The Mystery Guest

Lauren Ambrose returns to narrate the second installment in Prose’s “Molly the Maid” series (following her award-winning debut, The Maid). Book two finds 29-year-old neurodivergent Molly as the head maid at the five-star Regency Grand Hotel. She is proud of her success and knows that her eye for detail and insistence on perfection reflect well on the beloved grandmother who raised her. Molly becomes the target of a police investigation when reclusive best-selling author J.D. Grimthorpe schedules a special announcement at the hotel. Molly sets up the Grand Tea Room for the event, but just before the presentation, the author drops dead from poison. Though Molly is once again in the sights of Detective Stark, she realizes that her childhood visits to the Grimthorpe mansion have provided her with insider information. Ambrose captures Prose’s quirky and charming main character with just the right note of innocence. She infuses the novel with humor as Molly’s escapades evolve and employs enjoyable accents and character voices for the many possible murder suspects who populate the cast.