I am always a huge fan of Molly the maid but this one was definitely my favorite. As always, the characters are quirky and likable. However I was so happy to finally learn more about Molly’s grandmother- I have always wanted more background information on her and Mr. Preston, and how Molly came to be in her care. The perspective from her grandmother’s diary did not disappoint. One of my favorites of the year so far! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

Molly and her friends are at it again in this fun, light and emotional sleuthing tale. In this book we learn of Gran's background through her diary which Molly reads. It sheds light of the relationship with Mr. Preston and many other unanswered questions of Gran's family. The dual time line is one part the diary which takes the reader back in time and the other is Molly's current life.
Present day circles around a reality TV show which finds antiques from everyday people. Molly has a couple of items to get appraised from Gran and the show is being held at the hotel which Molly is the maid. One of Molly's items has a value and turns her life upside down. The sleuthing begins.
A highly entertaining book, one in which I highly recommend.

Nita Prose has done it again! I absolutely adored The Maid, so I was beyond excited to dive back into Molly’s world—and The Maid’s Secret did not disappoint.

Molly is such a beautifully unique and lovable character. Her voice is so distinct, and I love the way she sees the world. There’s something so comforting about stepping into her shoes, even when the mystery around her starts to unravel. She’s thoughtful, earnest, and incredibly perceptive in her own way, and I just wanted to reach through the pages and give her a hug.

One of my favorite things about this book (and The Maid) is how it blends mystery with heart. It’s not just about solving a crime—it’s about understanding people, seeing beyond surface appearances, and realizing the power of kindness. The themes of justice, belonging, and staying true to yourself really resonated with me.

And, of course, the mystery kept me turning the pages. Just when I thought I had things figured out, there was another layer, another clue, another twist that made me question everything. Nita Prose has such a talent for crafting a compelling whodunit that’s just as much about the characters as it is about the crime itself.

I loved every second of this book. If you enjoyed The Maid, you’re going to love this one just as much—maybe even more. Molly Gray has completely stolen my heart (again), and I already can’t wait to see what Nita Prose writes next!

-The next story in The Maid series

This series follows a maid who reminds me a lot of Amy from The Big Bang Theory. She is a quirky character always seeming to find trouble. I don’t “love” these books but I think they’re cozy, easy reads that are enjoyable if you need something light.

3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC copy of The Maid's Secret! 3.75 stars!

Molly the Maid is one in a million and such a fun main character. I did enjoy this book more than the first two and felt like I couldn't figure out the mystery as easily as the prior books.

Secondly, I loved hearing about Flora's past and how Molly's family came to be. I also have had a soft spot for John as the first two books brought him further and further into the storyline.

“Love is the greatest gift of all” 🫶🏻

As the third installment in a series that already had me hooked, this one brings a daring art heist, a secret diary, and just the right amount of twists.

A Rollercoaster at the Regency Grand

Molly Gray, our ever-relatable head maid (and now Special Events Manager), is about to tie the knot with Juan Manuel—just two months away! But, of course, life has other plans. When a film crew shows up for the hit reality TV show Hidden Treasures, Molly tosses in a shoebox of her gran’s old keepsakes. Who knew that one of those items would be a rare, priceless treasure? Suddenly, she’s the world’s newest multi-millionaire and media darling—until the treasure vanishes.

Family Secrets Unearthed

What really pulled me in was how the story digs into Molly’s past through her gran’s long-forgotten diary. It turns out that behind her gran’s quiet life lies a fairy tale of love, loss, and a scandalous romance. Reading the diary explained so much about Molly’s own journey and holds holds the key to the heist involving a stolen Fabergé egg. I loved how the past and present blended together, even if the ending left me with a few head-scratches.

A Cast That Feels Like Family

One of the standout aspects of the book is its quirky, lovable characters, from Angela’s unwavering loyalty to Cheryl’s surprising transformation. Detective Stark is back, brining in her mix of skepticism with support of balance Molly that has evolved through the series.

Final Thoughts

For those of you new to the series, the book kicks off with enough of a recap to get you up to speed. However, I would highly highly recommend starting from the first book instead of hopping in here. This was a cozy mystery that oscillated between the past (through gran's diary) and the present in nice blend to keep you engaged.

The Maid’s Secret is the third in the Molly the Maid series. But it’s a big departure from the prior two. And a huge disappointment. We learn about Flora, Molly’s Gran’s, her early life and how she fell from being to the manor born to being a maid. But the story was so inane and trite, it was all I could do to finish it. I kept plugging along hoping it would improve, but it never did.
The book begins when an appraisal show (think Antique Roadshow) comes to the Regency Hotel and one of Gran's possessions turns out to be a Faberge egg worth millions. The book is almost half over before the theft of the egg occurs and the pace picks up at all.
Interspersed with the present day story are entries from a journal that Gran has written to Molly, providing the story of her youth. It’s filled with two dimensional caricatures - think pompous rich people (including Flora for much of the story).
While I found the first two books clever, this one seemed insipid. It was much more a predictable silly romance than a mystery. If this is the way the series is going, it will be the last I read.
I am definitely in the minority with my thoughts, so if you are a fan of Molly, make sure to read other reviews. This definitely is not a stand-alone and will only appeal to those that have seen a much more enticing version of Molly in the earlier books.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House -Ballantine for an advance copy of this book.

