Not only did I enjoy The Mystery Guest, but it redeemed the Maid for me. This is the definition of a cozy mystery. I enjoyed switching between the past and present, and especially enjoyed getting to know a younger Molly. I appreciated Molly’s character development and also the side character’s understanding her more. In terms of the mystery, I actually did not guess the culprit, which is always an added bonus in a detective like novel. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys mysteries, but doesn’t love the anxiety that sometimes come with them. I would also recommend people give this a go, even if they didn’t like the Maid.

I was lucky to read Ms. Prose's first book The Maid as an ARC and I was thrilled to be able to read the follow up, The Mystery Guest. Second books can be tough, especially when following a blockbuster book that had such a fresh and distinctive voice with the protagonist, Molly the Maid.

I was a little skeptical it would measure up, but I was most definitely wrong. The Mystery Guest is another charming mystery with the bonus of going deeper into some of the characters from the first book and introducing some new ones. Much of the book is in flashbacks when Molly was ten years old and helping her beloved Grandmother at a large mansion. These chapters both inform the current mystery and flesh out more about Molly and her family backstory.

I liked the arc of new maid-in-training Lily and it was good to see Detective Stark back again.

A definite recommend!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an arc of The Mystery Guest. First off, I love Molly the main character who is now the Head Maid. She is quirky and fully herself. It is fun to read books when the characters are real and raw. A famous author dies while giving an announcement at the hotel and now it is who did it. The book feels a bit like Clue. But, I enjoyed how the ending wrapped things up.

Molly the maid is BACK and ready to tackle yet another mystery at the Regency Grand Hotel!
With her classic can-do attitude, a trusty new protege, and her Gran's wise words to live by, Molly is ready for anything life throws her way— even a famous author's murder in the Tearoom!!!

If you're in the mood for a low-stakes, cozy mystery with lovable MC's this is the book for you. If you loved the first one, chances are you'll love this one too. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook!

Thank you @PRHaudio and @Libro.fm for the complimentary audiobook and @NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC.

Eek. This was not it for me. I liked the setting of a hotel and the general vibe of the book, but I found myself bored while reading it. The end also wasn't particularly surprising. I also didn't really connect with any of the characters.

My biggest complaint with this is that it went so quickly! I would've sworn this was a novella; I just flew through it, and now it's over. While I think I liked the novelty of meeting Molly and seeing the world through her eyes the first time (in The Maid), and I think the storyline may have been stronger in that book, Prose's skills as a writer have gotten much stronger. There's far greater clarity in <i>The Mystery Guest</i>, even just in who Molly is and how she sees the world, as well as in the overall tone. The whimsicality is clearer here, whereas in the first book, the straddling of murder mystery and fairy tale was a bit less comfortable. Prose writes with greater confidence in this follow up, and she leans into character development, which makes up for a slightly less compelling mystery. And it certainly seems like she's setting up the world for further development, so I'm hoping to read another in the series soon enough!

I devoured this one in two days and I'm sad I'm done. The writing improved so much from the Maid which was still a five star book for me. I liked feeling less angst and dread with this one and Molly is such a fun quirky character to love and read. I want a book 3!!

Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine, and Nita Prose for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I liked this one better than the first book. I thought that the pacing was better in this one and I couldn’t put it down. It goes back and forth between the past and present and you learn a lot about Molly and those around her. This was a five star read until the last bit because something about the end wasn’t entirely satisfying, but I’m not sure what it was… It may have been wrapped up too quickly for me. Overall, though, I LOVED this one! Be sure to check it out if you like mysteries.

I am conflicted by this one! On the one hand, I read it in under 24 hours, thats how easy it was to get through. I was definitely enticed by the back and forth story telling of past and present, but there was no wow factor. There was no major twist or shock about who the culprit was... I was expecting so much more. I loved Molly as a character though and her story with her Gran was precious, and how she evolved over the years. Not my favorite mystery/thriller though.. even the revelation in the epilogue was interesting but not shocking.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱”The Mystery Guest" by Nita Prose

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Expected publication November 28, 2023

Thank you to @netgalley for the digital ARC. 

