Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Holidays are Murder, November 8, 2008
This review is from: Ringing In Murder: A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery (Holiday Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Just in time for the holiday season, Kate Kingsbury has released her latest in the Pennyfoot Hotel series, Ringing in Murder. It's the winter holiday season in the early 1900's and everyone at the Pennyfoot Hotel, on England's south coast, is full of cheer. The staff rush about to decorate and prepare the various feasts for the holidays. The owner and manager, Cecily Sinclair Baxter, also has the added pleasure, of preparing for her friend Madeline's wedding, "knowing quite well that her friend would much rather have been married privately in the woods with only the birds and woodland creatures in attendance."
Against all hopes to the contrary, the annual Christmas curse on the Pennyfoot Hotel has returned. First, two of the exclusively designed Christmas crackers disappear; then a pair of guests is killed in a seemingly accidental fire at the hotel. To add some fun to the story, a mysteriously mobile snowman seems to be playing tricks on some of the staff.
Cecily has to investigate all the unusual events if she is to prevent more disasters that would mar the holiday festivities and the all important wedding. Not trusting the local constabulary with the investigation, the unlikely sleuth soon uncovers clues that point to a possible murderer. Will she discover the truth in time to prevent more deaths and help her friend get through the pre-wedding jitters and celebrate her nuptials? And what in the world is the meaning of the silly snowman that seems to move around outdoors and spook the staff? The characters are fun with their spot on old English vocabulary and various superstitions and neuroses. You will enjoy this fun frolic in the snow in Merry Olde England.
by Rhonda Esakov
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
enticing cozy, November 4, 2008
This review is from: Ringing In Murder: A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery (Holiday Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
It is the holiday season and Cecily and Baxter are involved in getting the Pennyfoot Club decorated before Christmas arrives. There are two VIP guests staying at the Pennyfoot the Speaker of the House of Lords Sir Walter Hetherton and MP Roland Crossley of the House of Commons. In addition to decorating for the holidays, Cecily is also involved in the wedding of her best friend Madeline. a psychic feared by villagers. to pragmatic Dr. Kevin Presildough who does not believe in her skills but loves her.
An explosion occurs in Sir Walter's room killing him and his wife. At first everyone assumed a gaslight caused a tragic accident, but they soon revise that opinion. A party favor (cracker) was found in the room and anyone with scientific knowledge could turn it into a lethal weapon; someone obviously did. Two servants observe a snowman moving and talking to Gertie McBride's twin. They are puzzled and spooked until they see the snowman inside the Pennyfoot; they become petrified. Cecily refuses to end the holiday season with an unsolved murder and a waling snowman at the Pennyfoot so she investigates.
This enticing cozy will get the audience into the holiday spirit with the decorations and the snowman tension relieving subplot. Even married Cecily remains an independent suffragette frustrating her spouse when she obstinately places herself in danger. RING IN MURDER is an enjoyable cerebral amateur sleuth that rings in the Yuletide season on an entertaining note.
Harriet Klausner
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK, but would not read another, October 9, 2009
This review is from: Ringing In Murder: A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery (Holiday Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
When shopping at Amazon for mysteries, I have noticed a lot of Kate Kingsbury books but have never ordered one. Thus I decided to order "Ringing in Murder" to see what her novels were like. I also ordered this novel because in general I tend to enjoy mysteries set in England and also those that take in the holiday seasons. However, it took me a while to get into this book as it really did not hold my interest. Unfortunately I figured out who "did it" fairly early in the novel. I also did not find the characters particularly memorable, and in fact, some seemed boring and contrived. I also did not particularly like the time period in which the novel was set which was in the earlier 1900s. Overuse of the word "bloody" and some other cliche-like language just really put me off the novel as well. Although I did finish it, I would not buy another.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
