Publication: 18th January 2024 – HarperCollins UK
A new mess.
A new mystery.
Molly the maid returns . . .
Molly Gray wears her Head Maid badge proudly for every shift at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows, sweeping up the guests’ secrets, silently restoring rooms to a state of perfection.
But when a renowned guest – a famous mystery writer – drops very dead in the grand tea room, Molly has an unusual clean-up on her hands.
As rumours and suspicion swirl in the hotel corridors, it’s clear there’s grime lurking beneath the gilt. And Molly knows that she alone holds the key to the mystery. But unlocking it means thinking about the past, about Gran, and everything else she’s kept tidied away in her memory for so long.
Because Molly knew the dead guest once upon a time – and he knew her…
I am thrilled to return to the Regency Grand Hotel, the five-star boutique hotel renowned for its elegance and for its excellent service, but also for being the scene of a well-known murder a few years back. Molly the maid, who back then had been accused of the murder and had to investigate on her own to prove her innocence, is now Head Maid and she is proud of her work, especially when it comes to her new Maid-in-Training, Lily, who, she is convinced, will learn to shine (and speak) under her guidance. The hotel is preparing for a big event featuring award winning mystery author J.D. Grimthorpe, who will be announcing a big secret. But, when he is about to do his big reveal he drops dead… poisoned. And so, we see the return of Detective Stark who still underestimates Molly and puts her in her list of suspects. And Molly, who knew the victim when she was a child and is now forced to revisit her past, starts her own investigation, helped by her friend Angela, a fan of true crime podcasts, the L.A.M.B.S., the author’s number one fan club, and also a reluctant detective Stark.
Four years after the events of The Maid, Molly is still her unique self. Excellent at her job and a stickler for the rules, she has gotten slightly better at reading people and her attention to details that no one else notices help her solve the murder. She is living happily with her boyfriend Juan and she considers the hotel doorman, Mr. Preston, a close friend, although she is worried that he is keeping secrets from her. She still follows her grandmother’s proverbs and, thanks to flashbacks and memories of her childhood, we get a closer look at their relationship and why they both became maids.
The Mystery Guest is an entertaining, riveting, and gripping mystery with engaging characters and a fantastic ending. I couldn’t recommend it enough!
A huge thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.
Nita Prose is the author of THE MAID, which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide and was published in over forty countries. A #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club pick, THE MAID won the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction and was an Edgar Award finalist. Her second novel, THE MYSTERY GUEST, publishes in November 2023 in North America (January 2024 in the UK). Prose lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is moderately clean.
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