Molly the maid is still working at the Regency Grand hotel and has been given the title Head Maid. Her confidence has grown leaps and bounds since the first book. The best part of this book was more of Molly's quirkiness, and just her embracing it all. Even the detective began to understand and appreciate Molly's attention to detail and amazing memory. I truly enjoyed the chapters that went back in time, about Molly and her Gran’s relationship, and what originally got her interested in becoming a maid. 

The story opens when a VIP guest drops dead on the tearoom floor. The twist: Molly was acquainted with this guy as a child and her history with him could be the key to solving the murder. Due to Molly's unique self-dialogue there is a lot of repetition in the book- things Gran told Molly that she recites back in her head. And Juan Manual, who was a wonderful addition in the first book and Molly's true love is not in this novel. He is away visiting his family in Mexico. I missed the light-heartedness he brought to Molly's world. 




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Thank you very much for the ARC!! This novel absolutely exceeded my expectations. From the writing, to the characters, to the mystery and everything in between, everything was perfect and it was so hard for me to end this novel. Very excited about this being a series, and I look forward to future releases! Already telling all my friends to read The Maid.

Molly Gray is back, still at the Regency Grand, but now the Head Maid, a matter of great pride. As the hotel worked to shine up its reputation after the murder of a guest (See, The Maid), management decided to bring back its once glorious tearoom. Silver tea services and porcelain cups grace the tables at the tearoom's early grand opening. The date was moved up to accommodate the reclusive, mercurial and highly successful mystery writer J.D. Grimthorpe. He is planning to make a major announcement. Molly is in charge of the event. She is training Lily, an extremely introverted and quiet young woman, to be a maid whose standards rise to Molly's. Lily is tasked with serving Grimthorpe his tea. He sweetens it with plenty of honey steps up and begins his speech and … drops dead.

Molly is notably bright, well read, has a vocabulary that rivals anyone's, is so detail oriented that she notices things no one else notices and cleans dirt no one else has seen. She is not so good at reading people's social cues or using a filter when speaking to them. She has a heart of gold, and truly perceptive people have taken her under their wings. Her Gran died before we first met Molly, but she is still with her boyfriend, hotel chef Juan Manuel. He's in Mexico visiting family. Molly's friends at the hotel love and protect her from those who do not appreciate or "get" her. But when the police are called, Detective Stark -- not a Molly fan-- is the one who arrives at the scene. She wants Molly to stay in her lane and Molly tries, but her buddy Angela the bartender is a true crime buff who's dying to get Molly involved. Bouncing around the background and often the foreground are the LAMBS, The Ladies Auxiliary Mystery Book Society, who are fervent Grimthorpe fans.

As Molly is surrounded constantly by all the chatter about Grimthorpe's death, she finds herself thinking a lot about her past, when despite her good grades, the principal wants to retain her for a year due to her poor social skills. Gran takes Molly to work after the meeting. Gran is a maid for a temperamental man and his demanding wife: The Grimthorpes. Woven throughout "The Mystery Guest" is a story about a precocious child who spent time with the dead man. Was he murdered? Many people had a motive to kill the jerk. If murdered, will Molly be accused? She decides not to mention her connection to the departed to anyone. Is her poor trainee going to be blamed? Grimthorpe's personal secretary? Perhaps one of the many attendees?

Nita Prose makes us like Molly a lot, putting us in her head as the narrator once again and placing her in her element, the hotel and the apartment she loves. The characters are fun, not terribly deep but neither are these novels. Yet they have so much heart I want more, more, more. Molly gets through hardships or tasks ahead with a variety of little sayings she learned from her Gran. One of my favorites: "To err once is human; to err twice is idiotic." Gran was the rare, unconditionally loving and incredibly positive person we all could use in our lives. She lives on through Molly. The mystery is plotted well enough and the story is sweet. Very, very enjoyable. Highly recommend.

