Slay Bells (A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Myst) [Paperback]

Kate Kingsbury (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Myst | Publication Date: November 7, 2006

Cecily Sinclair Baxter hosts a holiday party at the Pennyfoot Hotel where the children of Badger's End can meet Father Christmas. Unfortunately, the jolly old man is found dead along with one of his helpers.

The role of St. Nicholas had previously been played by a notorious village drunkard, and the police believe the two men killed each other. But Cecily has her doubts, as the murder weapon was never recovered. And since no one has left the hotel since the crime, she's making a list of suspects-and checking it twice.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Kingsbury's 14th Pennyfoot Hotel mystery, series heroine Cecily Baxter is looking forward to a peaceful Christmas without any of the tragic events that marred the previous holiday season (detailed in 2003's No Clue at the Inn). When a footman breaks his neck falling off the roof, the village drunkard is stabbed and stuffed down the chimney in his Father Christmas suit, and Cecily's husband begins to avoid her questions about why he's spending so much time with a beautiful French singer, she reluctantly turns detective once more, determined to solve the mysteries—and somehow still help her guests have a happy Christmas—before the local constables can bungle the chase or shut down the hotel. The author draws as much from Fawlty Towers as she does from Agatha Christie, crafting a charming but entirely predictable cozy delicately flavored with period details of pre-WWI rural England. (Nov.)
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About the Author

Kate Kingsbury is the author of the Pennyfoot Hotel and Manor House mystery series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (November 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425212009
• ISBN-13: 978-0425212004
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,699,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in London, England, and at a very early age began telling stories to my school friends during the London Blitz of WW II while huddling in bomb shelters. I moved to the U.S. in the early sixties, and had passed my 50th birthday when I published my first book. Since then I've written over fifty romance and mystery novels. I have one son, and married for the second time shortly after my 60th birthday.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Old-fashioned Cozy Mystery, January 2, 2007

By 

drebbles (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Slay Bells (A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Myst) (Paperback)

Cecily Sinclair Baxter is annoyed when Sid Porter fails to show up at the children's party where he was hired to play Father Christmas. Her annoyance soon turns to horror when it's discovered that one of her footmen fell to his death from the roof where he was apparently helping Sid. Even worse, Sid, dressed in his Father Christmas costume, is found stabbed to death in her chimney. With the Pennyfoot Hotel filled at Christmas, Cecily does her best to keep the deaths quiet but it's not easy to do with a practical joker moving things around the hotel and a clown "ghost" hanging around the hotel. The police are on holiday and Cecily starts investigating the deaths herself. While Cecily is investigating, she is also worried about her husband Baxter's strange behavior and wonders what secrets he is keeping from her.

"Slay Bells" is a nice entry in Kate Kingsbury's delightful Pennyfoot Hotel series. The book is set in England in 1914 and has a nice old-fashioned feel to it. Kingsbury fills the book not only with the mystery but also with Christmas traditions such as holiday shows with skits and dancers and descriptions of food including blood pudding which makes the time period come alive. All the favorite Pennyfoot characters are there: Cecily, Baxter, Gertie, Mrs. Chubb, Michel, Madeline, the Colonel, and Phoebe are all there. Ex-maid Doris even pays a visit to the Pennyfoot and there's a new maid, Pansy, who figures quite prominently in the story line. There are several plot lines in the book: the murders, the "ghost", the practical jokes, Baxter's secret and Kingsbury neatly ties everything up at the end with quite a few surprises. The actual murder plot line is well done and the identity of the murderer will be a surprise to most readers. As Kingsbury often does in her books, the motive is a sad one that will have readers in some ways feeling sorry for the murderer.

"Slay Bells" is a nice cozy mystery to read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars charming cozy, November 10, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slay Bells (A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Myst) (Paperback)

Pennyfoot hotel manager Cecily Sinclair is hustling a Christmas children's party for those who reside in Badger's End, England. She doesn't anticipate any problems because it has been a year since there was a murder or any inexplicable happenings. The man who is portraying Father Christmas is going to come down the chimney but as time passes, Sid Porter fails to show up. The footman Roland who was to help Sid get down the chimney is found on the ground with a broken neck.

At first everyone thinks it was an accident but when Sid's body is found in the chimney knifed to death, Cecily believes Roland witnessed the murder and that is why he was killed. While Cecily starts asking questions, much to her husband's displeasure, a clown is seen by the servants who think it is a ghost and furniture goes missing but is found in strange places. When another person is found murdered at the Pennyfoot, Cecily is determined to find the killer but is almost killed by a person she thought she could trust.

Anytime a Pennyfoot hotel mystery is published is a time for rejoicing. The workers at the hotel are like a family and many are eccentrics who in the name of friendship help their boss who they adore. It is hard figuring out who the killer is because they are so many suspects who could have done it. The protagonist is a strong-willed assertive woman who lets no one, including her husband, make her decisions for her. Kate Kingsbury writes a charming cozy that is entertaining and will appeal to readers who don't like violence in their mysteries.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A cozy mystery, May 18, 2008

By 

Sassy girl "Sassy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slay Bells (A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Myst) (Paperback)

This is yet another great mystery by Kate Kingsbury. She delights me with her wonderful Pennyfoot Hotel staff and guests. I loved this book. Makes me want to pack up my bags and go for a visit. I wish the other books in the in the "Pennyfoot Hotel " mysteries were still available. I had to have my library get them by the interlibrary loan service. But, it was well worth it. You don't want to miss any of these books.
She is starting a new series this fall, and another Pennyfoot Hotel book will be out soon called "Ringing in Murder."