Molly is back, keeping everything slick & span at Regency Grand Hotel & solving mysteries in her own imitable style. And style she does have, albeit with a liberal dose of the much missed Gran’s wisdom peppering her thoughts & keeping her on the right track. This is a nice, easy read, which I tore through in a couple of sittings. With thanks to NetGalley for an early copy.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Took me a while to get into this but glad I carried on as the book got better and better. Good storylines, good characters and really worthwhile reading.

Molly the maid is back with a bang! Given that this is a sequel, I went in with mixed feelings. I thought it would be just as great as the first book but what if it let me down???

Thankfully - and here I sigh in relief - the book was better than The Maid. And I don't say this lightly. Molly Gray has grown and yet she is the same. Superbly ignorant about facial expressions, supremely observant, and as efficient as ever, Molly does not disappoint for one second!

So, when a crowd-favourite author dies during a seminar at the hotel where Molly works, everything is in disarray. Molly's odd behaviour draws Detective Stark's attention (once again), but there is the more-strangely-behaved Lily to contend with now, too.

How they solve the mystery without getting jailed themselves forms the crux of the story.

Sure, there were some teeeeny tiny plot holes but I'm okay with those because I love Molly 😍

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for granting me the ARC.

4.5 stars.

This was an enjoyable sequel to The Maid. It was interesting to learn more about Molly’s past and understand how her character was shaped. The hotel continues to be a great setting and there were some interesting new characters, although I missed Juan Manuel!

Molly, Head Maid at the Regecy Grand Hotel is using her work and sleuthing skills to root out a murderer. .I was reeled in immediately. This is a well woven, atmospheric whodunit, full of twists and turns. An extremely enjoyable book.

‘The Mystery Guest’ is the second outing for Molly the Maid, a character introduced in the bestselling novel ‘The Maid’ by Nita Prose in 2022. Once again, someone’s life ends in unusual circumstances at The Regency Grand Hotel and Molly finds herself embroiled in solving a crime.

Familiar faces from the first book return, such as Mr Snow, Mr Preston and Cheryl. Angela, who looks after the hotel’s bar, is a great character and I’d love for her to feature more in any future books in the series. Molly’s new maid-in-training, Lily, didn’t do much for me, but that’s because she barely spoke! But she works well as a way of seeing how far Molly herself has grown in confidence.

I love a dual timeline novel and I really enjoyed learning more about Molly’s past through flashbacks to her childhood, especially as we get to be reunited with her late grandmother from the first book.

The plot develops at a steady pace and there are plenty of suspicious circumstances and persons to scrutinise along the way. An enjoyable read which is sure to delight existing fans of Molly and her friends, and find new ones.

My thanks to the publishers of ‘The Mystery Guest’ and to NetGalley for sharing an advance copy, on which this review is based.

This book and its characters does not disappoint and I must admit I looked forward to reading this novel. I quite like the writers style and also like the characters. Great way to relax!

Interesting follow up to The Maid. I love the quaint characters. This is something different from lots of the other books being published at the moment.

Good to be back with Molly again! The author knows the character so well and the world of the hotel is very well drawn.

Last year I read The Maid by Nita Prose and thoroughly enjoyed reading it, so I was excited to read the follow-up The Mystery Guest.

Molly is now Head Maid at The Regency Grand Hotel. She is back and more confident. She also mentoring a new maid-in-training, Lily, who isn’t too different to Molly. Mr Snow the manager, Mr Preston the doorman, her friend Angela and the other maids including Cheryl are all still working at the hotel. They do feel like a family, and like all families they don’t all get along all the time.

The book centres on the untimely death of the reclusive crime writer J D Grimthorpe at The Regency Grand Hotel at a reception just as he’s about to make a major announcement.

The investigation is two-pronged. Detective Stark returns to the hotel to investigate. Molly also undertakes her own investigation aided by Angela who is excited to turn the case into a podcast.

In this book we learn more about Molly’s childhood and a little more about her grandmother’s life. We also see how much Molly has grown in confidence, she’s living with her boyfriend, she’s been promoted and is a mentor at work. Other people also see her strengths and realise that she is not to be underestimated.

This is definitely a must-read for fans of The Maid. I can’t wait to read what Nita Prose writes next.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher’s, HarperCollins, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It is so nice having my favourite maid back in action. Molly is back with another murder to be solved. The book is a wonderful follow up and it was nice learning more of Molly and her gran's background. It's been like reuniting with a friend reading this novel. Molly's quirks are still in full flow and her wonderful ability to read situations with an uncanny skill- perfect for trying to solve another death within the hotel. I loved how there's more revelations in this book some which are quite touching and others surprising which makes a great read. Really enjoyed having Molly back and this another well written and pleasing book.

What a delight to have Molly back in our lives again. I adored Nita Prose’s first novel, The Maid, and was eager to read the second book in the series - and it doesn’t disappoint. The story sweeps along at speed like a maid on a deadline, taking us back to The Regency Grand Hotel and its staff including Mr Snow, Mr Preston, Molly’s partner Juan ,as well as Detective Stark.
The story starts with the sudden death of famed crime novelist, J D Grimthorpe as he is about to make an important announcement at a VIP event authors event held at the hotel. Nobody is beyond suspicion once the death is proven to be murder, and the spotlight falls upon Lily, the new maid in training, Molly herself, Serena, the author’s secretary, Mr Preston the doorman and Cheryl from housekeeping. No rug is left unvacuumed, no table unpolished and no book left undusted as Molly tries to solve this intriguing murder mystery. Wonderful stuff, so much so that I have preordered a physical signed copy to keep. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Molly the Maid is back! I just love Nita Prose’s writing and was delighted to find that she had written a follow up, great read