I loved this book soo much!! Molly Gray is one of my favorite characters and it was SO good to be back with her. I couldn’t put it down and flew through the book. Hoping to see Molly again in another book soon!

This is such a cute and quirky murder mystery.
I was genuinely so happy for Molly in this book. I loved hearing more backstory about her and her Gran, as well as seeing her growth from this book and the last. The relationship she had with her grandmother is so special and I adore their bond.

Although some things were wrapped up a little too neatly for me and didn't make a ton of sense, l overall enjoyed this one and would be curious to read the next book in this series if another comes out.

3.5/5 stars

“My Gran once told me a story about a maid, a rat, and a spoon.” Here are reasons to read the Mystery book:

Sequel - In this sequel to The Maid, we are back at the hotel it all start with
Molly The Maid - Molly the maid has been promoted to head maid
Famous Author - and she is organizing a tea and event for a very famous mystery author
A Murder - but when that author collapses dead, is it a murder?

I really enjoyed the first book in this series as Molly is such an interesting character. She is innocent and sees the world through a specific lens. But she is smart and she sees things that other people don’t. If you haven’t read this series, I definitely recommend. I wasn’t as much shocked by the WHO in this book as I was by the WHY including some interesting facts about Molly’s own connection.

It was another cute and cozy Molly mystery. Just as good as the first. I can't wait to see all of the things that await Molly in the future. I love the way the author uses all of Molly's "quirks" and neuro spicy tendencies to show that you can have a whole life and be of use to the world no matter what your "differences" are. As a mom of two on the spectrum, I appreciate this so much.

I loved The Maid for its refreshing MC and striking the right balance of a cozy mystery that isn't too silly. The Mystery Guest was an entertaining follow-up but didn't have the same sparkle as the first book.

What I enjoyed: Molly remains a fantastic character to root for. I liked learning more about her and her background, as well as following her throughout the book. I liked that there was more than one mystery with the murder as well as the stolen goods and unraveling the odd behavior of a couple of characters. I thought the reveal with the doorman was very sweet and a nice development. It's also very readable. While I didn't find it to be a page turner I was always happy to get lost in its pages for a time.

What wasn't for me: I found it more predictable than The Maid (semi spoiler but mostly spoiler free: was the Cheryl reveal meant to be surprising? This part was very apparent to me but revealed with an "aha!" tone that suggested it was meant to be shocking. Give the reader some credit that we're along for the ride). I'm personally not a big fan of flashback scenes so the fact that they were a consistent part of the book wasn't a big hit for me, but I could see others really appreciating them. I did like that they set things up for the doorman reveal to be more satisfying and also that it sort of had its own storyline, which is important to me when flashback scenes are included.

The Mystery Guest was a fun read but a bit of a letdown in comparison to the brilliance of The Maid. Having said that, I'll definitely continue with the series if there's more to come. Molly is too great of a leading character to not want to continue with her story.

I truly do love Molly the maid! I love her moral compass and her code of ethics (also known as her maid manual). She is such a sweet and endearing lead character and I was so glad to see her in a more confident role seeming to have come into realizing her self worth. The mystery was wonderful in that it tied back to Molly's past but not in a over-the-top way. So excited to see what great things are to come for Ms Molly!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication! It was a delight!

Nita Prose's second installment in her Molly the Maid series stands on its own. It's a wonderful follow-up to The Maid, but it's a whole new mystery with a new set of characters. I still adore Molly's narration. The flashbacks to her childhood at the Grimthorpe mansion are detailed and nuanced. I love this series.

Overall I thought this was ok. Nina was to me still a bit at times whiny and I wasn’t super interested in her internal thoughts. I know this was marketed as a cozy mystery but quite honestly it just bothered me more than anything. I’m definitely not the target audience which is ok!! I also was slightly bothered by the ending because (SPOILERS)




Why would you let an amateur work for the cops?!? That bothered me the most so again this wasn’t for me.