The Mistletoe Mystery

November 1, 2024
This (ultimately) merry little Christmas novella finds Molly Gray, star of the Maid mystery series, harboring yuletide suspicions. It's almost Christmas, and narrator Molly, head maid at the Regency Grand Hotel--geographic location unspecified--is initially enjoying the holiday ramp-up with Juan Manuel, her equally cash-strapped live-in boyfriend and the hotel's pastry chef: They've purchased a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, he's stocked their reusable Advent calendar with gewgaws, and so on. But Molly is put off her eggnog when a hot blond living in their apartment building knocks at their door, seeking help unclogging her toilet. "Juan seemed to know her," Molly thinks. "In fact, she seemed familiar with him, too. But how can that be if she recently moved into the building?" Molly tracks what she considers other examples of Juan's suspicious behavior as she counts down the days to the hotel staff holiday party, where she hopes not to relive a past Secret Santa-related drama. Readers' appreciation for this novella will depend on their tolerance for sentimentality and their patience with protagonists who can't see what's right in front of them. Some of Molly's muddlement is explained away by her long-standing problem reading social cues--"Little Miss Literal," a colleague dubs her--which Prose handles with unshowy sensitivity. Perhaps inadvertently, and certainly endearingly, Molly recalls another frequently befogged maid of letters: Amelia Bedelia. While Prose tips her Santa hat to "The Gift of the Magi," O. Henry's holiday classic likewise centered on two frugal young lovers, she brings original plot points to the Christmas table. Tailor-made for the cozy-mystery lover's Christmas stocking.

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September 30, 2024
Molly Gray, head maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, returns in Edgar winner Prose’s charmingly low-key sequel to The Mystery Guest. As a child, Molly and her grandmother had little money, but Gran made every Christmas special by creating an annual Advent calendar filled with “upcycled” trinkets. Now Molly and her boyfriend, pastry chef Juan Manuel, follow the same thrifty pattern. The couple are deep in the honeymoon phase, doting on each other, turning their bathtub into a makeshift spa, and admiring their “misfit” Charlie Brown tree with its macaroni star topper. But Molly starts to doubt Juan’s faithfulness when he begins withholding details about his whereabouts and grows evasive about the hotel staff’s annual Secret Santa exchange. Eschewing violence altogether, Prose focuses instead on the mysteries of romantic relationships, which brings the stakes way down from the previous Maid novels. Still, breezy prose, appealing characters, and sitcomesque storytelling propel the entertaining plot to its sweet, albeit predictable, conclusion. This is sure to put readers in the holiday spirit. Agent: Madeleine Milburn, Madeleine Milburn Literary.