The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose

Molly the maid is back at it with another dead body in her hotel. I’m not sure I needed another version of The Maid. The first book was fine. Molly was a bit Amelia Bedilia and all, and the story was cute, but I grabbed my Kindle as I headed back to the vet ER for the third time this week and ended up reading the whole thing in two visits. I guess I didn’t realize it would be a continuation of the same characters a few years later with a very similar plot line that felt repetitive throughout the whole book and super predictable. Nor was I in a good mood, so there’s that. Overall thoughts: Been there. Read that. Didn’t need this arc.

Oh, how wonderful it was to be reunited with Molly! She’s even more charming in The Mystery Guest than she was in The Maid. I also thought this whodunnit mystery played out even better and there were so many heartwarming moments where Molly learns more about love, family, trust, and who is a good egg ;)

Give me more Molly!

How wonderful to again be under the spell of the endearing Molly the Maid, one of my favorite characters ever! Now 29 and head maid at her beloved Regency Grand Hotel, Molly Gray is much surer of herself, but not one iota less quirky since we were with her the last time in The Maid. Along with her new responsibilities at work, she has also gained a romantic home life with her live-in boyfriend Juan Manuel.

The hotel is honored to have been chosen to be the site of a press conference for the reclusive and famous international bestselling mystery author J. D. Grimthorpe during which he has declared he will make a big announcement. Fifty-five guests have been awarded VIP entry passes, among them many LAMBS (Ladies Auxiliary Mystery Book Society members) who have been roaming the hotel for days in anticipation of the conference and in hopes of seeing their favorite author.

Things take an unexpected turn when the author drops dead on the hotel's tearoom floor as the press conference is about to begin. Detective Stark, Molly's foe in The Maid, declares it a murder soon after she arrives on the scene to investigate. With no shortage of suspects on hand, Molly puts her keen observation skills to work in an effort to eliminate herself as a suspect and attempt to figure out who killed Grimthorpe.

A well-written, well-paced murder mystery that is sure to capture and hold your attention, I give this book 5 stars.

My thanks to Ballantine Books for permitting me to access a DRC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

I fell in love with Molly the Maid in the first book from Nita Prose so I was so happy to receive this ARC from NetGalley for The Mystery Guest.

You are immediately taken back to the Regency Grand where Molly is now the Head Maid and needs to help solve a new murder. Also as a duel timeline book, I quite enjoyed learning more about Molly and Grans relationship when she was a child.

Lots of twists and turns in this one. Two mysteries to solve, one very predictable and the other not so easy.

There is a lot of ability to make more books for this series based on the ending and I’m here for it!

What a joy it was to be reunited with Molly! I still thoroughly enjoyed her outlook on life and all her “isms”. The story was entertaining and getting a look at her life the as a young girl was the icing on the cake!

The mystery itself was fun to uncover but my most loved part was at the end with Mr. Preston! The way it concluded made me hopeful that we’ll be seeing more of Molly in the future and I can’t wait!

Thank you Random House Ballantine for the arc via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Welcome to Nita Prose’s sophomore novel, THE MYSTERY GUEST! I loved THE MAID where we were introduced to Molly, and I was thrilled to give this one a go! Special thanks to Ballentine Books (a division of Penguin Random House) and NetGalley for an advance copy to read and review. This book will publish this coming Tuesday, November 28, 2023.

Molly Gray is back, but this time she is the Head Maid at the Grand Regency Hotel where a reclusive writer is hosting a gathering to make a dynamic announcement. Except, he never gets to make it and once again it seems the maids know everything! Are Molly and her crew somehow wrapped up in murder?

I really enjoyed my visit at the Grand Recency Hotel, and really appreciated the return of several favorite characters. Molly has grown considerably since her debut in THE MAID, and I liked the direction Nita Prose took. There were a couple instances I found some of Molly’s choices rather annoying, but I also think they were still within the bounds of her character and personality. THE MYSTERY GUEST focused more on giving us Molly’s backstory, and it opened my eyes to who she is. While I do wish there was a bit more mystery element, I did enjoy this novel and will be keeping my eyes peeled for another installment!

I’d recommend this one if you really enjoyed Nita’s first book, THE MAID! If you haven’t read that one yet, I’d definitely start there if you’re in the mood for a good cosy mystery!

i really enjoyed THE MAID so i had high hopes going into the sequel! molly is still a very heartwarming and sweet main character. the plot and progression of this book didn’t really do anything for me though. i liked learning more about molly’s upbringing and history about her gran, but i thought the first plot/mystery was more riveting and this one felt more predictable. overall it’s definitely an easy, cozy mystery to help boost your reading goal!

