THE MAID'S SECRET

It’s dust rags to riches for Molly in this series’ latest installment.

Narrator Molly Gray may now be head of special events at the five-star Regency Grand Hotel, but she and her fiancé, Juan Manuel, the pastry chef, are as cash-strapped as ever; the wedding they are planning is to be a budget affair. Meanwhile, the Regency Grand (its geographical location remains unspecified) is hosting an event with the Antiques Roadshow–like reality TV series Hidden Treasures, of which Molly and Juan are loyal viewers. After the hotel manager invites the Regency Grand staff to present any collectibles they may have to the show’s hosts before the shoot, Molly learns that what she thought was a valueless ornamental egg is a Fabergé prototype worth a bundle. But just as Molly’s egg has been auctioned off at the hotel for $10 million, it vanishes from its display case. The novel’s present-day chapters alternate with diary entries addressed to Molly by her now-dead grandmother, who gradually tells the story of the egg’s provenance. To arrive at the truth, readers have to wade through an awful lot of Gran’s personal history, not all of it interesting or surprising and much of which would be more at home in a romance novel than a crime caper. Prose is hoping that fans of the series will inhale Molly’s family history even if it means being served a less fully fleshed present-day mystery, and that gamble may well pay off, as the book has the series’ customary charms: a stouthearted protagonist who has trouble reading social cues and an elegant, anachronistically wholesome setting in which platitudes are considered worthy of not snark but serious reflection.

A family history–heavy installment best suited to series diehards.