Book Review: The Mystery Guest - Nita Prose

 “The Mystery Guest” is the second book in the “Molly the Maid” series by Nita Prose. While I believe this book can be read as a stand-alone, I would strongly recommend that the first book “The Maid” be read prior to starting this book. I was pretty excited to receive an advance copy of this book, as I rather enjoyed the first book. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book. This seemed to be more of a “cozy mystery” than the first book. Additionally while other commenters applaud Molly’s growth, I rather liked the socially awkward Molly of the first book. I happen to enjoy the new maid, Lily, and how Molly cares for her throughout the book. I also enjoyed reading more about Stark, whose attitude toward Molly seemed better. A number of commenters said that Molly was “on the spectrum” in the first book - I’m not sure she still is in this book. Overall, there are a number of flashbacks to Molly’s younger days and a few too many Gran-isms tossed into the book where they became repetitive opposed to being an enjoyable part of the story. I did like how the story came together (a few of the twists were obvious but it didn’t prevent me from enjoying the mystery). 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 4.