Molly the Maid is back in Nita Prose's The Mystery Guest. I must admit that I was not Molly's biggest fan In The Maid. But, in this book the character has evolved and endeared herself to me. Nita Prose tells the story in two timelines. We learn more about Molly's childhood with her beloved Gran. The present timeline find Molly as "head maid" at The Regency Grand Hotel. This is a sweet story and a cozy mystery! I am looking forward to the next installment of Molly and her adventures. Thanks to NetGalley, Nita Prose and Ballantine Books for the ARC!

Love a good cozy mystery for fall! While reading the maid I wasn’t anticipating a second one but I loved getting to read more about Molly the maid and the mysteries that go on it the hotel. You definitely do not need to read the first book in order to understand the plot but reading both are more for the sake of enjoying these characters.
I enjoyed that we got 2 different timelines and it was cool to see how they were connected throughout the book. And helped to understand Molly more!



Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a honest review!I’m

The second book from Nita Prose about Molly the maid; this one was equally delightful!

Molly is now head maid at the prestigious Regency Grand Hotel, and is mentoring Lily, the new maid-in-training.

The hotel is hosting an event with the world-renowned and reclusive author, J.D. Grimthorpe, who has a surprise announcement to make. But before he can share his news, he drops dead on the tea-room floor. Detective Stark, Molly's nemesis, is soon on the scene to investigate, and it is quickly established that he was murdered. Initially Lily is suspected as the murderer because she provided the tea that Mr Grimthorpe drank right before he stepped up to the lectern. But soon, several other suspects are identified.

Molly realizes that she has information that is vital to solving the case, and she starts to consider details from her childhood, when she knew J.D. Grimthorpe. Her Gran was a cleaner at his mansion, and she worked side by side with her Gran at his house. She knows a lot more about the author than the police do...

Molly has to work to solve the mystery before the hotel's reputation is ruined. Along the way she discovers other information about staff at the hotel, some of which surprises her, and some of which does not.

Molly's quirky character shines through again in this book, which moved at the perfect pace! The plot gave us a lot of background into Molly's early days, and we see how and why she became the person she is today.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and can't wait to read more about these lovely characters.

The Mystery Guest takes readers back on site at the Regency Grand Hotel as a special announcement goes awry and our favorite quirky maid Molly finds herself back in the center stage of an investigation. I personally really enjoyed The Maid, and although you could easily read and enjoy The Mystery Guest without reading The Maid before, this sequel would definitely be more enjoyable after knowing a bit more of Molly's backstory. I enjoyed the way Nita Prose takes us on two different timelines of mystery during this tale, and I found both to be compelling, I was eager to see where this story went! The Mystery Guest is a fast paced, enjoyable mystery with humor, friendship, love and as expected, proper etiquette interwoven. I enjoyed being back in Molly's world and would highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing, Ballantine Books for the advanced digital copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

This was my first book from this author. I heard there is a first and I need to read it. I’m a huge fan of the main character Molly and her gran. Molly truly is a complex character in the book that kept me interested. This story flowed nicely and I really enjoyed it.

DNF. I had a really hard time connecting with the characters in this book. It wasn’t my personal favorite in the series.

3.5⭐️
I enjoyed this one just ok! In some ways more than the first in the series; in some ways less.

In contrast to the first one, this one didn’t end with problematic ethical issues. Also, the plot moved along nicely, keeping a good pace throughout. There were also some good twists - some I predicted and some I didn’t!

On the downside, the whole of the storyline felt a bit forced and contrived. There are multiple characters who display inconsistent moral ambiguity, and there is a continued negative portrayal of the police force.
I also found it a bit strange that Juan Manuel was in Mexica the whole book - maybe this was a short-cut so that she didn’t have to develop his character more.

The language is only moderate with a handful of s-words, a-s-s, d*mn, omg, GD.
No bedroom action to speak of. One almost assault scene that is not descriptive.

I received a complimentary ebook in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This is a charming character driven mystery of a maid sleuth who works at a hotel. A famous author dies unexpectedly at the hotel prior to making a big announcement and Molly the maid is on it. This book made me think of my mother with the flashbacks of Gran and her precocious granddaughter and a cozy like mystery to solve. I personally like a little more grit in mysteries but enjoyed the story and the memories.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

If you liked The Maid, you’ll like the sequel: The Mystery Guest.

I rated The Maid 3 stars and The Mystery Guest is the same. It’s an easy read but an average plot, I don’t know if it was necessary to make a sequel.

Molly looks into the past to solve this new mystery!

