The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose. Molly returns. For those who enjoyed "The Maid" they will find this a worthy followup. Molly works with her hotel friends and deals with contrary employees., guests and police in order to uncover what happened to a famous author who suddenly died at an event at the hotel. Molly discovers not only what happened but new secrets are exposed about Molly's life.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose is the follow up to The Maid and it is wonderful! Molly the Maid is back and even more delightful than before! I enjoyed how Nita Prose alternated time lines to slowly unfold the story and bring the mystery to a great conclusion. You could read The Mystery Guest as a stand alone read but you would really miss the depth of the characters and their interactions if you didn't read The Maid first. I hope that there are more Molly the Maid books to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery and sweet characters. Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

No words! The Maid was one of my favorite reads last year and Nita did it again! The Mystery Guest is such a fun read and has easily made my favorite reads of 2023. SO good. I love following the lives of the characters and it was so fun and twisty around the way. 10/10!

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose is another winner for Molly the maid and her cohorts at the Regency Hotel. Molly's skills and expertise improve in this novel to Head Maid and she proves to be just that with her detective skills as well. More history of Molly's past is revealed as well as her Gran's which make for a unforgettable, endearing novel.

Molly the maid is back! Since losing her beloved grandmother, Molly has had to navigate a new life. With her dear friend Mr. Preston and new love interest Juan Manuel by her side, she continues her quest of cleaning and restoring hotel rooms to a state of perfection. In fact, she has earned the title of Head Maid of the Regency Grand Hotel. But when world-renowned author JD Grimthorpe literally drops dead mid-speech at the hotel, Molly’s world is thrown into a state of disaster. Because she knows Grimtorpe from before. To get to the bottom of whodunnit, Molly must look back at her childhood and discover some secrets that have long been buried.

I really enjoyed this book’s predecessor, “The Maid”. Molly is one of the most endearing characters I have ever read about so I was very happy to see her return in this book! It was lovely to be in Molly’s world again as well as to delve into her childhood. Told in dual timelines, it was so fun to read about Molly growing up. Gran may have passed away in the first book, but she is still very present in this book, both in the past and in Molly’s memory. Prose explored Molly’s childhood in a way that paralleled the present day and seeing how this story unfolded was so heartwarming. I will always be rooting for Molly and I hope there will be more of her story in the future! Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the ARC! “The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid #2) will release November 28, 2023.

This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

Molly, Head Maid at the Regency Hotel, has another mystery to solve. Famous author JD Grimthorpe is at the Regency Grand Hotel to make a special announcement, but before he can get his message out, he dies. The main suspect seems to be Lily, Molly’s maid-in-training, and Molly isn’t having it.

Molly has a secret of her own though- she has a connection to JD Grimthorpe that could make her the prime suspect of the murder investigation.

It isn’t often I enjoy the second book of a series even more than the first, but I loved hearing Molly’s back story and watching her character grow. I can’t wait to see what’s next for her!

I absolutely devoured this book! Such a fun quick read.
Molly the maid is back and better than ever! Another mystery is afoot in the grand hotel where this wonderfully quirky maid is employed.
Molly is such a delightful character and it was great to be back in her world with all of her friends!
In this sequel we get a better look at Mollys childhood and the things that made her the way she is. This book has it all, mystery, personal revelation, character development, a fantastic storyline that ropes you in from the start and keeps you turning the pages until the end.
If you enjoyed ‘The Maid’ you’re going to love ‘The Mystery Guest’ even more!

The Mystery Guest is a fantastic follow-up to The Maid. I enjoyed revisiting Molly, Mr. Preston, and the rest of the characters at the Regency Grand Hotel.

I loved the chapters alternating between Molly’s past with her Gran and the present. Molly was one of my favorite literary characters of 2022 so this dive into her childhood was a welcome addition to this mystery story. The mystery itself was interesting, fun, and kept me guessing. Overall, I think fans of The Maid will enjoy The Mystery Guest.

Thanks to NetGalley and Balkentine Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published November 28, 2023.

This book is a sequel to The Maid, which was published January 2022. We once again meet Molly the maid and by some strange coincidence, there’s another murder at the prestigious hotel where she works! I continue to enjoy Molly‘s quirky personality. She’s a bit awkward socially but she picks up on small details that just might help solve the mystery of who murdered the famous author at the hotel.

My only complaint about this book, and it was my complaint from The Maid also, was the repetitive nature of all of Gran’s words of wisdom. That part got old pretty quickly.

Overall a quick and fun read.

