The Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel

Molly’s grandmother, known to her as Gran, raised Molly with understanding, kindness, and optimism, and while Gran provided Molly with a safe, loving family, The Mystery Guest delves more deeply into the struggle Gran endures to ensure that the young Molly is well-protected. Many aspects of Gran’s past are explored in this novel, and as she shares a number of maid-themed stories with a darker edge, Nita Prose indirectly reveals the many trials and dangers that her seemingly mundane job has compelled her to navigate over the years. Her positive nature in the face of mistreatment from her family of origin, her employers, her landlord, and her daughter is seen through Molly’s innocent eyes, though the older Molly recognizes the finer nuances of the situation and retroactively appreciates the valiant struggle that Gran has undergone to spare her granddaughter pain. Despite her difficult social and economic situation, Gran refuses to behave like a victim and instills this strength in her granddaughter as well. At the beginning of the novel, Molly sees her gran with a certain amount of hero worship, and by the end, that status is even more strongly established.

The dominant perception of Mr. Preston’s character is constantly shifting throughout the series as Molly finds out more about him. At first, he is Molly’s last living connection with the past, given the fact that he once dated her gran. By the end of The Mystery Guest, however, the narrative reveals that he is actually her grandfather. In the chapters between, he is portrayed as being no more than the kind doorman at The Regency Grand hotel. In the previous novel, The Maid, he is the supportive colleague whose daughter helps to Molly escape a murder charge. Earlier in Molly’s history, he was the gatekeeper of Grimthorpe manor, and his loan saves Molly and Gran from being evicted after Molly’s mother steals the rent money. Ultimately, he is always an ally and a valuable source of information. Prose has planted evidence throughout the series that he is more than he seems, and his conversational quirks and aphorisms suggest that he is deeply connected to Molly’s gran. With the absence of Juan Manuel in this novel, Mr. Preston becomes Molly’s main source of support, and he also teaches her a valuable lesson about the dangers of making unfounded assumptions.

Lily Finch is the shy, soft-spoken Maid-in-Training who reminds Molly of herself. Lily is often vulnerable and confused by the chaos of the world, and she also looks like Molly. When she is frightened, she refuses to speak and often mentally retreats, frustrating those around her. For most of the book, she finds herself exploited by others who use their lies or power to manipulate and intimidate her. Because she unknowingly serves the murder victim his poisoned tea in front of witnesses, she is initially marked as the most likely suspect.

Lily’s character helps Molly to grow into a more protective role and gives her a solid motivation to investigate the murder. Because Molly realizes that Lily’s vulnerability is similar to her own, she takes on the more mature role of a mentor and protector, mirroring her gran’s determination to protect Molly herself when she was a young girl. Molly therefore takes Lily under her wing with acceptance and good cheer, even calling her “my dear girl” (22), a term of endearment characteristic of gran and Mr. Preston. As a result of this encouragement, Lily is emboldened enough to find her voice and assert herself. Lily’s journey therefore mirrors Molly’s in the previous novel, and protecting Lily helps Molly to develop her own nascent leadership skills.

J.D. Grimthorpe is a famous mystery writer who is eventually revealed to be a fraud, for he did not write any of the books for which he is so renowned. He loves overly sweetened tea and uses honey rather than sugar. This honey disguises the taste and viscosity of the murder weapon, anti-freeze. In both the primary plotline and in Molly’s memories, his mistreatment of others marks him as an antagonistic character in his own right, and his poor behavior over time makes for a very wide list of suspects who might have reason to kill him. The narrative also implies that during Molly and Gran’s tenure as maids in his mansion, he sexually assaults Gran while he is drunk. He later tries again when he is sober and only stops when Molly appears. His words about his secretary further imply that he has done the same to her, in addition to using her as a ghostwriter while he gets rich from her efforts. He has no problem taking credit for a major plot point that the young Molly gives him, and he allows his wife to cover up his fraud and mistreatment of other women. In the present-day timeline, his hurtful dismissal of the LAMBS member Beulah leads directly to his death, as she cannot stand his consistently rude rejection and takes revenge by killing him. When the young Molly first sees him, she thinks that he is a troll. While she is at first fascinated to see a writer at work, she soon realizes that his behavior is not far from her initial impression, and she comes to regard him as a wolf and a monster.