Ringing in Murder

Pennyfoot Hotel #16

by Kate Kingsbury

Ringing in Murder by Kate Kingsbury hardcover

Genres: Mystery, Christmas, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Holiday

247 pages, Hardcover

First published October 16, 2008

About the author

Kate Kingsbury grew up in London, England, and at a very early age began telling stories to her school friends during the London Blitz of WW II while huddling in bomb shelters. Kate moved to the U.S. in the early sixties, and had passed her 50th birthday when she published her first book. Writing as Doreen Roberts, (her real name at the time) she published 26 romance novels for Harlequin/Silhouette. In 1991 her first Pennyfoot Hotel book was published and since then Kate has written 35 mysteries, including the Manor House mysteries, the Bellehaven House mysteries(written as Rebecca Kent) and the Raven's Nest mysteries, (written as Allison Kingsley.) Her new series, The Merry Ghost Inn Mysteries debuted in January, 2017 with Dead and Breakfast, featuring a B & B on the Oregon coast. She has one son, Regan, and lives with her husband, Bill, in the beautiful state of Oregon.

Reviews

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable visit to the Pennyfoot Hotel in Badger’s End in Edwardian England. The plot was much more enjoyable than the previous book I read in the series, and I wasn’t sure of the murderer until around 85% into the story, definitely a plus in a cozy mystery.

Cecily and Baxter run the Hotel, w/ a cast of downstairs characters, all stereotypes of lower-class English servants. I consider the portrayal of the “downstairs” folks one of the drawbacks in these novels, and knocked this one down in my rating because of it.

Anyway, Cecily and staff are busy w/ holiday guests and plans for the big wedding of the town physician and Cecily’s best friend, who is an “herbalist”—or is she a witch? So there’s a lot of discussion about science vs. what could be called “natural” treatments. This is right up my alley as a pharmacist.

The other side plot involves a snowman who moves and talks. Is the snowman supernatural or a man trying to scare Gertie the head housemaid w/ a mouth like a sailor (for Edwardian times, anyway)? Does the snowman have nefarious plans for Gertie’s twin children? It turns out he does...

The main plot is a murder, of course. The speaker for the House of Lords and his wife are Christmas guests at the Hotel, down from London to attend the wedding, until they are blown up by a suspected gas leak. This turns out to be murder, by one of Cecily’s specially made Christmas crackers filled w/ an explosive combination of chemicals. Suspects are trotted forward; alibis dissected; and then the suspects are rejected. I love that itching hands are what identifies the true murderer for Cecily. Again, great fun for a pharmacist to solve! The side plots all resolve well, and Gertie’s true love returns to town and her life just in time to ring in the New Year w/ her.

This was a fun read to ring in the holiday season for me, and a palate-cleanser to read in the midst of my reading of President Obama’s new book.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 16 in the "Pennyfoot" series by Kate Kingsbury. I myself have not read but one before this book. It was "Shrouds of Holly". I find they do great as stand alone books. In my opinion, you can pick up wherever you like without having to worry too much over character evolvment.

Every holiday book in this series has beautiful covers. The stories are just as wonderful. They are a trip back into time. Horse drawn buggies, gas lamps. Chamber pots and just the beginning of indoor Waterloos(bathrooms). Ballrooms, grand staircases, servants quarters, Victorian dresses and ballgowns. A time I simply treasure especially during the Christmas season.

This particular story takes us throughout Christmas Eve and Day, as well as New Years. The main character, Cecilia puts out Christmas crackers on to the long beautiful dressed dining table. Each guest would get a popping cracker and inside only one would be a very expensive pearl brooch. Before anyone can open them, two of the crackers have disappeared, only to reappear as a murder weapon killing two of the highly distinguished guests. A House of Lords gentleman along with his wife.
Its up to Cecilia to find out who has done such an ugly thing, as the constable is away from the town till the first of the year(Go figure that one). Working along side the town doctor as well as Cecilia's husband, they set out to find the perpetrator. Other disturbing and strange occurrences start to arise when one of the servants notice a snowman looking into the window. She sees this many times with no one believing her. Until finally the head servant sees this as well. A walking snowman that leaves footprints in the snow.

I highly recommend any of the Kate Kingsbury novels. They will bring something special to your holiday season as well. These get me into the Christmas spirit!

[Krystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

England...Christmas...a quaint Bed & Breakfast... this had all the makings of a great mystery. I didn't like it at all. Two reasons - one, I had the mystery 100% figured out less than half-way through the book and then was annoyed as I waited for the main character to figure it out. Two, none of the characters were remotely likeable. They were just not nice - not even to each other.

