it down!

In this one, the Regency Hotel is preparing for the famous author, J.D. Grimthorpe, to make a big announcement to all of his readers and fans. However, things do not go well for Mr. Grimthorpe, which means that they also do not go well for the Regency Hotel, the fans, or Molly. So Molly does what she does best and rolls up her sleeves and cleans up the mess! But little does anyone know that Molly has a history with Mr. Grimthorpe and this turns out to be very helpful to her in the end.

Of course, Molly is the hero -- she will always be the hero! But the way she deals with every situation is so different than anyone else’s way, that she keeps you on the edge of your seat, and then makes you laugh!

I enjoyed this one a lot and hope that there will be another “Molly the Maid” book in the near future.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Nita Prose, and Random House for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

The Mystery Guest proves that Nita Prose's smash debut, The Maid, wasn't a fluke. Molly is of the most delightful and even at times frustrating amateur detectives to come along in years. Prose creates a story that shines and sparkles just as a suite cleaned by Molly herself.

Taking place years since the first book, Molly has now been promoted to Head Maid and is well-respected at the Regency Grand. She is training Lily, a new maid, and working on a VIP event in for a famous author, when the guest of honor suddenly drops dead... in Lilly's lap... after drinking tea Lilly prepared for him... All eyes are on the hotel's newest hire, but Molly knows the young woman didn't kill the man. Along with the other staff of the hotel, Molly works out to uncover the true culprit, all while keeping her connected to the deceased a secret.

I really enjoyed The Maid, but I LOVED The Mystery Guest. There was just something about this one that made me like it more. Perhaps the flashbacks, to Molly's time as a child, spending time alongside her grandmother working as a maid. Perhaps that Molly wasn't our primary suspect, being railroaded by the police. Perhaps the hopeful and intriguing note this book ends on, in terms of Molly's potential, that I don't want to spoil. Perhaps the way the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Perhaps the wonderful audio narration, to really give me a sense of Molly as a character. All of these elements were wonderful and made this book a smash hit for me.

I listened to the first several chapters on audiobook--thank you to PRHA for my ALC. I finished the book on e-reader--thank you to the publisher for my eARC. Both formats were great! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

“I may miss what you think is obvious, but I’ve always been attuned to what others ignore. We’re all the same in different ways, Detective Stark.”

“Sitting at our table, legs dangling, I come to an important realization—that education is not something that happens exclusively in classrooms, that education is a state of mind.”

4.5 stars! Oh man I simply LOVE Molly the maid #polishedtoperfection. I just adore her character! She may be one of my favorites ever. I was so excited to be given an advanced copy to review because I devoured the first book and gave it five stars. It’s also a @gmabookclub pick! I will continue to revisit Molly at The Regency Hotel on any and all of her adventures and I hope there are more to come.

The relationship between Molly and her Gran is just so precious and I love how she builds confidence in her despite her learning differences. Reading this prequel is like receiving a warm hug.

@laurenambrose, the narrator of this audiobook, is absolutely superb. She NAILS Molly. Her quirks. Her mannerisms. The different voices that she uses for each of the characters. She transitions seamlessly between them making it easy to get lost in Molly’s world. A narrator can make or break an audiobook in my opinion and she managed to make Molly all the more real and beloved to me with her narration. 10/10 recommend.

Thanks for the free audiobook @PRHAudio #PRHAudioPartner and to Netgalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for the ARC.

I requested a copy of the ARC from the publisher, Ballantine Books, on NetGalley and was approved in exchange for consideration of a review. All opinions discussed are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.

”If I’ve learned anything from Columbo and from past experience, it’s that living acquaintances of the dead quickly become suspects, and that’s the last thing I want to be right now.”

Molly Gray, Head Maid of the Regency Grand Hotel, is back in a delightful new novel in which she finds herself embroiled in the murder investigation of J.D. Grimthorpe - the acclaimed best selling author known as the master of mystery. Grimthorpe booked the newly renovated tea room at the Regency to make a huge “secret” announcement, but before he can reveal that secret, he keels over dead.

Molly’s nemesis, Detective Stark shows up to investigate and among the persons of interest is Maid-in-Training, Lily - an employee recently hired by Molly herself. Molly is steadfast in her belief that Lily is innocent and her loyalty to her employee is what leads to Molly’s fortuitous help in solving the whodunit. Well, that and because Molly hasn’t told anyone that she’s actually met Grimthorpe before…

”It doesn’t matter if you understand another person’s pain because their injury is real nonetheless.”

I adore the character of Molly Gray. Nita Prose writes this novel in a dual timeline to connect Molly’s past to the current events in the present. Molly has always known she was different, but readers are given insight to how she was treated - and misunderstood - by her teachers and classmates. People can be so ugly and impatient when it comes to those who are different or require patience or perhaps a different approach to learning.

