This guide to the Molly the Maid book series by Nita Prose explores dusting… and dusting for fingerprints! Neurodivergent hotel maid Molly is always at the wrong place at the wrong time, and her eccentric social skills make it a challenge for her to exonerate herself from involvement in suspicious hotel deaths.
Here, you’ll unravel Molly’s apron strings and uncover what makes cozy mystery lovers “sweep up” books about Molly, and you’ll get answers to questions you may have about the series. So, grab your feather duster, and let’s get into the nooks and crannies!
There was a time when it seemed The Maid was ALL that readers were talking about, so I couldn’t help but read it and fall in love with the charm of Molly too. For starters, maids have a unique job of being intimately involved in people’s lives, yet quiet at the same time. This sets the stage for all kinds of drama!
And, when I heard she was back for a sequel, I just had to dive in quickly to see what Molly was up to and help provide insight and answers to questions fans of Molly may have.
about
Nita Prose is a long-time Canadian editor and recent author whose 2022 debut novel, The Maid, became a smash hit, selling over one million copies and winning a variety of awards.
Molly The Maid Book Series Order
Molly the Maid is a book series of two books by Nita Prose:
- The Maid (2022)
- The Mystery Guest (2023)
In order to avoid spoilers, the books in the Molly the Maid series by Nita Prose should be read in order. The second book references what happened in the first book.
The Maid (Book 1 of 2)
- #1 New York Times bestseller
- Good Morning America book club pick
- Winner of the Ned Kelly Award for InÂternational Crime Fiction, the Fingerprint Award for Debut Novel of the Year, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First MysÂtery
- Finalist for the Edgar Award
- One of the best books of the year named by Reader’s Digest, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Glamour, Elle, PopSugar, Newsweek, Mental Floss, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews
- Over one million copies sold
Summary (Without Spoilers)
In The Maid, Molly Gray is a young hotel maid at the boutique five-star Grand Regency Hotel. Despite her love for her job, struggles with social skills like communication and interpretation, especially since her beloved Gran died. But, being a maid helps her bring order to life.
Her life and career are upended when she enters the suite of a wealthy guest (and abusive husband), Charles Black, only to find him dead. And, in an attempt to be helpful to her co-worker crush, Rodney, and Black’s wife, Giselle (her friend), her unusual mannerisms lead her to become the lead suspect, under arrest for a whole host of charges, including murder.
Molly is smarter than her social skills imply, but her only hope here is for those around her to figure out what really happened to Mr. Black, including the doorman, Mr. Preston, and his lawyer daughter, Charlotte. Luckily, the people in this quirky woman’s life rally to support her.
Review
Is it odd to call a murder mystery heartwarming? This Clue-like mystery was oddly light and charming, and it works really well for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
The twists also kept coming as Molly came of age in truly unprecedented ways, and it left the reader wanting more about Molly’s background.
I didn’t love it as much as the general population of readers, as some of Molly’s choices require the reader to tread some morally grey waters. But, this is also what makes it a great book club pick. And, Molly is undeniably one-of-a-kind.
It’s well worth the read for most readers.
The Mystery Guest (Book 2 of 2)
- A Popsugar best book of the year
Summary (Without Spoilers)
In The Mystery Guest, Molly the Maid is back. She’s the head maid and has a boyfriend, but… another guest is dead at the Regency Grand Hotel, where she works.
It just so happens that Molly gave the famous mystery author, J.D. Grimthorpe, tea before he dropped dead and so, once again, she becomes a suspect in his mysterious death.
But, other suspects also rise to the surface, including the hotel’s new maid, the author’s secretary, hotel guests, and even Mr. Preston, the doorman beloved to Molly.
As it turns out, there’s a lot lurking under the surface and many, including Molly herself, share sordid pasts with the author. Secrets never keep, so all is revealed by the novel’s end.
Review
I flew through The Mystery Guest in 24 hours and actually enjoyed it far more than The Maid! The reader gets to learn much more about Molly’s, Gran’s, and Mr. Preston’s pasts, and the secret life of a mysterious author is always especially intriguing to me as a book lover!
While, in The Maid, Molly was often compared to Eleanor from Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, I actually found her to be more like Elizabeth Zott in Lessons in Chemistry in The Mystery Guest — highly intelligent and literal to a fault. Since I love Zott, I also loved Molly here.
While I had my suspicions about whodunnit (and was right), I still got to learn why, and a lot of other aspects of Molly’s life came full circle in this mystery. I have no doubt that fans of The Maid will delight in it.
Of note, I read an advanced audiobook copy from Libro.fm, and I thought it was exceptionally narrated.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Maid by Nita Prose is a murder mystery about a young, neurodivergent maid at a five-star hotel who becomes incorrectly framed in the suspicious death of a guest due to her unusual social skills. Loyal to a fault, her only hope is that the people around her will figure out the truth.
The killer in The Maid by Nita Prose was the first Mrs. Black — Mr. Black’s wife prior to Giselle. She entered the hotel room to find him drugged and violent, and she suffocated him with a pillow. Molly interacted with her and ultimately protected her because Molly found a kinship in this action “for the greater good,” as Molly did the same when her Gran’s cancer pain became too much to bear.
Yes. The Maid by Nita Prose will be produced as a feature adaptation by its star, Florence Pugh.
Yes. The Maid by Nita Prose is a bestselling, award-winning, and crowd-pleasing novel that captured the hearts of readers due to its eccentric and charming protagonist, Molly, and the cozy mystery at the heart of the story that kept readers turning the pages. It is worth reading for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Lessons in Chemistry.
Yes. The Maid by Nita Prose has a sequel called The Mystery Guest. It follows another murder mystery in Molly the maid’s life and brings her past full circle with her present.
Yes. The Maid by Nita Prose is a series of two books about murder mysteries at the Grand Regency Hotel, where Molly the maid works. The second book is called The Mystery Guest.
Conclusion
The Molly the Maid book series by Nita Prose contains two cozy mysteries about a neurodivergent hotel maid, who finds herself at the center of the suspicious deaths of hotel guests. Readers worldwide fell in love with her eccentric charm and kept turning the pages full of plot twists at the same time.
To avoid spoilers, these books are best read in order:
- The Maid (2022)
- The Mystery Guest (2023)
