Room With a Clue

It is a relief to read a cozy mystery that is a mystery and not a romance novel. The protangonist in this cozy is a recently widowed hotel owner who decides to investigate the death of a guest in order to protect the hotel and its staff. I like the Edwardian setting and the main character Cecily Sinclair but a few of her close friends from the nearby town were less convincing (Phoebe and Madeline). However, the mystery was well crafted so I will be reading at least one more in this series

3½ stars.

It is a relief to read a cozy mystery that is a mystery and not a romance novel. The protangonist in this cozy is a recently widowed hotel owner who decides to investigate the death of a guest in order to protect the hotel and its staff. I like the Edwardian setting and the main character Cecily Sinclair but a few of her close friends from the nearby town were less convincing (Phoebe and Madeline). However, the mystery was well crafted so I will be reading at least one more in this series.

Cecile and her husband opened the Pennyfoot Hotel 5 years ago and used his military retirement money and loans to renovate it. Then her husband passed away 6 months ago of a recurring bout of malaria and Cecily has sold her home and moved into the debt ridden hotel. Being the first of a series we spend a lot of time getting to know the people running the hotel and a few of her friends. The plot focuses on the demise of Lady Eleanor from an apparent fall from a rooftop garden. However, there are many unexplained issues and a list of possible suspects, since the Lady had a way of antagonizing people. Cecily wants answers and a local incompetent policeman is no help. She needs to find enough facts to draw in the Inspector to get a real show more investigation. I particularly liked the relationship between Cecily and Baxter, the hotel manager. It is 1906 and Cecily is interested in the growing women’s movement and Baxter is by the book and wants tradition. Could get very good down the road. Looking forward to more. show less

Still mourning the loss of her husband, Cecily Sinclair is doing her best to keep the Pennyfoot Hotel running - not only because her husband loved the hotel but because she needs the money. It has been hard but she is succeeding with the help of the ever loyal Baxter. The future of the Pennyfoot is threatened, however, when one of the guests falls to her death and it wasn't an accident. Plenty of people disliked Lady Eleanor Danbury - Cecily just needs to find out who hated Lady Eleanor enough to kill her.

“Room With A Clue” is the nicely done first book in Kate Kingsbury's Pennyfoot Hotel cozy mystery series. Although the series has sadly been discontinued, I am thrilled that the earlier books in the series have been released as show more e-books and I enjoyed revisiting the Pennyfoot from the beginning once again. Kingsbury did a great job with the setting of the series - the Pennyfoot Hotel is a great place filled with all kinds of guests and secret rooms. The fact that there are always different guests at the hotel means there will always be plenty of suspects and chances for murder which is the case in this book. Adding to the fun in the book are Cecily's friends Madeline and Phoebe as well as various members of the household staff - it was interesting to see what they were like at the beginning of this series (Madeline in particular grew as a character throughout the series and Gertie’s life had many twists and turns throughout the series). The mystery itself is well plotted with more than one surprise and readers will have fun trying to figure out who the killer is.

“Room With A Clue” is a fun cozy mystery. show less

In 1906, at the Pennyfoot Hotel Lady Eleanor Danbury falls from its roof. As the police would not be arriving for some hours Celia Sinclair, owner, believes she must determine, to save the hotel's reputation, whether it was an accident or not.
A lighthearted and engaging mystery.

This is a cozy mystery. Mrs. Sinclair is the Miss Marple of the Edwardian era. Pennyfoot Hotel is where the aristocracy come to play at the seaside. When murder comes to the hotel Mrs Sinclair must solve the case to prevent the hotel's reputation being damaged. You'll find this an enjoyable read, a great escape for a rainy afternoon.