47 pages • 1 hour read
Nita ProseThe Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 7-12 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “Before”
The young Molly dreams about cleaning, the Fabergé egg, and not having to go to school. The next morning, she tells Gran that she wants to be a maid, but Gran tells her that such work has hidden perils and advises her to aim higher. As Mr. Grimthorpe’s secretary enters the mansion through the side door, Gran gives Molly the silver polish and tells her to wear gloves. She also tells a story about a maid who left lye out, and the owner almost lost his hands when he mistook it for water. She says that the maid’s actions may not have been an accident, and that fate works in mysterious ways. Mrs. Grimthorpe takes Gran to town while Molly has fun polishing. When she needs to use the toilet, she is too scared to go to the servant’s washroom in the basement, so the gardener tells her to go upstairs and that no one will know if she is quiet. While there, she sees a library and hears a typewriter somewhere nearby. On the other side of the library wall, she hears someone curse and stomp their feet. She suspects that it is Mr. Grimthorpe and imagines him as the troll her gran described. She sees a shadow coming through a crack under one of the walls, and when she leans down to look, a blue eye is starting back at her. She screams and runs downstairs as her gran returns.
Chapter 8 Summary
Molly has a nightmare about Mr. Grimthorpe and is awakened when Juan Manuel calls from Mexico. He is so happy that she cannot bring herself to tell him about the death. At work, Mr. Preston is worried about her, and the hotel is full of curious people. Cheryl has been returned to the position of Head Maid for the day while Molly is assigned to help Angela in the restaurant. Molly, Angela, and Mr. Snow examine a box left by Mr. Grimthorpe’s assistant Serena. The box contains a rare first edition text, Grimthorpe’s fountain pen, a Moleskine notebook, and a letter from Mr. Snow (the manager) to Serena. Serena arrives to collect the box, and Molly notices that Mr. Snow has a crush on her. Cheryl and Lily are cleaning in the lobby when the fire alarm goes off, causing everyone to evacuate. When they return, the box is gone.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Before”
Molly asks Gran about her mother, and Gran explains that Molly’s mother has demons. Mrs. Grimthorpe reluctantly admits that Molly is doing a good job and rewards her by giving her time to read in the library. While there, Molly hears the typewriter and touches a book on the wall closest to the sound. The wall opens, revealing Mr. Grimthorpe in his office. They both scream. Molly introduces herself as Pip, inspired by reading Great Expectations. They talk about reading and writing, and he shows her his Moleskine notebooks, which are full of nonsense and drawings. When Molly asks if his secretary does anything more than type, he flies into a rage, and Molly runs back downstairs.
Chapters 10 Summary
Mr. Snow refuses to believe that the box is stolen. Angela warns Molly that she heard Detective Stark name her and Lily as suspects. Angela has told the LAMBS that Molly is an undercover agent and has set up a breakfast gathering so that Molly can gain more information. Molly is uncomfortable that Angela is making her lie. She meets Beulah, who calls herself Grimthorpe’s unofficial biographer. With her are Gladys, the president of the club, and Birdy, who is the treasurer. They don’t believe Molly when she tries to say that she is not an agent. They tell Molly about their theory that Grimthorpe was going to announce a sequel to his hit novel, The Maid in the Mansion, in which the seemingly innocent maid is the killer.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Before”
Molly is more stimulated by her time working in the mansion than in all her years at school. She finds out that Grimthorpe was nursed through what Gran calls an illness by Gran and Mrs. Grimthorpe; this “illness” was actually his efforts to detox from alcohol. Gran says that she and Mrs. Grimthorpe have forgiven him for his bad behavior during that earlier time. Mr. Grimthorpe apologizes to Molly for his behavior and confesses that he has writer’s block. He tells Molly his problem, and she solves it by suggesting that the killer use lye to get rid of the body.
