annieb123's Review of The Socialite's Guide to Murder

by S. K. Golden

The hotel was her refuge, but scandal is afoot—and a killer stalks the halls in this charming series debut perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ashley Weaver.

It’s 1958 and Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy has not left the Pinnacle Hotel in fourteen months. She suffers from agoraphobia, and what’s more, it’s her father’s hotel, and everything she needs is there. Evelyn’s always been good at finding things, she discovered her mother dead in a Manhattan alleyway fifteen years earlier. Now she’s finding trouble inside her sanctuary. At a party for artist Billie Bell, his newest work is stolen, and Evelyn’s fake boyfriend (and real best friend), movie star Henry Fox, is accused of the theft. But just as Evelyn sets out to prove Henry’s innocence, she finds Billie Bell dead.

The murder weapon links the crime to the hotel’s chief of security. But why would he use a knife with his initials on the handle? With her beloved home in disarray, Evelyn joins up with hotel employee (and her secret crush) Mac Cooper to get to the bottom of the case.

As Mac picks locks and Evelyn snoops around the hotel, they discover the walls around them contain more secrets than they previously knew. Now, Evelyn must force herself to leave the hotel to follow the clues—but when she and Mac set off to chase a lead, their car crashes and they barely escape with their lives. Someone snipped Evelyn’s brake lines, and now the stakes have become dangerously high.

Evelyn’s knack for sleuthing—and her playful imagination—are always hard at work, and she throws an elaborate party at the hotel where every guest is a suspect. But will the killer emerge from the glamorous lineup? If not, Evelyn just might find herself…next in line for murder.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Socialite's Guide to Murder is the first Pinnacle Hotel murder mystery by S.K. Golden. Released 11th Oct 2022 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out in late second quarter 2023 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a refined and engaging cozy mystery with a young wealthy girl/woman who lives her life within the confines of her father's very posh hotel due to her agoraphobia. It's all lace curtains and silk stockings, social calendars and art exhibition openings, until circumstances thrust her into the middle of an investigation.

The writing style is simple and direct. The characters are well rendered, albeit often fairly superficial. Main character Evelyn is a spoiled little rich girl, but nevertheless stands by her friend when he's accused of theft. She does develop over the course of the book, and the second volume in the series is due out in 4th quarter 2023.

This will likely appeal to fans of Ashley Weaver and Anna Lee Huber, although this series is set in America in the late 1950s and not Victorian England.

Three and a half stars. Escapist comfort reading.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

29 April, 2023: Started reading

29 April, 2023: Finished reading

29 April, 2023: Reviewed