Book 6

Mistletoe and Mayhem

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 1 November 2010
In this Pennyfoot Hotel Christmas mystery, guests and staff alike are coming together under the kissing bough—only to fall victim to a cold-blooded killer…
 
At the Pennyfoot Hotel, Cecily Sinclair Baxter and her staff are hustling and bustling more than ever. Cecily’s dear friend Madeline arrives with her new baby and adds a kissing bough to the festive decorations. Cecily gets in the spirit by kissing the precious baby beneath the bough, believing that the holiday couldn’t be getting off to a better start.
 
But after a footman and a new maid are seen kissing under the bough and turn up dead, the staff is convinced a serial killer is spending the holidays at the Pennyfoot. And when Madeline’s baby disappears, Cecily has her hands full desperately trying to find the child. If she doesn’t catch this killer in time, everyone’s cheer will quickly turn to fear…

Book 8

The Clue Is in the Pudding

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 1 November 2012
In this mystery in Kate Kingsbury’s charming series, the kitchen staff of the Pennyfoot Hotel is toiling away to prepare their guests the finest Christmas meal. And the plum pudding may very well be to die for...
 
When the Pennyfoot’s housekeeper is suddenly called away, Cecily Sinclair Baxter needs a quick replacement. On short notice, the agency sends Beatrice Tucker, who proves more of a curse than a Christmas miracle. She even fights with the Pennyfoot’s latest VIP guest, the famous actor Archibald Armitage.
 
When Armitage drops dead after Beatrice serves him some plum pudding, everyone assumes the huffy housekeeper is the culprit. But as Cecily investigates, the list of suspects grows, and solving this case may not be as easy as pie...or pudding.

Book 9

Mulled Murder

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 29 October 2013
In this Pennyfoot Hotel Christmas mystery, the head count is down—but the body count is up this holiday season...
 
With one of her housemaids leaving to get married, Cecily Sinclair Baxter wants nothing more for Christmas than some good help. Instead of visions of sugar plums, she’s calling the plumber to deal with flooded bathrooms. Then there’s the surly new janitor, who acts like he got coal in his stocking.
 
But as Cecily scrambles to hire and train new staff in time for the holidays, one of her guests is beyond help. Gerald Evans is found stabbed to death on the beach, and Cecily soon discovers he was a private investigator from London looking into dark doings involving the Pennyfoot. Who among the staff or guests was being pursued, and what secret drove that person to cold-blooded murder?

Book 10

A Merry Murder

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 1 October 2019
It is an Edwardian Christmas, and the Pennyfoot Hotel is all dressed up. But when one of the guests turns up dead, owner Cecily Sinclair Baxter realizes it is not only the Pennyfoot that is back in business—the hotel's Christmas curse is, too...

The Pennyfoot halls are decked with boughs of holly, a magnificently decorated tree graces the lobby, and the hotel's bookings are finally looking up. Owner of the Pennyfoot, Cecily Sinclair Baxter is in high holiday spirits until disaster strikes, threatening to ruin yet another Yuletide. Her chief housemaid Gertie McBride has found a man's body in the hotel laundry room—with a woman's scarf wrapped around his neck and a note in his pocket from the hotel's new maid.

Cecily is determined to track down the culprit, but with multiple suspects icing her out of crucial clues, she realizes this killer may be more slippery than most. With Christmas right around the corner, it is up to Cecily to prevent this holiday season at the Pennyfoot from turning out more fatal than festive.

Book 17

Decked with Folly

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 3 November 2009
In this mystery in Kate Kingsbury’s cozy series, the Pennyfoot Hotel is decked out in holiday style, but when things start to go awry, Cecily Sinclair Baxter learns that not everyone’s been nice this year…
 
When one of Cecily’s candlesticks disappears, she realizes someone is lacking in Christmas spirit. But petty thievery seems the least of her problems after she learns a former employee has been found dead in her duck pond. He hasn’t worked at the Pennyfoot in years, but his ex-wife is still their head maid—and she heads the list of suspects.
 
Now a killer and a thief must be taken off the guest list in order to put the merry back into Christmas...

Room With a Clue

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 1 January 1993

Shrouds of Holly

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 1 November 2007
A murder and a missing husband make for a humdrum Christmas for Cecily Sinclair Baxter in this Pennyfoot Hotel mystery.

While preparing the Pennyfoot Hotel for Christmas, Cecily Sinclair Baxter sends her husband and stable manager into the woods for some fresh boughs of holly. When their horse drawn carriage returns unmanned, it bears the holly—and the unwanted gift of a dead body.
 
Now Cecily is determined to solve the mystery and find her missing husband. After all, it’s a season of celebrating with friends and family, and Cecily means to reunite hers—even if a killer leads her in a merry measure...

Do Not Disturb

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 1 January 1994

Ringing in Murder

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 1 November 2008
Book a room at the Pennyfoot Hotel this holiday season for a charming mystery that “combines the feel of an Agatha Christie whodunit with a taste of Upstairs Downstairs”(Cozy Library).

A merry hustle and bustle heralds the holidays at the Pennyfoot—and this year is doubly busy. Even as Cecily Sinclair Baxter prepares for the holidays, she’s also helping her friend Madeline plan her impending wedding. This year, Cecily has a cracking holiday surprise for her guests—gorgeous Christmas crackers handmade for the Pennyfoot. And once the crackers pop, one lucky guest will discover a beautiful pearl brooch.
 
But things soon turn less than jolly. A mysterious fire breaks out in an upstairs room, killing the mood—and two guests. And at the bottom of it all: a missing Christmas cracker. Who would deliver such a murderous gift? Cecily’s dead-set on solving this mystery before another deadly present turns up, and Madeline’s nuptials come unwound...

Herald of Death

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 1 November 2011
The Christmas Angel is a welcome sight during the winter season--but not this year. A killer is afoot in Badger's End, cutting a lock of hair from his victims and sticking a gold angel on their foreheads. Cecily Sinclair Baxter already promised her husband that she'd take a hiatus from sleuthing. But three killings have created a blizzard of bad publicity--and guests are canceling their hotel reservations. She will have to find the angel of death before he strikes again, leaving murder under the tree.

Eat Drink Be Buried

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 1 September 1994

Slay Bells

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 7 November 2006
Cecily Sinclair Baxter's Christmas becomes a working holiday when the man she hired to play Santa Claus is murdered in this Pennyfoot Hotel mystery.

To ring in the holiday season, Cecily Sinclair Baxter is hosting a party at the Pennyfoot Hotel for the children of Badgers End to meet Father Christmas. Unfortunately, the jolly old man fails to appear. Instead, his body is discovered—clearly a victim of foul play—and his helper has had a fatal fall.
 
The police believe the two men had a tragic rooftop tangle, but Cecily has her doubts. The murder weapon is still missing, and since no one has left the hotel since the crime, she’s making a list of suspects—and checking it twice...

Pay the Piper

by Kate Kingsbury

Published 31 December 1996