Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery, No 8
Kate Kingsbury
Berkley Trade
November 6, 2012 / ISBN: 0425253279
Historical Mystery / British / Holiday: Christmas
Amazon
Reviewed
by Brenda Weeaks
It’s Christmas at the Pennyfoot Hotel! Singing,
eating, drinking, and Plum Pudding.
Every Christmas the drama behind Pennyfoot’s
kitchen door reaches a height of madness. This year the staff is
cursed with a temporary cook named Beatrice Tucker who bellows orders,
makes threats, and drinks Michel’s brandy. When a guest is
rude to Beatrice she promises to get back at him. Later he’s
found dead and Gertie thinks Tucker the Terrible is to blame. Cecily
works hard to hide the death from other guests, and uses this time
to hunt a killer. Her husband, Baxter, doesn’t like it and
feels left out. He knows Cecily has the best intentions and tries
to take it in stride – after he loses his temper…
Everyone is back and ready to do their part. Healer
Madeline has a vision and warns Cecily. Madeline’s husband,
Dr. Kevin, gives Cecily some answers and keeps a murder under wraps.
Phoebe helps with the celebration while her husband, Colonel Fortescue
(What? What?), attempts to share his stories and make this reader
laugh. Pennyfoot employees Pansy and Samuel and Gertie and Clive
take center stage. They help Cecily with the case as well as deal
with their own personal issues. And let’s not forget Chef
Michal who loves to bang pots and keep the brandy to himself.
The Special Pennyfoot series is a holiday staple
worthy of the title ‘Special.” Kingsbury brings back
the main characters and throws in some secondary characters for
them to play off. There are plenty of suspects and clues in the
mystery, and plenty of entertainment in the storyline. I love how
the kitchen staff pulls together – for once –to fight
Tucker the Terrible. Spoilers from previous mysteries are mentioned
but don’t give away which mystery they occurred in. What I
enjoyed most was Kingsbury reliving the hotel’s history in
the storyline. It brought back memories of reading the series.
Special
Pennyfoot Hotel Christmas titles
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