Our fav maid Molly Gray once again finds herself in the middle of a murder. Molly is the Head Maid at the Grand Regency Hotel.
The victim is the famous mystery writer J.D. Grimthorpe. He was all set to make a huge announcement. Alas he dropped dead in front of his fans at a function in the recently restored Grand Tearoom. The Hotel Manager aka Mr. Snow described it as an epic catastrophe!
As it turns out Molly knew J.D. from her childhood. Her Gran was a maid at his mansion. Molly went there with her Gran and cleaned silver rather than returning to school. Her autism with its quirks set her apart. Molly’s treatment by her peers was intolerable, and her teacher persecuted her because of her differences. At the mansion she was focussed and didn’t have to communicate with kids who treated her badly and teachers who couldn’t handle her disability. Molly delighted in cleaning the silver until it shone. In the afternoon she was able to read in the Library. There was a hidden door through to Mr. Grimthorpe’s study. Molly spoke to him occasionally, even though she’d been forbidden to disturb him. Molly’s observations of that time will be surprising.
As we move between the past and the present, between the hotel investigation, and Molly’s time at the Grimthorpe Mansion, a clearer picture of Molly’s history opens up.
Another wonderful mystery with glimpses of possibilities for a sleuth who solves problems through the ‘what’s not obvious’ line of thought.

A Random House-Ballantine ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Molly the maid is back in this cozy mystery from Nita Prose.

"A famous author is set to be the speaker at the newly reopened Regency Hotel Tearoom. Before he can make his big announcement he falls dead. The detective is looking hard at Molly and the other maids. But Moly knows that only she can find the real killer and bring order back to the Regency."

I love this character from Prose. Molly struggles to figure people out but her heart and her intentions are pure. We get more of Molly's back story and see some interesting connections to other characters. Molly gains some family she never knew she had.

Molly is less naive in this book and turns out to be quite the detective. There are hints about a possible new career path for her. I love her loyalty to the memory of her grandmother. And I always love it when characters grow and change.

Slow beginning to this one, but once you're used to Molly again it flies by. You may guess the killer - but not before Molly does. Add this to your 2023 list of books to read.

Molly the maid is back! She's risen to the position of Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel and runs a clean ship even hiring on Lily, a maid-in-training, whom reminds Molly a lot of herself. Although she's been missing her dearly departed Gran, she's living with her love Juan Manuel, who just so happens to be away visiting his family.

It's been about four years since Molly found herself embroiled in a murder at the Regency Grand Hotel but since then things are going swimmingly. In fact, famous author JD Grimthorpe has decided to hold a conference at the hotel where he's supposed to make a huge announcement.

Then, JD Grimthorpe falls dead before he can make this announcement. With Detective Stark back on the scene it soon becomes clear that Grimthorpe was murdered and suspects abound. It's Molly, though, that may hold the key to solving the puzzle as memories from her past bubble to the surface.

I liked The Mystery Guest better than The Maid. I think this series really benefits from having previous knowledge of the characters as well as the writing style of the author. I knew what to expect in that regard. Plus, there was a lot of setup in the first book detailing Molly's day-to-day as a maid and we forgo much of that because it's already established.

This opens up the opportunity to learn more about Molly's past through flashbacks. Specifically how she would help her Gran when she was a maid at the Grimthorpe mansion. That's right, Molly was acquainted with the deceased. While I think it's pretty safe to conclude that Molly is not JD Grimthorpe's murderer, I thought it was a very interesting story choice for Nita Prose to make because it means we can have Gran back as a character via flashbacks, and we get insight into Grimthorpe. It also adds depths and layers to Molly which reinforces the idea that she is not someone to be underestimated. She has a keen mind and a penchant for details which, turns out, goes really well with trying to solve a mystery.

I feel like this time around Molly has more confidence. The first book brought about a lot of new changes for her but she's stepped into her new role of head maid and gained new friends who see all these great qualities in Molly as opposed to seeing her as "different" which is something we see her struggle with in the flashback sequences.

This book was a super quick read for me. I often found myself looking at my progress wondering how I got so far so quickly. But it just moves. I don't think I can say there's truly much fine-tuned mystery solving happening in the traditional sense, there's not a lot of twists and turns, and Molly is almost reluctantly pulled into it as she'd, understandably, rather not have her name, again, associated with a murder. More, I found it about widening the lens to see the bigger picture, and connecting the pieces with how the past influences the future.

Now that we've gotten to know Molly even better than in the first book, I'd love to continue to see more books in this series. I feel like there's still so much to explore in the Regency Grand Hotel and more to discover in Molly's character.

“A good cup of tea cures all ills. And if it doesn't, have another.”

THE MYSTERY GUEST follows the another mystery at the Regency Grand Hotel with everyone’s favorite maid/detective Molly Gray, picking up where the beloved novel THE MAID left off.

These books really shine because of Molly. She is impossible not to love with her quirky naïveté and dedication to her job. The best parts of this book for me were the flashbacks to Molly as a child with her gran 🥰👵🏻 it kept wanting to learn more about how Molly got to be the way she is.

Even though I had a digital copy, I listened to this on audio - and to be honest I don’t think I would have loved it as much if I read it. The narration was fantastic and it just felt like a warm hug.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again: I love cozy mysteries. If you don’t, don’t read this book. Don’t go in expecting a thriller. ALSO - you could probably read this without reading THE MAID but I highly suggest reading that one, mainly because I loved it so much.