4.5/5 ⭐️. I just adore Molly the Maid, and have loved all the books in this series. I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of this latest book, and I have to say that I think it might be my favorite.

If you are not familiar with this series, Molly is a maid at the posh Regency Grand Hotel. She takes her job very seriously, and takes great pride in returning each guest room back to a “state of perfection.” Molly is lovably quirky and a bit socially awkward. She tends to find herself at the center of one mystery after another. With the support of a delightful cast of characters, and with words of wisdom from her late Gran, Molly always finds a way to clean up the messes she finds herself in. (Pun intended! 🤪)

This story is told in alternating narratives, between Molly who in present day is faced with a new mystery, and letters in a diary that were written for Molly by her late Gran. I loved going back and forth between these two stories. I especially enjoyed reading Gran’s story and everything that led to her becoming the wise and loving caretaker that Molly knew and loved. Gran’s story was both heartbreaking and heartfelt, and it was fun to see the origin of the turns of phrase that have guided Molly through life. Gran’s diary and the secrets of her past eventually help Molly solve this latest mystery.

Each time I pick up one of these books I am reminded how much I love Molly and the way that Prose authentically captures her personality. Molly is such a delightful character and I have truly enjoyed getting to know her throughout this series.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book!

Thank you to #NetGalley and Ballantine Book for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This publishes April 8th.

What to expect in this book:

-Third book in 'The Maid' series
-Alternating POV
-Diary entries
-Cozy mystery
-Hotel setting
-Neurodivergent characters

Thoughts

In this third installment of The Maid series, we find Molly and her beloved fiance, Juan Manuel, back at the Regency Grand Hotel, but this time with a bit of a twist. There is a famous reality tv show, Hidden Treasures, coming to the hotel to appraise antique items. When Molly brings a special priceless treasure to the attention of the appraisers, she goes from being 'just a maid' to a potential millionaire. All is well until the piece seems to mysteriously vanish, which takes Molly on a journey back to the past, through the pages of her Gran's long-forgotten diary. Molly and her crew at the Regency Grand Hotel must figure out the mystery behind this whodunit and discover more about her grandmother than she every knew before along the way.

This series is such a sweet and wholesome series. I love Molly the maid and always enjoy being back in her world. While the beginning 30% of this felt very slow to me, I enjoyed once we got into the mystery and Molly and her crew had to figure out how to solve this crime. This is the first in the series that did not involve some type of murder, which was interesting to me. I think this may have impacted the overall pace of the book and despite being only 300 pages, taking me longer to read than I had imagined. My favorite parts of the book were the diary entries and seeing more of the background of Molly's Gran. It became a love story as readers learned about her upbringing and what led her to the care of Molly as well. I could have read an entire book just from that vantage point.

Overall, this was a lighthearted read and to all those who are a fan of this series, I recommend continuing with this one when it releases in April. While it can be read as a stand-alone, I would recommend reading The Maid and The Mystery Guest first to fully immerse yourself in this world.

I really liked the previous books but found this book hard to follow. The use of past and present made the story chunky and harder for follow. I wanted to love this book but just didn't

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group—Ballantine for my copy of The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose in exchange for an honest review. It publishes April 8, 2025.
I just loved this installation in the Maid Series. I loved the great backstory weaved in with the rest of current time story. I grew to love these characters even more in this than I did before.
I definitely felt myself moved to tears, laughter, joy, and overall just loved it. I did not want to put it down! Great mystery, and great story!

This book was the best of the series so far! The backstory on Molly’s gran Flora was fascinating. The author’s use of past and present on alternating chapters kept the story moving fast and always looking for more. The only thing I wished was done differently was the entire book could have been about Flora.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of the story. The series definitely needs to be read in order so you do not miss any details that build the story of Molly the Maid.

The 3rd book in the Molly the Maid Series and publishes April 8th. It follows Molly in the months leading up to her wedding when her life changes, she discovers an item that once belonged to her Grandmother is worth millions. Of course people want this item for their own and Molly’s life is on the line.

This story is told is past and present timelines. The past timeline is told through letters from Molly’s Grandma about her upbringing in a world of privilege. Present timeline follows Molly as deals with going from rags to riches in the blink of an eye and the complications surrounding that.

I loved the first two books in this series. I relate to Molly in many different ways and find her absolutely delightful. The problem I had with this book is that it centers around rich people and their unrelatable lives and issues.

I just couldn’t connect to the newly introduced characters or the story and couldn’t understand why I should care about a priceless object.

I enjoyed the preexisting characters and there were moments of enjoyment I experienced reading their parts, but beyond that I was just uninterested in this story.

I was admittedly a bit disappointed in the previous Maid installment which was a holiday novella. I enjoyed this book much more but it's still hard to compete with the first one.