I really love how much Molly loves to clean - how much joy it gives her in a job well done. She takes so much pride in her work as Head Maid. She inspires me. I love having a clean house and spend a lot of time cleaning, though I don’t enjoy the cleaning part as much as I do the end result, lol.

I loved being back at the Regency Grand Hotel and its delightful employees, but I hope further novels will take place elsewhere. I think it a bit unrealistic for folks to keep getting murdered at the same place…at some point, folks would stop staying there. There was a little nugget thrown in that I think points to the direction of where the author may go and I am extremely excited to see if my hunch is right.

Honestly though - even if the next novel is set in the hotel, I’ll still be just as happy and thrilled to read it. I just can’t get enough of Molly!

I’ve spent the last day trying to think of anything I didn’t like or would change and the only thing I could come up with is I wish that Juan Manuel played a larger role in the story. He and Molly are just so precious together.

”Stories are a way to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.”

Nita Prose has such a great writing style for cozy mysteries. It’s accessible and free flowing, it makes it easy to consume the story as fast as your little eyes can go. I enjoyed reading about Molly’s childhood, her relationship with her grandmother is so wholesome and heartwarming. I equally enjoyed all the humor from Molly as an adult. She tries so hard to keep a positive attitude and not speak ill of people, so her ways of communicating her thoughts about other people’s actions never fail to produce a belly laugh.

”Never fear a new beginning. One chapter must end for another to begin.”

The above quote gave me hope that it was the author’s promise that we haven’t seen the last of Molly Gray!

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

I love Molly the Maid! I love how her mind works and how she values loved ones, family, and friends. I also love how she firmly took the new maid, Lily, under her wing. She may be neurodivergent, but she shows that does not mean she’s incapable of excellence. She has her strengths and is self-aware enough to recognize their worth. I can’t imagine being anywhere else but firmly on her side, rooting for her with each and every turn of the story.

One of Molly’s strengths is noticing things other people don’t, which is an excellent skill when investigating a murder. It’s been three years since there was a murder in the hotel, but once again, Molly must prove the maid did not do it and find who actually did. She investigates with an attention to detail that leaves nothing to theory.

I loved all of the twists and turns the story took and the red herrings that led me down so many rabbit holes. There are plenty of reasons for many people to have killed the famous mystery writer. Plenty of past connections and storylines could easily cause someone to want him dead. But Molly sees through all that to the undeniable facts that lead to what happened.

The Regency Grand Hotel has been polishing itself to leave the last murder that happened there behind, and Molly the Maid is helping lead that with a grand event at the hotel's new tea room. A famously reclusive mystery writer is going to make a grand announcement and there are tons of fans and press awaiting it. Only, just as he's about to make it, he suddenly dies in front of everyone. Molly had enough of sleuthing when she was falsely accused of the last murder, but memories from the past and some wrongdoings in the hotel have her jumping in with both feet to once more help the police figure out who the real culprit is.
I had to really think about my review of this book. I really do enjoy the story and how Prose crafts the plot, but Molly is the kind of original character that takes a bit of getting used to even when you're already familiar with her quirks from the previous volume.
I will say it's an excellent representation of an autistic character and shines a light on all the ways their differences make them great. Molly has a very unique way of looking at things and interacting with the world and it helps her see things that others might miss. It keeps things interesting in what is otherwise a run-of-the-mill mystery.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the enjoyable read!

4.0

“The Mystery Guest” is a beautiful kind of torture that is worth the ride. I ‘read’ “The Maid” audiobook when it was new and was recommended by someone with excellent book recommendations. I requested to review an advance copy of this sequel as soon as I saw it, but only a little bit later realized what I had volunteered for. I had remembered the rich cast of characters and some of how, even with her many disappointments, it was not just her attitude keeping Molly positive, but the many positive turns that came to her life at the end of the first book. For that reason, it wasn’t until “The Mystery Guest” started, that I was reminded of all of her challenges and the emotions they evoked.

This story picks up I believe three years later. A big author is coming to the Regency Grand to make a surprise announcement but dies in front of everyone before he can. OK, Head Maid Molly, you’ve got this!

Unfortunately, that’s when we start getting hints about how her past is tied to the author and I was suddenly waiting for shoes to drop right and left (without cleaning them and leaving them by the door). Reading a book is hard when you’re covering your eyes. It’s easier to literally or figuratively speed through uncomfortable or troubling bits when listening to an audiobook – I’ve been known to really speed up some particularly awkward flashbacks elsewhere. Therefore, it took much longer to read this than I liked, and my thoughts are disjointed, but a promise is a promise and I persevered.

