Jayme's Reviews > The Mystery Guest

4.5 ⭐️ AVAILABLE NOW!

AS DELIGHTFUL AS THE TINKLING SOUND A SILVER SPOON MAKES AS IT TAPS AGAINST A REGENCY GRAND TEA CUP. 🫖☕️

It’s been seven and a half years since Molly Gray was a “maid in training” at the Regency Grand Hotel, but she has held the title of “HEAD MAID” for three and a half years now, proudly wearing that name tag right above her heart.

Not only has she written a manual of standards for the maids, and been put in charge of training the new staff-including “Lily” (a quiet misunderstood girl who reminds her of her younger self) but she has also been tasked with overseeing a VERY special event in the 5 star boutique hotels newly refurbished tea room.

J.D. Grimthorpe, the International best-selling and award winning author of twenty novels including “The Maid in the Mansion” and “The Mystery Guest” will make a rare public appearance to make a mysterious announcement to fifty-five VIP guests, including the LAMBS-(Ladies Auxiliary Mystery Book Society members) who have booked the 4th floor of the elegant hotel.

Would he be announcing that he has written a new book-or that he has written his last?

It turns out-he has “most definitely” written his last, as he drops dead before he can read his cue cards, after sipping the tea, just served by our newly hired maid, Lily.

Now, the entire staff is under suspicion for MURDER-and it isn’t going to help Molly’s cause when Detective Stark learns that Molly had met the reclusive author when she was just a young girl who used to accompany her Gran to his mansion, where she worked as a maid.

Fortunately, Molly still remembers all of her Grans advice-the proverbs and idioms that the two lived their lives by.

The story unfolds with chapters from both the present day mystery and chapters from BEFORE-when Molly was that small girl. The BEFORE chapters had a magical quality to them, almost “Wizard of Oz” like, with an ordinary man hiding behind a bookcase this time, instead of a curtain, but instilling fear in all! I really enjoyed meeting young Molly this way.

Though the motive for this murder was a bit suspect-I did enjoy catching up with Molly again, but if her story continues, I hope it DOESN'T do so in the manner suggested!

And here’s what I had to say about “The Maid” (Molly the Maid #1):

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thank You to Ballantine Books for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review.