Book Recommendation: The Mystery Guest

Here I am again with a book that has a recurring character in a series. I read Nita Prose’s book The Maid awhile back. It was one of those that kept popping up on my friend’s list of books to read. I picked it up and read it in just a couple days. You can read my initial thoughts here:

Thoughts on “The Maid”

I was excited to see that there was a follow up due out and I went to NetGalley where you can sometimes get an advanced copy to read. I was lucky enough to get be able to read it there. Here is the Goodreads synopsis for you:

When an acclaimed author dies at the Regency Grand Hotel, it’s up to a fastidious maid to uncover the truth, no matter how dirty—in a standalone novel featuring Molly Gray, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick.

Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J.D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead—very dead—on the hotel’s tea room floor.

When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know who killed J.D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the case threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past—because long ago, she knew J.D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery post-haste. If there’s one thing Molly knows for sure, it’s that dirty secrets don’t stay buried forever…

Molly reminds me a bit of Monk. She’s an odd bird, but very observant. It was nice to see what she’s been up to since book one. There are plenty of suspects and there were times I found myself going back and forth between who I thought was the killer. 

I felt that this book lacked a little of what the first one did, but it was still a good read. Again, it didn’t take me very long to read it, and I almost felt like this fell into one of those “cozy mysteries” that people talk about. It was an easy read that kept me guessing. 

The ending is left in a way where a third book is entirely possible, with possible big changes for Molly. It is left in a way where I will definitely want to read the next in the series – should there be one.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book and offer thoughts here.