Where is Father Christmas? Cecily had hired a known drunk to be the Pennyfoot Hotel's Father Christmas, and it appears that he's forgotten to show up. Soon a footman she had sent to help Father Christmas down the chimney turns up dead, apparently having fallen from the room. It isn't long until Father Christmas is discovered in the chimney -- dead from a knife wound. The local law enforcement is more interested in having the case wrapped up so he can enjoy his Christmas holiday than to see that justice is done so he decides the footman killed Father Christmas and then accidentally fell, even though the facts don't add up. Cecily would rather solve the case herself than call in the Inspector so she sets out to find the murderer. There are only a few viable suspects, but the author uses enough red herrings to keep the reader engaged and wandering if their guess is correct. I have read some of the author's Manor House series, but this was my first venture into her Pennyfoot Hotel series. It will not be my last. Even though I didn't know the characters quite as well as persons who may have been following the series for some time, I could still follow the plot and felt that it didn't mar my enjoyment of the novel. ( )

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. ( )

The author kind of gives away the ending of the book, before the end. Not to the point were it spoils the book for me though. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book. It is a fun light read. I probably finished in, about 4 hrs or so. A good cozy mystery. It is part of a series, but I have read some of the others and I don't find this to be a problem. ( )

There can be problems with the out-of-order reading of a book from a series.

Some of them can be seen in some of the problems that I had with this book.

Since this is the first book out of this series that I have read (and it isn't the first book in the series), there were times where I felt some knowledge was assumed on my part (knowledge I simply didn't have). Not that that's the author's fault: I feel she did an entirely adequate job of re-introducing her chracters for a potentially new audience.

However, since this book was one of a series and there are other books to follow, I kind of felt that there were some aspects of the story that did not entirely pan out. There is a sub-plot about a couple in this book which just never goes anywhere.

As for the author's writing style - it was decent. I won't say it was the best-written book I've ever read, but having just read a TRULY terribly written mystery novel right before I read this, I can say that she at least creates a sense of suspense and has a convincing resolution. And as a historical novel, attitudes and historical references (as well as dialogue) were pretty convincing.

While I wouldn't advise you to run out and immediately purchase a copy of this book, if (like me) you found yourself with some time to kill and a hankering for a decent holiday-themed mystery... in that case, I would recommend this book. ( )