The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Good golly, Miss Molly
Here’s a weird thing for a book reviewer to say: you can’t quantify or define everything that makes a great story. Sometimes it’s just intangible, ephemeral, living between the lines and in the space after each period. The Maid by Nita Prose had this certain something. It’s sequel, The Mystery Guest, unfortunately does not.
Sigh.
Spoiler-Free Summary
3 years after the events of The Maid, Molly Gray (our neurodivergent heroine) is still working at the Regency Grand Hotel, but now in the capacity of Head Maid. Things are going well: she is living with Juan Manuel in romantic bliss, her financial troubles are subsiding secondary to her promotion and raise, and The Regency Grand has mostly shed off the stain of the murder of Mr. Black (the central story of The Maid). In fact, it would all be just peachy, if famous author J.D. Grimthorpe hadn’t just dropped dead in the middle of a press conference at the hotel.1
The Good
All the bits about Molly’s past. Next section.
Ok, fine, I’ll elaborate.
The Mystery Guest is roughly divided into two parts, the present day and a few months of Molly’s childhood, which it bounces between chapter by chapter. The past sections have the spark that made The Maid such a treat. Molly’s unique perspective on the world is a perfect compliment to our own. Nita Prose is very adept at letting us assess the situation Molly is in as we would if we were in her shoes, but then showing us how Molly interprets it all, and letting the discrepancy paint a richer picture of her world.
In a similar vein, we see how different people react to Molly’s quirks and how she seems to inadvertently reveal the true nature of those she encounters. There’s advice that gets passed around that if you want to know a person, watch how they treat their waiters and maids. In Nita Prose’s universe, this is very literally true. Her encounters with J.D. Grimthorpe during this time period2 are a good example here. Molly’s conversations with the man upend what we’ve been told about him so far. Irascible, yes, but also sharp, kind to children, playful, and self-aware. It also happens to foreshadow the reveal3 we find out about him in the last act, and contrasts with his…interactions with Flora, Molly’s grandmother (known in the book as “Gran”). By looking through Molly’s eyes, we get a full picture of the man so central to this story, in a way we otherwise might not have. This holds true for many other characters.
The Bad
Basically, the rest. Next section.
Ok, fine, I’ll elaborate. AGAIN.
The sections of the novel that take place in the present day just do not have the magic that was found in The Maid and the past sections of The Mystery Guest. As stated above, some of this is just a missing je ne sais quoi, but from what I can distill I’ve identified a few main issues.
The Mystery
Or rather, the lack thereof. There are a few big “reveals” in this novel, and you will not be shocked by any of them. The murderer? Guessed in the first 1/4 of the book. The truth about J.D. Grimthorpe? Obvious. The true nature of Mr. Preston and Molly’s relationship? Known during The Maid! In a strange way, this wouldn’t even be that big of an issue. The Mystery Guest lives and dies on your feelings toward Molly, and the mystery is almost secondary. It’s how they are handled that does it. They are built up so much, and shock the characters so severely, that before the reveal you are screaming “<Character> did it! How blind are you?”, and afterwards you are just disappointed. The Maid did a much better job of this, throwing red herrings and double-meaning clues to keep you on your toes. Not so here.
Juan-Manuel
One criticism that others lobbied at The Maid was that Juan Manuel, the Mexican dishwasher at the hotel who was unwillingly caught up in an illegal scheme and would later become Molly’s love interest, was a caricature of undocumented immigrants and felt flat. Nita Prose easily side steps this issue in The Mystery Guest by developing Juan’s backstory, giving him agency over the plot, and playing with his inter-personal connections sending him back to Mexico for 99% of the book. Sorry for that typo. What purpose does he serve? Why are we even talking about him? Juan deserved better.
Molly
Is there such a thing as too much character development? In The Maid, Molly’s neurodiversity and unique take on the world and its inhabitants is refreshing, even inspiring at times. In The Mystery Guest, its understandable that she’s learned a lot in the intervening three years, made some strides in understanding the world. Yet, it’s like Prose took this just a bit too far. Molly’s lost that shine that made her special. Now she’s just quirky. Still likable, just…ordinary. As the book rests on her shoulders, this is something of a fatal flaw.
There’s more to criticize here, but now I’m just sad.
Narration
Normally this is where I put a few choice quotes from the work, but I listened to The Mystery Guest as an audiobook, and mostly while driving, and it was hard to write stuff down. So instead, let’s talk about Lauren Ambrose’s performance, which was just as stellar as it was for The Maid. Her tempo and emphasis, her inflection of emotion without ever going overboard, and the personality she imbued into each character’s voice were all fantastic. I had to actually check that there was only one narrator, as some of her voices just sound so naturally like someone else. Truly a talent. In case you were wondering, yes, that is THAT Lauren Ambrose:
Or, you know, Can’t Hardly Wait, Party Of Five, The X-Files, Yellowjackets…the list goes on.
Personal Experience
I wanted this book to be great. My second post on this publication is proof of that. I loved The Maid. I was rooting for it. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, not by any means. It just didn’t spark joy.
I have a sense that the scenes from the past were written completely separately from the scenes set in the present. Unburdened by any evidence, I suspect that the past sections were written alongside The Maid and trimmed for length, then reinserted here. They have that same filament of magic running through them that the present day bits just can’t seem to find.
Will I read the next in the series, due out in April? 4Probably. I would love a return to form, and the blurb says it won’t be a murder mystery, which is refreshing. 3 murders at the Regency Grand involving the same maid would be a bit far-fetched. You’ll get ‘em next time, Nita Prose.
Who Should Read This?
No flowchart this time, it’s pretty simple. If you’ve read The Maid and really liked it, you probably will get some enjoyment here. If you haven’t, read The Maid, which is both way better and essential to understanding The Mystery Guest.
Rating
The Mystery Guest, it pains me to bestow a middling rating to you, but you leave me no choice. You have been awarded 3/5 feather dusters.
Clean up your act next time. See what I did there?
Up Next
A book I picked up because Libby had it and I needed one, but turned out alright!
Until then, make your bed, as Molly would.
This is not a spoiler, it’s literally the second sentence of the ad copy blurb.
Ok, this is a minor spoiler, but also in the ad copy so deal with it.
A strong word, as you’ll find out in the next section of this review.
I’m choosing to believe The Mistletoe Mystery is just a fever dream and not actually published.