'The Mystery Guest' was such a great second book in the 'Molly the Maid' series! I think I loved it even more than the first because the characters come even more to life in this book.
Molly Grey is Head Maid at The Grand Regency, where she takes her job very seriously with her timeliness and her attention to every detail. Unfortunately for her, the VIP guest at the hotel, drops dead at his event where he is just about to make a big announcement. He is the famous mystery writer, J.D. Grimthorpe. Molly, and staff, are once again thrust into a murder investigation where everyone is suspect.
This was such a fun mystery with an eccentric cast of characters, especially the lovable main character, Molly. The chapters alternate to the past when Molly is a young, school aged girl, living with her Gran. I love that you learn more about Gran in this book since she had passed away in the first.
This book was sweet and fun and it I had no idea who the murderer was until the very end. I hope there will be more in this series because curling up with a cozy mystery with these characters is a must any time of year.

I enjoy cozy mysteries and this is no different. I loved the continuation of this story. The characters are unique and the story is fun.

I received an advanced copy of The Mystery Guest, a sequel to Nita Prose’s lovely novel The Maid, which I very much enjoyed last year. I had no idea there would be a sequel, but I loved jumping back into Molly’s world after another mysterious death at the New York hotel where she is now Head Maid. This story is about a bestselling author with a link to Molly’s childhood, and is a fun cozy-ish mystery. Most of the cast from the first book are back and there are some fun new surprises.

The story ends on a possible whole new direction for Molly, which I am very excited to read more about, plus a new family connection. I’m ready for the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, expected publication date is November 28, 2023.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. It was an interesting story and gave a lot of backstory to Molly and her Grandmother which I really enjoyed. I did feel that the plot was not as riveting as the original book, the Maid. I was able to guess who the true writer was pretty early on in the book which took away from my normal fun confusion of believing every lead in a mystery. I don't know if a sequel was necessary but I still loved Nita Prose's writing style.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House - Ballantine Publishing, and Ms. Prose for providing this heartwarming cozy mystery for my honest review. I can’t wait for this book to be published so I can purchase a physical copy! I loved this book just as much as the first book in this series. Please continue this series with more books and a tv series. I need more Molly! This book is a cozy murder mystery but it is so much more. I love all the life quotes Molly provides and the heartwarming side characters as well. I am so glad Mr Preston and Detective Stark were back. I really need more Juan Manuel for the 3rd book please. If you love to read heartwarming and funny cozy mysteries then please pick up the first in this series, The Maid, and this beautiful book as soon as it is available to purchase. You will not regret it! Thank you again for allowing me to review this book. It is one of my top reads of 2023!

Molly, now Head Maid is at the center of another murder mystery at the Regency Grand Hotel. This time it is the famous mystery author, J.D. Grimthorpe. Molly makes sure all is perfect for his arrival and his special presentation. Unfortunately, his tea has been tampered with leaving everyone a suspect. It's up to Molly to find the culprit as police Detective Stark decidedly sets his sights on the new, quiet maid Lily. Overall a cute next edition of the Molly the Maid series. It also gave a good backstory to Molly and her gran while Molly was growing up.

The Mystery Guest is a wonderful follow up to The Maid as we catch up with Molly the (head) maid and her co-horts!
I like how the characters and situations all entwine and the outcome is a logical one with just the right amount of mystery. The characters like Cheryl and Detective Stark make a welcome reappearance with the gentle wit of the previous book.

A second outing with Molly was a joy! I will not spoil things but I loved seeing her involved in another mysterious death at the hotel. A prickly author with a huge following is poised to make some huge announcement and summarily drops dead taking his big revel with him into the after. But it turns out not to have been a natural death and there's a good list of people he's mistreated so lots of suspects. Adding to Molly's urgency to figure things out is that one of her trainees is suspected of the murder. Molly, knowing what it's like to be the maid blamed is determined to set things right. What helped this time was having a less adversarial relationship with the police. Molly, like the best sleuths, is often underestimated and as a maid, unnoticed by many. She is a keen observer and listener so those qualities paired with recalling sage advice from her grandmother, she picks up the clues and assembles them into a tidy solution. It's what the best do.

Molly showed great growth and the potential for more and I enjoyed that. I missed Juan Manuel being around but I was glad he'd got to go visit his family in Mexico. Molly's new maid trainees, Lily and Angela were great additions to the story. Molly also has found a wonderful family connection that made me smile. If she takes up an offer or embarks on a new trajectory if there are future books, I will be happy to read about it. Just like the first book, time with Molly makes me smile.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an Advance Reader's Copy.

I loved revisiting Molly the maid! This is a great sequel, but can also be read as a stand alone! Will definitely be purchasing for my library.

First and foremost, thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. Another 5 star entry into this delightful series (dare I dream for another one)? I enjoyed this second entry tremendously. The writer keeps things moving and her fresh style of writing drawers me in every single time. She’s a joy to read . Highly recommend this one to all. Enjoy!,!

This book was complex and I loved Molly's character. Her observations and wit was incredibly fun to read. I loved this more than the maid. I thought it was an expansive story. I loved the follow up and it was an incredible read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballatine for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.