[Laura Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great series. I have only read a few but have enjoyed the ones I did. The Pennyfoot Hotel, now a Club, hosts a wedding for the owner's best friend, Madeline. But there is a murder! The book has a lot of humor and was laugh out loud. Gertie the maid steals the book, a walking snowman! Great fun!

[Marilyn Fontane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ringing in Murder by Kate Kingsbury is one of the annual Edwardian Christmas mysteries set at the Pennyfoot Hotel and Country Club operated by Cecily Sinclair Baxter. They have an upstairs and downstairs set of regulars as well as the new visitors for each mystery. Upstairs Cecily and her husband Baxter run the hotel, and Cecily's two friends Phoebe Carter-Holmes Fortescue (drunken husband Colonel Fortescue) and Madeline Pengrath are always present; in this case Madeline, who is a witch (she both brews herbal potions and has insight), is marrying the village doctor Kevin Prestwick, who as a scientist belittles her nature powers, but loves her all the same. Madeline has invited her friend Grace Danbury, and Kevin has invited his friend Charles Winchester and his wife Emily to be in the wedding party; they, of course, are staying at Pennyfoot along with other guests.
Downstairs Michel is the pseudo-French chef, Mrs. Chubb is the housekeeper, Gertie McBride and Pansy are maids. Although she seems loud and ungainly, Gertie is constantly courted by various downstairs men: Ian Rossitor (no longer working at Pennyfoot) is the father of her twins; Dan who has left for London is the man she longs to have back; and Clive is currently looking out for her and her children.
Madeline and Kevin's wedding is to take place during the holidays, but the unfortunate murder of two guests, Sir Walter Hetherton and his wife Lady Clara by exploding crackers (extra nitrate has been put in two of them), put some damper on the exciting Christmas and wedding festivities. While the upstairs crew are trying to avoid further deaths (only one of the two crackers has been found), downstairs Gertie is trying to save her twins from their father Ian who has come to take them away. To make matters worse a walking snowman is frightening the downstairs group and troubling the upstairs crew.
The novel has lovely descriptions of Edwardian times to put the reader in the midst of the activities and to provide proper Christmas spirit. The foibles of the regular characters make for delightful humor, and attempting to solve the murder and see how it fits in the two groups' activities engages the reader in the plot. For those who have read previous or future novels in the series, the standing characters keep you going back to learn more about them and their lives. It is a fun series, and this book is no exception. Let the wedding and Christmas bells ring!

[Alton Motobu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve during all of the festivities at the Pennyfoot Hotel - parties, shows, and a wedding - two mysteries occur. A guest couple dies from an apparent gas explosion in their room, and a "snowman" appears and disappears inside and outside of the hotel at all hours. Turns out the guests were murdered by a vengeful character from their past, and the snowman was a dad who wanted to see his children after being denied visitation by their mother. After the mysteries are solved it seems like both of the perpetrators had legitimate reasons for their acts; the vengeful character had been cheated out of a lifelong dream by the couple and had never recovered, and the dad missed his kids and wanted to see them during Christmas. But both perpetrators are guilty as charged without sympathy. It seems like a better resolution could have been presented. However, all in all this was one of the better Pennyfoot holiday stories.

[Mandy Crumb · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is more than 20 books in the series but this is the first one I have read. It worked out fine as a stand alone. I liked reading a cozy mystery that offered a peek at life surrounded by gas lanterns and chamber pots. The mysterious walking snowman was the holiday bad guy that I didn't know I needed.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Corny scenes, predictable plot, and tedious conversation but I did finish it. While it is supposed to be a period drama, the characters dialogue did not stick to the period.

This is what happens when you run out of books to read and pick up whatever is lying around.

[Maryann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another murder as usual along with some interesting twists and turns and some unanswered questions.....

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The case for Gertie is heating up. This was a fun read. The moving snowman was a hoot.

[Linnea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This had all the characters together for a holiday and a wedding. The murder made sense and the characters were fun to read. It added some new characters that will be fun to see in new books.

[Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️
I enjoyed this one — my only complaint is it dragged on a bit. It was repetitive in some ways and could have ended a bit sooner. As always I enjoyed the character development.

[Drebbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas is always a special time at the Pennyfoot Hotel, but this Christmas promises to be extra special as Cecily Sinclair Baxter is busily preparing for the wedding of her friend Madeline Pengrath to Doctor Kevin Prestwick. Cecily has her fingers crossed that all will go well since Madeline can be very unpredictable. When Christmas crackers go missing, Cecily is mildly annoyed, but her annoyance turns to horror when two guests are killed in an explosion and fire in one of the rooms at the Pennyfoot. Cecily suspects murder and wants the case solved before someone else is killed and before Madeline and Kevin's wedding is ruined.

"Ringing in Murder" is Kate Kingsbury's latest Pennyfoot Hotel mystery set at Christmastime (the others are No Clue at the Inn (Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries), Slay Bells (A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Myst), and Shrouds of Holly (A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Myst)). Like the other books in the series this cozy mystery is delightful. All of the familiar characters are here: Cecily and her beloved husband Baxter, Madeline and Kevin, Phoebe Carter-Holmes Fortescue and her eccentric husband Colonel Fortescue, and of course Cecily's household staff - Mrs. Chubb, Gertie, Pansy, and "French" cook Michel. The wedding plot line is a good one and adds some mild suspense to the novel as Madeline and Kevin are at odds with each other over certain beliefs and readers will wonder if the two can make their differences work. The main mystery is well written and plotted, with lots of red herrings, and while Kingsbury leaves subtle clues as to who the killer is, readers will still have a hard time figuring out whodunit. There is a secondary plot involving a snowman which is a bit silly but is also intriguing since it seems to be setting up events in future books.

"Ringing in Murder" is Kate Kingsbury's nicely done holiday gift for her fans.

[Kristi | Hidden Staircase | · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun Pennyfoot Hotel mystery. In general, I am not usually very good at solving a murder mystery, but I figured this one out very early on. For me, it is a delight to follow the adventures and developments of the characters.

Two guests meet a tragic end due to a gas leak in their room. Until Cecily discovers that it wasn't an accident at all. Amid Baxter's usual protests, Cecily is determined to get to the bottom of things. There is also a minor downstairs mystery occurring - a mysterious snowman is spotted in different places on the grounds, sometimes vanishing altogether.

The only complaint I have with this book is the minor inconsistency presented with Gertie's former marriage to Ian. For some reason Kingsbury glosses over this and mis-states the facts presented in prior Pennyfoot books. Otherwise another fun holiday at the Pennyfoot.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The festive season is almost upon us and it was almost upon The Pennyfoot Country Club as guests gathered for the annual holiday and festivities.

Owner Cecily Sinclair Baxter decides that she will have some specially made crackers inside one of which will be a pearl necklace as a special surprise for one lucky guest. However, before the crackers get distributed two go missing. Nothing much is thought of the situation until a fire breaks out in one of the bedrooms and two of the guests die. Was it an accident, as the authorities originally thought, or was it murder?

Cecily determines to find out and with the help of her husband, 'Baxter', she unravels the mystery while at the same time assisting her friend Madeline in her wedding preparations.

An Edwardian treat with connotations of 'Upstairs, Downstairs'.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pennyfoot Hotel aka The Pennyfoot Country Club sounds as though it would be a fun place to stay.
Cecily Sinclair Baxter, who runs The Pennyfoot, is also assisting her friend, Madeline, with Madeline's New Year's Eve afternoon wedding with the wedding reception taking place all of New Year's Eve. Pretty exciting! Unfortunately, at the beginning of the Christmas Season at The Penntfoot, two guests were murdered. Cecily desperately wants to solve the murders, but she also desires to give her friend,
Madeline a beautiful wedding and reception. I wished to go for this ride to see just how Cecily manages to complete both these important events. I liked everything about The Pennyfoot: the Christmas activities, the food, the ever loyal staff, the questionable snowman,the caroling! What can I say except a good time was had by almost all, but I did have a good time!!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This annual Christmas mystery from Kingsbury is a welcome gift to her many fans. This year, the Pennyfoot Country Club is hosting not only a lavish Christmas through New Year's holiday, but also the wedding of owner Cecily Sinclair Baxter's dear friend Madeline to the local doctor. Madeline's impatient nature, and the doctor's scientific disregard for his fiancee's herbalism, make Cecily worry about the ceremony. But she's more worried about the sudden death of two of her guests, in what seems initially like a gas explosion. She gradually realizes that the deaths are murder. Meanwhile, head housemaid Gertie, already moping because she's sent away the love of her life, is haunted by a moving snowman.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I'm just not into "cozies" in the mystery genre?

