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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Melody, I'm so glad you shared your thoughts on this new Molly book. I do understand what you said about not being quite as engaged. I'll keep that in mind when I get to read it. I did enjoy THE MAID a lot and agree that Molly probably would fall in the neurodivergent area. We'll see how it goes. Again, thanks!
Kay - I'll be curious of your thoughts if you get to this book, Kay.
I loved The Maid and am really looking forward to reading this sequel, even if the investigation itself isn't the best; Molly is such a unique and fun character...I really like her.
Lark - I like Molly, too. I really hope the author will continue to feature her in her future books.
Too bad about the Mystery Guest, as I liked the Maid too.
I am sorry this one wasn't as good as the first for you. I do hope to read it at some point. Molly is such a great character.
Too bad this one wasn't as good as the first. I still need to check out The Maid.
Harvee - It seems like many readers enjoyed reading The Maid. :)
Wendy - Yes, Molly is a great character, isn't she? I really hope there's a series featuring her as the main character.
Diana - I hope you'll enjoy The Maid as much as I did, Diana.