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Ballantine Books | 28 November 2023 | 304 pgs
Source: Library
Our protagonist, Molly Gray, was first introduced in The Maid in which we see her as a diligent and a meticulous individual who's not afraid to speak up her mind when circumstances arise, although some might portray her behaviours or her speech a little odd but this might be a sign of her being a neurodivergent, though it was not clearly specified.
In this book, Molly had promoted to Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel and she's living happily with her boyfriend, Juan Manuel, who's currently visiting his relatives in Mexico. Everything seems to be working well in Molly's life until J.D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, is found dead at the hotel's tea room prior to his big announcement during a press conference.
Detective Stark, who's in charge of the investigation, feels a sense of déjà vu considering there was a murder case at the hotel a while back. And as it happens, Molly is at the center of the predicament (just like the previous investigation) as Grimthorpe is later found to be poisoned by a cup of tea. Molly, who's perplexed and alarmed by the allegation, is determined to find out the truth and to unveil the identity of the murderer. But who'd it be? There're a few people in Molly's mind, including the new Maid-in-Training, the author’s secretary and even the hotel’s beloved doorman, who's considered to be a dear friend of Molly. Well, Molly has some secrets of her own too that revolved around her childhood days during her presence at the Grimthorpe mansion and she has to revisit the past memories for clues pertaining to the quirky and mysterious Mr Grimthorpe.
I enjoyed reading The Maid so I was thrilled to see Molly Gray's appearance in this latest book by Nita Prose. As much as I liked Molly as a character and reading about her working life and her past relationship with her grandmother, for some reason I couldn't find myself engaged in this book as much as compared to The Maid, although I enjoyed the backstory how she come to stay at the Grimthorpe mansion with her grandmother. I think my greatest disappointment was that the motive didn't deem strong and convincing enough; plus it seemed there wasn't enough actions surrounding the investigations and there're repetitiveness surrounding Molly's thoughts and her perceptions. That said, it was good seeing Molly Gray again and I hope a series is in order in the near future.
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I didn't complete my Goodreads reading challenge in 2023. Only 45 out of 60 books read. Hopefully this year will be a better reading year for me. Also, I want to try to read more of the other genres (such as literary fiction, fantasy and/or romance) aside from suspense and thriller.
Here's my top ten favourites in no particular order. While some of the books didn't get a 5-star review, they left a deep impression on me.
- The One by John Marrs
- The Magistrate by Brian Klingborg
- The Patient's Secret by Loreth Anne White
- The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
- The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by Indian Holton
- The Couples Trip by Ulf Kvensler
- Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
- Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
- The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
- I'm Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Honorable Mention:
- Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess
So, the following question has got nothing to do with the above but simply out of curiosity. Do you mind a sad/bittersweet ending? (Especially in a romance?) Recently I watched a K-drama and while I don't usually get emotionally invested into them, this particular drama really left an impact on me (kept thinking about it for weeks; and listening to the OST didn't make it better). The plot wasn't new but it was realistic, inspiring and dealt with many topics which we often face in society and in real life (maybe that explains the realistic of that sad ending? But still...). The characters were flesh-out and relatable, too, and they were the ones that stood out the most in the story, in particularly the two leading characters. But that ending, sigh, just made me so sad just thinking about it. Dare I say the title and spoil the fun of you watching it? I suppose not. (I think anyone who watched this may have guessed it.) But it was such a good, beautiful story in my opinion (definitely a 5-star!), but I'm not sure if I want to rewatch it at some point and go through that emotional roller coaster again.
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Here is the list of books I read in 2023. The list is sorted out in alphabetical order according to the authors' last name for easy reference.
B
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
C
The Hollows by Daniel Church
Thicker Than Water by Megan Collins
D
The Last One by Will Dean
F
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
G
H
Don't You Dare by Jessica Hamilton
The Dark by Emma Haughton
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by Indian Holton
The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard
J
Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen
K
The cage by Bonnie Kistler
The cage by Bonnie Kistler
Wild Prey by Brian Klingborg
The Magistrate by Brian Klingborg
The Couples Trip by Ulf Kvensler
L
A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin
A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin
M
The One by John Marrs
The Passengers by John Marrs
What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin
Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie
Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay
The Second Woman by Louise Mey
The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda
R
Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess
When You Are Mine by Michael Robotham
S
The Family Game by Catherine Steadman
A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
I'm Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Ghost 19 by Simone St. James
The Honeymoon Trap by Peter Swanson
The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson
T
Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson
Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson
With Love, from Cold World by Alicia Thompson
A Sliver of Darkness by C. J. Tudor
W
The Patient's Secret by Loreth Anne White
How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
Y
© 2024 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.