Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club. Without giving any spoilers away, as always, we will be discussing The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose. This is the sequel to a book that I love so very much called The Maid and I simply devoured it. It was so nice to be reunited with our delightfully quirky heroine, Molly, and I honestly miss her already. She is one of my absolute favorite literary characters and The Mystery Guest puts her smack dab in the middle of another murder in the Regency Grand Hotel. Before we begin the review, I will be placing a trigger warning on The Mystery Guest for murder and sexual assault. Now, let’s get to it:
We begin The Mystery Guest in the Regency Grand Hotel where Head Maid Molly is prepping for a very important day. In the newly renovated tearoom, the hotel will be hosting an esteemed guest for a lecture. His name is J.D. Grimthorpe and he is a world famous mystery author who skyrocketed to fame thanks to his novel, The Maid in The Mansion. Not only will J.D. be giving a speech, but he will also be making a surprise announcement and everyone is on pins and needles for it – especially his diehard fan group of middle aged mystery novel aficionados.
As J.D. takes the stage, Molly is in awe of the beauty that was created in the hotel’s new tearoom. She is also beaming with pride as her Maid In Training, Lily, delivers J.D.’s tea cart to him. Before he begins his announcement, he takes a cup of tea with a heaping spoonful of honey, sips, and drops dead. Yet again, another man of power has expired in the Regency Grand. Unlike last time, however, Molly is more closely related to the deceased than she originally leads on.
Once the celebrated author hits the floor, all chaos ensues and before she knows it, Molly is face to face with her arch nemesis, Detective Stark. She is a brusque woman who never quite understood Molly’s quirks or her eye for details. She’s more focused on how Molly always seems to miss the obvious. Oh, and how Molly and Lily both had handled the tea cart that J.D. died after drinking from. Whoever committed the deed is still at large at the Regency Grand and it is up to Molly to protect herself and Lily. Will the murderer be found? Or will the repeated phrase throughout the book “the maid is to blame” ring true? Read The Mystery Guest to find out!
Cracking open The Mystery Guest was like being reunited with old friends. I was elated to be back in Molly’s world with the people and places that bring her joy. The Maid series features characters that are just impossible not to fall in love with. Kindly Mr. Preston, Molly’s beloved Juan Manuel, and the other maids on her staff were welcomed back into my heart with open arms and it was like a warm hug. Even the Regency Grand felt like a familiar place to me and it was so easy to imagine myself there with Molly through her vivid descriptions.
The Maid series is your classic whodoneit and The Mystery Guest was no exception to the formula. It lacks in the true suspense of my usual “LifeTime movie thrillers”, but is there in a different way. Molly is finally finding her footing in the world at the start of this book and it was painful to know that it might be taken away from her. She is such an unlikely heroine and that just adds to her charm. Sometimes, it’s the most unlikely people who surprise us all, though, and Molly’s transformation throughout this book is a testament to that. So much so, that she might even be considering a change of career?! Fingers crossed for a third Maid book ASAP!!
I am going to award The Mystery Guest with the coveted ten out of ten stars. If you enjoyed The Maid as much as I did, you will be head over heels for its sequel. And, if you haven’t read the series, I can’t recommend it enough!
What is your favorite series of books? What book are you reading right now? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah