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.

I was very excited to read this! I loved the first book in the series and I loved this one just as much!! Such an amazing gripping read, I had high hopes after the first book and this exceeded my expectations

10/10 definitely read this!

I liked getting to know Molly better; the ways in which she was raised by Gran. It was nice learning new background information about a character I already know and love.

It was so great to be back at the Regency Grand again. Throughout the story I was quite suspicious of one of the characters and had half convinced myself that they were the murderer. How wrong was I though! I certainly didn’t expect it to be who it was or why they had done it.

I was so sad to finish the story because I just love Molly. I will definitely be buying a copy when the book comes out and reading it again.

I loved the first book ’The Maid’ and to hear that Molly the maid was returning I was so excited. The Mystery Guest is a cosy mystery thriller that once again follows Molly as she solves another mystery and once again she is a suspect.

Molly is such an unique character, everything about her is just so nice to read, the eye for all details and her babbling way of coming across as annoying to people who first meet her but this is what makes me really enjoy reading about her, she’s such a different but unique character and Nita Prose did such an amazing job once again with her storytelling.

I read this book in one sitting and would recommend you read the first book ‘ The Maid ‘ to understand Molly and her ways and the overall situation that happens in the first book. The Mystery Guest is an amazing read that has just the right amount of thriller/mystery alongside characters that are so fun and wholesome to read around.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and the publishers for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

5*

I adored The Maid, so it was a pleasure to return to Molly's world in the hotel.
Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this copy.

It’s always nerve-wracking to read a second book by an author whose first book you love. Will the second be as good? Will it make sense to have a follow-on in the series or was the first better as a standalone title?

Happily, I thought the second book here was fantastic and almost outshone the first in some respects because more time could be spent on story rather than on establishing Molly.’s complex persona; while still managing to have the reader uncover new details about her.

If I had to nitpick, to me the novel feels very English and yet the language/ turns of phrase are North American. Perhaps that’s intentional? Or intentionally ambiguous?

I’m so grateful to the publishers and the author for this fabulous ARC.

I was absolutely delighted to discover another Molly the Maid book and I hope the series continues! This was such a fun return to the Regency Grand, with a cracking literary plot and more secrets for Molly to uncover. I loved it!

4.5 ⭐️ The perfect cosy mystery. I enjoyed The Maid but loved the sequel even more, I could not put it down.
Molly the maid returns to solve another mystery. The maid always gets blamed for everything.
The chapters were short and sweet and found myself flying through many at a time. I loved how it each chapter alternated between the past and present, giving us just a little bit more information each time to piece together the events.
Great read, definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed reading the first book in the series so I was looking forward to reading this one and I fell in love with it just the same.

Molly the maid is back, she is now Head Maid at The Regency Grand Hotel and once more she is mixed up with murder. Grimthorpe a famous mystery writer drops dead at an event where he was about to unveil a big secret but can’t as he falls off the stage after drinking his tea.

‘There are things going on around here that I don’t quite understand, and until I do, you best be vigilant.’

I loved this follow up to The Maid and it’s such a great caper! JD Grimthorpe, writer, dead before he can make a great reveal. Molly is on the scene once more and is a suspect once more, in the eyes of Detective Stark. But Molly knows more than she is letting on, we travel back into her past, when Gran was alive and Molly a girl both working in a great mansion for a reclusive mystery author.

‘ Do you hear that?’ she asks. ‘Hear what?’ I whisper back. ‘The silence,’ she says. ‘The Silence of the LAMBS.’

This book has improved on The Maid for me. Perhaps because I know the character of Molly better than before but I think also in part because of the detective element; it pays homage to Columbo, Murder She Wrote and so many others. I am an absolute sucker for a great mystery and who doesn’t want to solve a murder?! The JD fan club or LAMBS are a hoot, such a great addition and Molly herself, Angela, Lily and Mr Preston are all joyous.

This is clever, entertaining and loads of fun, I do hope we get more from Molly in the future.

I loved the maid so I was very excited to see Nita prose had written a sequel.
From the first book you’re led to assume Molly is on the asd spectrum, She is a quirky character with an eye for detail, Comes across a little annoying in her finicky ways but I also found her endearing. Her story continues in book two, quirks and all. I loved the backstory that ran alongside the present. We learn about Mollies gran who was the maid for the author who was murdered. It all links up to the present, with the murder of said author taking place in the hotels tearoom.
The mystery guest is a really fun whodunnit book, highly recommended if you like murder mystery’s with a difference.

A great follow up to the first Maid. Molly is back with all her quirks and her own personality. The story is fantastic and has all the addiction of the first book without feeling too familiar!

Molly the maid is a great character and this was a great story. Cleverly plotted, I really enjoyed the twists and turns. A great setting with a great set of characters, it was good to learn more about Molly and her gran. Thoroughly enjoyable

I really enjoyed the last book in this series, so was very excited to start reading this. I certainly wasn’t disappointed as it was just as good as the first one. Molly is a fantastic creation and it was great to have the flashbacks to her childhood to help understand her better. I was also pleased to catch up with the other recurring characters, who are so well drawn that I can picture them. More please.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose 🗝
Pub date 18.01.2024

This has been one of my most anticipated books for sooo long. I adored the prequel the Maid and couldn't wait to get my hands on this. I made my dog 🐶 jump out of his skin from screaming when I got the email saying I had been approved for this arc. It had been pending for so long I had given up hope. Of course I had to abandon all my current reads and dive straight into this one. I read the Maid in one day and the Mystery Guest was no different, read in one sitting carrying my kindle everywhere 😂

One of my fave characters of all time Molly the Maid is back at the regency grand hotel as head maid in this fantastic cosy murder mystery. I would recommend reading the Maid before this one, even though it is a new mystery the character development in the first book is needed to get the full enjoyment out of this one.
I'm hoping that this series continues and there are many more books to come. I cannot get enough of Molly. Also special shout out to Mr Preston, such a wholesome character who makes my heart melt ❤

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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

#TheMysteryGuest #NetGalley

I was delighted to be approved for an .early copy of this book; and I settled down and read it in just a couple of sittings. Nina Prose is genius; she’s created a character it’s impossible not to love. I thought The Maid was outstanding and The Mystery Guest, unbelievably, is even better.

Molly us now Head Maid, a role she was born to occupy. At a book signing, the author drops dead and mayhem ensues as hotel staff are implicated in his demise and the loss of a valuable first edition. This story is so well plotted as the reader is taken back to the past and the circumstances in which Molly first met the author. I really loved the flashback scenes with Molly and her aunt. There’s so much wisdom, humour and the literal quirkiness is hugely entertaining. It’s a book that takes you into another world, totally immersive and such brilliant writing. Yes, I loved it; clever and all human life is here one way and another. Simply brilliant.

Molly is fast becoming one of my favourite characters! I devoured the sections where it went back in time as it showed you more of the relationship Molly had with her gran and gives you more of an insight into Molly’s history. The storyline was fabulous and it all knitted together perfectly. I’m not sure I would ever want to cross Mr Grimthorpe so I’m glad he’s dead.

Just when I thought I couldn’t love Molly any more than I did in the first book, back she comes with her sharp eye for detail, her charm and her little idiosyncrasies that make her so interesting. In this book, Molly is now the Head Maid at the Regency Grand and it’s a title she is very proud of. When a guest at the hotel dies suddenly in very mysterious circumstances, Molly’s detective skills are once again put to use. Another enjoyable book from Nita Prose.