Editorial note: I received a copy of The Mystery Guest in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose is an entertaining and charming follow-up to the blockbuster hit, The Maid.
I don’t tend to read many books that generate a sequel so it was a nice change of pace to revisit the world of Molly the maid. I quite liked The Maid! It was heartfelt, which again, is not something you usually associate with a murder mystery story. But I thought the author Nita Prose did a great job at painting a full picture of Molly, and I rooted for her the entire time.
By the way, if you’ve already read The Maid and want to discuss the ending, check out my ending post here.
Nita Prose brings Molly back into the forefront again with The Mystery Guest. Almost all the favorite character are back, including a lot of past experiences with Molly’s beloved Gran. I found the story entertaining and fun. Nothing groundbreaking but sometimes you just need an easy and pleasant read.
What’s the Story About
Everything is going well for Molly—she has risen through the ranks of the five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. She has a wonderful boyfriend and some caring friends. But everything comes to a halt when J. D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, dies on the hotel’s tearoom floor.
Suddenly, Molly is thrust back into a murder mystery. But she’s also holding secrets of her own, as she knew J. D. Grimthorpe when she was a child. So now Molly must revisit her memories to see if it can help solve a crime in her present.
The Mystery
Overall, I thought it was pretty good mystery—it definitely felt more in the cozy mystery style than even the first one. It’s fairly low stakes as the author J. D. Grimthorpe was a terrible person so not many people are sad he’s gone, but still there’s plenty of secrets revealed that keeps this one going.
Molly serving as amateur detective is always entertaining. While Detective Stark was more of a foe in the first book, I liked how their relationship and understanding of each other progressed.
I especially enjoyed learning more about Molly’s relationship with her Gran. Her Gran’s own story is big and vast, with plenty of secrets of her own, that it could almost serve as a prequel one day. Although, Molly’s estranged mother does make a small appearance and I have a feeling she might play more of a central role if the author continues the series.
Verdict
I liked it overall! That said, I believe the first one is better. And The Mystery Guest is certainly not required reading if you read the first one. But if you want to keep follow’s Molly’s journey, this is a solid sequel.
Again, fairly low stakes but I do think Molly did evolve more as a character. You’ll develop more of a deeper understanding of her, and some of the pain she went through as a child and how that has impacted her as an adult.
J. D. Grimthorpe is definitely an evil guy so don’t expect nuance there. There’s also a new maid introduced whose character could have been developed more but it’s fine. The real focus is Molly and Gran.
For book clubs, check out my questions here.
