For someone who enjoys peace and routine, hotel maid Molly found herself once again immersed into the chaos of a murder investigation. A famed mystery author found himself on the wrong end of someone’s ire only moments before making an announcement that he claimed would be huge. This announcement was meant to take place at the Regency Grand Hotel, where Molly is Head Maid. As the investigation into the author’s death comes to a start, Molly takes the time to realize that her own past experiences may just answer some very important questions.
Molly was interesting as usual, I found her an enjoyable protagonist to follow throughout the process of the investigation. Being able to see her actual reactions to the world around her as well as getting a glimpse into her memories helped to make her character well rounded. Not only do the readers get to see her motivations, but we get to see how those motivations are influenced by the past. I thought it was really interesting to see how she connected dots in her past that she had not connected at the time.
One thing that I appreciated in the first book in the series, The Maid, was that I also enjoyed getting to know more about the side characters through their interactions with the case. It was a wonderful way to gain both character growth as well as maintain progress on the mystery. While character development was important to the plot, the mystery stayed at the forefront of the story.
While it was easy to follow the characters and the mystery, there were many moments where the plot felt disjointed. Switching back and forth from the present to the past was a great way to tell the story, but whenever there was a switch, it took me a moment to realize what was happening. The story had a lot of moving parts and the switching made me forget what was actually important and what was just there for filler purposes.
This novel is a fine addition to the series, but ultimately fails to shine above the rest. Read for the character growth, but beware the jumpy plot.
3.5/5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions
The Novel Llama 