Chapter 12 Summary
Angela compliments Molly’s sleuthing, but Molly doesn’t like lying about her identity. She finds her staff stressed and unhappy under Cheryl’s leadership; Cheryl is taking their tips and working them too hard. When Molly asks Lily for more information, Lily is too afraid to say anything and does not know who is in charge. Molly goes to the police station and announces that she wants to confess. She tells Detective Stark that she has committed identity fraud by posing as an undercover detective; this disappoints Stark, who expects her to confess to the murder. Stark reveals that the poison that killed Mr. Grimthorpe was anti-freeze; Molly knows that anti-freeze has a sweet flavor and is therefore undetectable in honey. Stark makes it clear that she still suspects Molly. As Molly walks back to the hotel, she sees Mr. Preston in a pawnshop, selling a rare first-edition copy of Grimthorpe’s The Maid in the Mansion.
Chapters 7-12 Analysis
The flashback chapters in this section portray Mr. Grimthorpe in a decidedly less-than-flattering light, thereby allowing the author to suggest that the victim is also a villain who perhaps deserves his fate. For example, Molly’s recollections provide hints that Mr. Grimthorpe mistreated Gran, and Molly’s experience of his rage and his theft of her ideas for his novel point to his questionable ethics. By establishing his reprehensible character, Prose also expands the pool of suspects, for it is clear that many people might have a reason to wish Grimthorpe dead, and even Molly herself must labor under the shadow of suspicion. This section also fleshes out other secondary characters to widen the range of suspects. Grimthorpe’s super-fans have previously been described as a monolithic unit called the LAMBS, but Prose introduces new divisions amongst these particular characters by describing Gladys, Beulah, and Birdy’s squabbles over their status within the group. Thus, this scenes suggests that the members of this particular society are not quite as upstanding as they initially appear to be.
As a cascade of suspicious activity ensues, Prose introduces The Contrast between Good Intentions and Guilty Motives, for even as Molly and other innocent characters do their part to investigate the murder, additional conflicts add tension and raise the stakes for Molly, implying that more than one person may be operating with less-than-ethical intentions. A prime example occurs with the theft of the box containing Grimthorpe’s personal belongings, as this implicates Lily and makes it even more urgent that Molly solve the murder and clear her coworker’s name. Amid Molly’s earnest endeavor to find the truth, Prose introduces additional sources of suspicion, such as Cheryl, a dishonest character and former Head Maid from the previous novel who brashly reasserts herself, bullies Lily, and threatens Molly’s authority as Head Maid. By bringing back Molly’s nemeses, the author creates yet another conflict to add new urgency to the pressing need to solve Grimthorpe’s murder. The Contrast between Good Intentions and Guilty Motives is further explored when a character who has been consistently kind throughout the series is suddenly cast in a different light. When Mr. Preston is seen pawning a first-edition Grimthorpe novel, Molly is confused by the thought that a supposed friend might be the ultimate enemy in this scenario.
While the present-day plotline focuses on the murder, the flashback scenes continue to develop The Value of Unnoticed Work, especially as the narrative reveals the full extent of Gran’s hard work in the Grimthorpe mansion and the mistreatment that she endures. Gran herself hints that being a maid has dangers, and her story about the lye dissolving the master’s hands—while ostensibly just a story—also raises the possibility that she might be speaking from experience. Thus, her seemingly whimsical tales hold a dark edge and imply that those whose work is undervalued must navigate a treacherous world of simmering resentment. The secretary in this section is another negative example of The Value of Unnoticed Work, although the author does not yet reveal just how much work she is doing and how truly valuable it is. The secretary’s brief appearance therefore subtly sets the stage for further revelations at the end of the novel. For the moment, she remains unseen, and only the mysterious sound of her typing exists to announce her industrious presence. Because Prose often shows both sides of her themes, Molly is already challenging the expectation that maids and servants should remain invisible, and her talent for cleaning the silver is noticed and rewarded by Mrs. Grimthorpe; thus, Molly finds immense personal satisfaction in work that others find demoralizing. For her, cleaning delivers her from the trauma of school and allows her to spend her time doing something that she loves. While her gran and the secretary are the shadow side of the theme, Molly’s immovable optimism imbues the theme with a brighter sense of possibility.