If you don’t want to give Molly a hug initially, okay, but young Molly leaving school and walking hand-in-hand with Gram up to the mansion where Gram worked as a maid was heartbreaking. Thus, the slowed-down completion of this book.

Fortunately, it is otherwise a quick read, so I persevered, and the story takes a definite upturn before too late. I don’t even know how to describe this book, and I haven’t gotten an entire grasp of the how the mystery was solved, but the cast of characters that she has created is enough to draw you in and you will get all the good feels at the end. It’s enough to make up for how hard it is for Cheryl to get fired.

There were mentions of TV agents and networks in the acknowledgments, but no mention as to whether there is some plan to produce “The Maid” as a movie or series. No matter what your experience, this is a true Molly book where things just really start going her way one day and you finish feeling empowered.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for providing an unbiased review.

I uploaded my review to Goodreads. I will upload it to Amazon on release day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Nita Prose for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Mystery Guest coming out November 28, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was so excited to be approved for this book from NetGalley! I was obsessed with the first book and was so excited to learn that another book was being released. Hotel mysteries are one of my favorite genres. I love Molly’s character. I love that she has a different perspective than other people. I know this book is set in the present, but it feels like an Agatha Christie novel. Molly is an old soul and she sees things differently than other people. It was a little sad that her boyfriend wasn’t there with her, so she was on her own most of the time. I enjoyed the flashbacks. I didn’t think there would be that many, but I think they provided some insight into her past. I would love it if there is another book in the series! I’m just obsessed with hotel murder mysteries, so it was perfect for me!

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys amateur detectives and hotel murder mysteries!

The Mystery Guest is phenomenal and in my opinion even better than the first Molly The Maid book and Nita Prose has created a brand new entry into mysteries with this series!!

Molly the Maid is back and dare I say...better than ever?! I absolutely adored our first book with Molly and shocking to nobody...I loved this one as well!

The writing Prose blesses us with is impeccably done and the characters she's created are just so warm and I missed them!

I enjoyed this sequel to The Maid. The characters are rich and well developed. The story line was intriguing and kept me guessing. Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

this was a really cute cozy mystery, it was fun to return to Molly's world and I hope the hint at her becoming a detective means we are getting more in the series!

Nita Prose is absolutely a new favorite author for me! After devouring the maid i was so excited to get approved for this one!! Did not disappoint. Would absolutely recommend this for any cozy mystery lover. highly recommend!

The Mystery Guest (ARC)
Nita Prose
4.5⭐️

Pub Date: 11/28/2023

The Regency Grand Hotel, with all its glory, is back yet with another scandal. Another dead body in the new tea room. New head maid Molly is not the primary suspect this time but there are several poeple involved, some she cares for deeply. She must try to solve this post-haste! With her past entagled with the famous, now dead, author, Molly knows the answer to who the killer is lies within her memories. And is she really all that innocent as she seems? "Dirty secrets don't stay hidden forever."

Molly the Maid is back!
The synopsis said that this is a standalone novel however I personally don't think so. It's definitely related and much more fully enjoyable if you've read the first book The Maid. The character growth of Molly is so huge and I enjoyed it thoroughly. She is using figures of speech and modern abbreviations!!! 😱 I love it! The murder mystery itself is so good. And the history that came with it when Molly was reminiscing her past made it so much better! It made the plot whole. I practically inhaled this book.

There's still that similar cozy??? (I'm actually not sure how to fully describe it) feeling that I got from The Maid, and the rush and prickly cold sweats feeling from Molly and the rest of the staff getting in trouble is also there. The writing style is very unique and it's consistent with the first book. I really appreciated that. The only reason why I didn't give it a full 5⭐️ is because I thought there's a small hole in the plot. But don't let this discourage you from reading, friends! I still adored this book so much! Yay for more of Molly!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this one as much as the first one, but I couldn’t put it down. Molly is a hoot and so smart and I love her interactions with the other characters. The ending was a little too tied up in a perfect bow, but that’s okay for this style of mystery I think.

It's no mystery why Nita Prose wrote a companion to her debut novel The Maid. The Maid was a bestseller and reader's loved Molly, the maid, Prose's central character. Molly is the star of The Mystery Guest and many of her original friends and foes have returned. Hooray! This novel can stand on it's own, but it's an extra fun read for Molly's previous fans. Molly has been promoted to Head Maid at her beloved Regency Grand Hotel. When an illustrious author dies there in the midst of a fan event, Molly puts her detective skills to good use. Molly has previous history with the author and Prose does a good job of enticing her reader with this bait. Molly seems to have matured since we last saw her, but she still depends on her late Gran's witticisms. They Mystery Guest is a very entertaining read and would also make a great gift.