From the beginning of the book, I had a feeling of something missing: there was a lack of description of the main character (physically) that continued to just the barest outline of her (psychologically) and that was an issue with the rest of the characters as well. None of them felt fully realized; they were character sketches that had made the leap into a novel before they were ready. All of that kept me from ever becoming too involved in the plot - which in any case was easily deduced.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exploding Christmas cracker kills two guests and a snowman seems to be haunting the Pennyfoot. All in all it's a pretty typical Christmas for Cecily and her staff at the country club. Although this year sees Cecily's closest friend, Madeline, marry the local doctor, which adds to the general festivities of the season.

It's a very light mystery with fairly simple solutions to the questions of the the murderer and the ghostly snowman, but I always enjoy reading these at Christmas time.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cecily Baxter is busy getting her hotel, the Pennyfoot Country Club, ready for Christmas and then the wedding of her very close friend, Madeline. Suddenly an explosion kills two guests in their room. One of the victims in the Speaker of the House of Lords who is killed along with his wife. Cecily is frantic to keep the holiday schedue on track and to find the culprit. Meanwhile, the staff is terrified when one of the snowmen in the yard begins to walk around. This was a light and fun book and I enjoyed it a lot. Not a very deep mystery but a refreshing read.

[Grey853 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The annual Pennyfoot Hotel mystery has exploding Christmas crackers and a phantom snowman that's making everyone a little spooked. To be honest, the secondary story with Gertie and the snowman was more interesting than the murder mystery itself. It seemed to me that the book ended too quickly with a major unresolved situation with the father of Gertie's children. I suppose that will be the major plot point for the next book.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was encouraged to read this book by a friend who called it "a modern Agatha Christie with a little Basil Fawlty thrown in for good measure". Well, that sounded intriguing, but the result, unfortunately, not so much. The plot was thin, albeit with characters running around like their hair was on fire. I was able to solve the murder halfway through the book, and the reason for the murder was, well, not very believable. Yes, Mrs. Lincoln, other than that, I was mildly entertained by the book.

[Jann Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another cozy in the Pennyfoot Hotel series. It's a quick read.

Set in the Edwardian Era, Cecily Sinclair Baxter's hotel is on England's windy southeast coast. The Speaker of the House of Lords, Sir Walter Hetherton, and his wife, Lady Clara, are killed by an explosive Yuletide cracker. Constable Sam thinks the deaths were due to an interaction with a malfunctioning gas lamp, but we know better.

I felt that the reason for the murders was strange, but I still enjoyed the book.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little cozy mystery; very enjoyable. Once the back story was told for one of the characters, I knew who the murderer was, but I still enjoyed the lead character figuring this out and the climax of the story.

This was a great read for today – not in the mood for something more complex after the Thanksgiving holiday. However, the lead characters are defined enough to be sympathetic and likeable; also, the story not so simplistic as to be annoying.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful, cozy Christmas mystery. I have enjoyed all the books from this series. This time I even guessed the killer much before Cecily did, proudly I might add. I really appreciate that I can jump in the middle of the series and not feel lost or confused. Loved the writing style and the "old time" feel. I wish I could visit this hotel during Christmas, despite the constant mysteries that occur there. Cannot wait to read the rest of these novels.

[Nancy Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one I would actually rate slightly less than a 3 because it was rather predictable. These mysteries are never super complicated, but this time the clues were very easy to figure out really early. Plus, Cecily's illegal activities are getting rather tiresome. The character development is continually shifting to the secondary characters which is okay because they feel like family, but at the same time it still seems like the are underdeveloped.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new author/series for me - set in Victorian England at the Pennyfoot Hotel and included a wedding, Christmas and New Year's celebrations and a walk-about snowman. The only reason I didn't give it 4 stars was because there weren't enough red herrings and so it was pretty obvious as to the 'who' and 'why' part of the mystery, but I like the story and characters very much and will probably read more in the series.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

the last of my holiday reads. I enjoyed it. It's the 2nd pennyfoot hotel holiday book I've read.
The only issue I have with this series is the character of Cecily comes off as subservient to her husband, but I guess the author is trying to keep to the time period the characters are in.
I enjoy the characters enough to keep adding them to my book list.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun adventure, but an easily and quickly solved mystery. The subplots in the books really seemed to overshadow the main plot and there seemed to be far too many characters for too little plot. Characters were standing around in corners waiting for something to do. I think it would have been far better had the author had broken the plot and subplot into separate books.