The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose
Published by Ballantine Books on April 8, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Mystery

Goodreads
When a daring art heist takes place at the Regency Grand, Molly’s life is threatened. The question is who’s out to get her, and why? Long-buried secrets will be revealed in this intriguing and heartwarming novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest
A wedding. A heist. A secret.
Molly Gray’s life is about to change in ways she could never have imagined. As the esteemed Head Maid and recently promoted Special Events Manager of the Regency Grand Hotel, good things are just around the corner, including her marriage to her beloved fiancĂ©, Juan Manuel, only two months away.
But Molly’s entire existence is upended when a film crew descends upon the hotel to shoot the hit reality TV show Hidden Treasures, starring popular art appraisers Brown and Beagle. On a whim, Molly brings in a shoebox containing a few of her gran’s old things for appraisal, and much to everyone's surprise, one item turns out to be a rare and priceless treasure. Instantly, Molly is both a multi-millionaire and a media sensation—the world’s rags-to-riches darling—until the priceless piece vanishes from the hotel in the boldest, brashest antiquities heist in recent memory.
The key to the mystery lies in the past, in a long-forgotten diary written by Molly’s gran. For the first time ever, Molly learns about Gran’s true-to-life fairytale, a young girl to the manor born, the only child of a wealthy magnate. But when Gran falls head over heels in love with a young man her parents deem below her station, her life is thrown into turmoil. As fate would have it, the greatest love of Gran’s life is someone Molly knows quite well….
Together with her friends, Molly combs the past and the present to catch the thief before looming threats against her become real.
A spirited heist caper and an epic love story, The Maid’s Secret is a spellbinding whodunnit that will capture and warm your heart.
It was wonderful being back in Molly's world. Gran was a grand dame, and we finally got to learn about her past. Some heartbreaking stuff, but it really showed how much character Flora had. The story flipped between Flora's story in the past and the mystery of the golden egg.
I would say that this book was more Gran's story with a bit of mystery, but it didn't matter. I really enjoyed learning about her past and the events that shaped her as well as the world she built with Molly. It was telling and emotional. There was this part near the end that moved me to tears. I was sobbing, but there was also a very sweet ending that mended my heart a bit.
Overall, I was pleased with my return trip to Molly's world and hope there will be more.
Home of the American Circus by Allison Larkin
Published by Gallery Books on May 6, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction

Goodreads
The acclaimed author of The People We Keep returns with a luminous new story of redemption, breaking generational curses, and the power of family in its truest form.
After an emergency leaves her short on rent, thirty-year-old Freya Arnalds bails on her lackluster life as bartender in Maine and returns to her suburban hometown of Somers, New York, to live in the house she inherited from her estranged parents. Despite attempts to lay low, Freya encounters childhood friends, familial enemies, and old flames—as well as her fifteen-year-old niece, Aubrey, who is secretly living in the derelict home. As they reconnect, Freya and Aubrey lean on each other, working to restore the house and come to terms with the devastating events that pulled them apart years ago.
Set in the birthplace of the American circus, this deeply moving novel is an exploration of broken families, the weight of the past, and the complicated journey of finding home.
When she finds herself in financial trouble, Freya returns to the home she fled a decade ago. She finds the house, which was now hers, in disrepair. Slowly but surely, Freya begins to mend the house as she mends herself during this return to her past that proved to be quite healing.
Once again, Larkin has written a story that is thoughtful, emotional, and heartfelt. Her characters are richly drawn and seriously flawed but in a way that made me love them more. What she excels at is exploring their humanity and our innate need for human connection.
Freya's family did not love her the way they should have, but she was lucky enough to make some incredible friends who truly saw her and supported her. The found family was strong here and it was lovely. Freya also had a strong bond with her niece who was struggling with trauma similar to that of her own.
This story was a journey for them both. I loved the parallels between the house repairs and their healing. I couldn't help but find what happened in the end terribly appropriate. Though I did loved the ending and was happy with the future Larkin hinted at, there was one loose end that niggled at me. Otherwise, I thought this book was a tremendous success for me.
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