This book involves an antiques show filming at the hotel where Molly and her fiancé Juan Manuel work and the discovery that one of her knick knacks is actually a a priceless Faberge egg which is then stolen. Half of the book is in present day as that story unfolds, while the rest are journal entries from Molly's grandmother that ultimately help piece together the mystery. Dual timelines is a common structure, especially for mysteries and it works fine here.

My problem is that with so much focus on the past, you don't get to spend enough time with Molly and her ever upbeat fiancé. Molly is such a striking and memorable character from the first book and she is why I keep coming back to the series. So while I did enjoy the book, it's not necessarily the story I wanted to read. You have this great upscale hotel which is a great setting to guests coming and going to tell cool mysteries but that doesn't seem to be where Ms. Prose wants to take the series.

Molly the Maid is back for the third installment of Nita Prose’s excellent and wildly successful series. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the review copy. This book will be available to the public April 8, 2025.

As in the first two books, we find Molly employed at The Regency Grand Hotel; she’s been promoted to Head Maid as well as Special Events Manager. She is engaged to chef Juan Manuel, a lovely fellow that helped fill the void in her life when her beloved Gran died. But everything changes when Brown and Beagle, art appraisers famed for their reality television program, come to do a show at The Regency Grand. Along with all of the “polishing to perfection” that is necessary for such a massive event, Molly decides to bring a few of her late grandmother’s trinkets along; you never know, maybe one of them will be worth something.

Oh, it most certainly is!

Once her rare and valuable object becomes public knowledge, Molly’s life changes completely. She no longer has privacy, which she holds dear; strangers are constantly in her face seeking autographs, and the press won’t leave her alone. Meanwhile, we are apprised of the circumstances leading up to this startling discovery. Gran comes to us from beyond the grave—so to speak—in the form of a diary that Molly didn’t know she kept. Chapters in this book alternate between the present day in Molly’s life, and the past, as told in epistolary fashion by Gran.

I wasn’t a big fan of this method, and I’m still a bit ambivalent, which is where the half star off the rating went. It seems like a lazy way to go about telling a story. However, if an author must use this method, it’s hard to imagine it being done better.

Of course things don’t go smoothly following the discovery of the heirloom; if they did, then there would be no novel. But I will leave the conflicts and resolution to the reader to discover. As for me, I found the series of events, and the ending, believable enough for our purposes, and I enjoyed the story greatly, despite my misgivings about Gran’s storytelling method.

Recommended to those that enjoy the series; this book may be read as a stand-alone, but will be better enjoyed if you can read the first, second, or both earlier books first.

While the novel retains the endearing qualities of its predecessors, including Molly’s unique perspective and the cozy-yet-intriguing hotel setting, I found it didn’t grip me as much as The Maid or The Mystery Guest. The story is undeniably charming, with heartwarming moments and an engaging mystery, but the pacing felt a bit slower, and the twists didn’t pack quite the same punch. Still, fans of the series will enjoy revisiting Molly’s world, and the blend of a heist caper with a historical love story adds a fresh layer to the narrative.

Molly Gray is happy. She is Head Maid and Special Events Manager at the Regency Grand Hotel. Oh, and she is getting ready to marry her fiancée, Juan Manuel, in just two months. Molly’s life couldn’t get any better, or could it? When a reality TV show comes to film at the hotel, a valuable treasure from Molly’s gran is discovered, making Molly both rich and famous. Well, that is, until the treasure is stolen. With the help of her friends, Molly dives into Gran’s past in the form of Gran’s diary to catch the thief of Gran’s most valuable treasure.

Wow! This may be my new favorite book in the series. I really enjoyed learning about Gran’s past through Molly’s reading of her diary. Nita Prose’s descriptions make you feel like you were there with Gran in the past, getting to know all the people in her life. I also enjoyed the mystery of the Golden Huevo, as Juan Manuel calls it. Fans of Molly will love this latest installment in the series! I give it 5/5 stars.

I absolutely adore Molly the Maid! I am so excited to not only get the next chapter in Molly's life but, Gran & Mr. Preston's love story as well!

Am I crazy or is Molly way less OCD and naive than she was in the first two books in this series? I’m sorry, but this book was a disappointment. I think this series has run its course and I’m saying farewell to Molly the Maid.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this offering.

Nita Prose’s The Maid’s Secret continues the endearing journey of Molly Gray, now the esteemed Head Maid and Special Events Manager at the Regency Grand Hotel. As she prepares for her upcoming wedding to Juan Manuel and the filming of the antiquities show Hidden Treasures at the hotel, Molly’s life takes an unexpected turn when a valuable heirloom from her late grandmother is discovered and subsequently stolen. The narrative unfolds through dual timelines: Molly’s present-day investigation and her grandmother’s past, revealed through diary entries. This structure adds depth to the story, intertwining a spirited heist with a poignant love story. While some readers may find certain plot coincidences less plausible, the novel’s charm lies in its heartfelt exploration of family secrets and personal growth. The Maid’s Secret is a delightful addition to any library’s mystery collection, appealing to fans of cozy mysteries and character-driven narratives.