The Mystery Guest is the second novel by Nita Prose to feature Molly the maid. Not just an ordinary maid but now a Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Molly is on the spectrum and she likes everything done just so, just the way her Gran (now deceased) taught her. It was with great pride she was the person in charge of tea at the recently restored Grand Tearoom where J. D. Grimthorpe, writer and recluse, was to make a public announcement. An unusual event in itself but even more unusual was that he never got to make it as he dropped down dead! It seemed that the tea did for him. Not for the first time in the Regency Grand Hotel had someone died under suspicious circumstances because in the previous novel called The Maid another man gasped his last. The Mystery Guest builds on the success of The Maid and the rather lovable Molly and her Gran. Having now read both, I am just starting to tire of her trite phrases and rather wonder where Nita Prose can go with Molly. Maybe the clue is in the book and she takes up the offer to become a detective? After all, Molly has now promoted Lily to become head maid. A detective on the spectrum has been done before and rather well. Tim Sullivan created a character called Detective Sergeant George Cross and his rather unique skills span six novels.

Molly the Maid is back! And still returning rooms to a State Of Perfection better than ever! I have eagerly been anticipating this sequel since finishing The Maid in nearly one sitting last year. I cannot tell you how excited I was to read all about what Molly the Maid has been up to since, and it was totally worth the wait!

In The Mystery Guest, we are reunited with Molly Gray who is still working as a maid in The Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and returning rooms to a State Of Perfection - but now, Molly wears a Head Maid pin with pride. Lots of favourite characters from the last book are present - Mr. Preston the doorman; Mr. Snow the Hotel Owner and even the formidable but slightly dense Detective Stark. There are some new ones to love too - including Molly's new Maid in Training Lily.

Despite this new level or normalcy at The Regency Grand, disaster strikes when the renowned famous author J D Grimthorpe falls down dead in the middle of his new book reveal event at the hotel. Molly, and this time Lily too find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time in the midst of chaos and once again Molly needs to convince Detective Stark of her innocence by doing her own detective work. This time though, could the answers lie in her past?

I loved the expansion of Molly's world in this sequel. We learn so much about Molly's past and what has brought her to this point in time in her life, and through going so, expand on a few other character's pasts too. I love the way Prose has created this wonderful neurodiverse character without it ever being actually mentioned - it's just part of Molly's charm. Molly chews her food 20 times, she cannot tell lies, she struggles to read facial expressions and takes other people's words literally. Molly is clearly autistic and in this novel we get to explore some of her struggles with this in her past - her troubling school days and her Gran's devotion to providing the right care for her despite what others think.

This was such a heartwarming yet brainteasing whodunit. It's a delightful mix of warmth and intrigue and I can't wait to read more of Molly. I really hope there's more to come from Nita Prose!

My absolute thanks go to Harpercollins UK and Netgally for the ARC, my views expressed are entirely my own.
Reviews on socials/Instagram etc to be published closer to the publication date of January '24.

I really enjoyed this book, loved the main character, once I got used to her. Well written. Would recommend this book

I absolutely adored The Maid so was excited to see how the sequel was going to go.

Molly the maid is back and this time she’s head maid at the hotel (a few years have passed since the events of the last book) and preparing a room for a very special VIP event with a famous mystery author. When the author drops dead, all eyes are on Molly again and everyone is a suspect.

I really enjoyed this one, it’s told between two timelines so we really get to know Molly as a child and learn a lot more about her relationship with her beloved Gran.

Like The Maid, The Mystery Guest is a twisty mystery with an air of Agatha Christie, and mystery lovers will love it like I did.

I adore Molly as a character and returning to her inner monologue was like visiting an old friend - I hope this series continues because I really could read 100 books about Molly.

Havibg read The Maid, which I found ok, I wanted to see if the second one was better. I was expecting character development but I didn't find it. Characters are 2 dimensional and same than before. Since it takes places a while after I was expecting more. I found out who was the culprit early on too. It focuses too much on the past and tries to cover different topics that sometimes made me lose myself. I did read it very fast and somehow enjoyed it but didn't love it.

This was my first read by this author but as a result of how great this book was I will definitely be reading The Maid, in order to get to spend more time with the wonderfully crafted character, Molly the maid.
This is a cosy crime mystery told in dual timelines, which was always easy to follow.
The novel is excellently plotted and intelligent with dark comedy scattered throughout. In depth and immersive characters, the witticisms shared by Molly and her gran were joyful and the dialogue was expertly done.
I read this in one sitting on my day off and was totally engrossed in Mollys world. I loved everything about this charming book and didn’t want it to end. Overall this was a feel good, heartwarming mystery with enough twists and turns to keep the page turning. Recommended.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

I loved ‘The Maid’ by author Nita Prose having no hesitation in giving it a 5 star rating so was eagerly anticipating this second book in the series. “The Mystery Guest” would work as a standalone but I would recommend reading ‘The Maid’ first as it is very enjoyable.

The novel once again features Molly Gray who is the Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel but she is a little bit different which makes her interesting. She enjoys her work and is very meticulous, conscientious and so proud of the role she plays in the running of the hotel. When a renowned mystery writer mysteriously drops dead in the grand tea room, Molly finds herself with a different kind of clean-up on her hands. The mystery unravels into a story that’s as much about Molly’s own past as it is about the enigmatic guest’s death.

Once again author Nita Prose serves up a mystery treat with great storytelling and interesting characters that are well-drawn with them all hiding secrets and complexities that add depth to the storyline.

The real star of the show though is Molly who is a very likeable character and her attention to detail along with the dedication to the job make her all the more engaging. “The Mystery Guest” is a very good novel and well worth a look.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.