Publishers Weekly
07/31/2023
Golden’s frothy and frivolous second cozy centered on New York City’s glamorous Pinnacle Hotel (after 2022’s The Socialite’s Guide to Murder) finds Evelyn Murphy, the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, presiding over a Halloween fund-raiser for the mayor’s 1958 reelection campaign. The event is being held at the Pinnacle, which Evelyn’s father owns and she rarely leaves, having called it home for most of her life. As the gala winds down, Evelyn and her assistant/lover, Malcolm Cooper, decide to take her Rolls Royce for a spin. In the hotel parking garage, they discover the body of Judge Cliff Baker, who’d attended the party, in his Cadillac, with a syringe sticking out of his arm. Worried that the detectives assigned to the case aren’t cut out for the job, Evelyn decides to take matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, the surprise arrival of her frequently absent father creates havoc in her romantic life. Stuffing the narrative with lovely descriptions of Evelyn’s outfits and makeup tips cribbed from Marilyn Monroe, Golden achieves a certain effervescence, but the plot—littered with one too many red herrings—is as insubstantial as cotton candy. In the crowded field of historical cozies, this doesn’t stand out. Agent: Madelyn Burt, Stonesong. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Socialite’s Guide to Death and Dating:
“Vividly evokes the 1950s.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“[Golden] does a great job making the era come to life.”
—Manhattan Book Review
“Impressively original and narrative driven storytelling.”
—Midwest Book Review
“An enjoyable cozy for the fall season.”
—Gumshoe Review
“Clever . . . a charmingly odd series with a truly interesting heroine.”
—Aunt Agatha’s Review
Praise for The Socialite's Guide to Murder:
“A sprightly series launch . . . Golden channels the spirit of the late Hugh Pentecost’s Beaumont Hotel.”
—Publishers Weekly
“[A] decorous whodunnit festooned with period trappings.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“[For] readers who enjoyed other hotel-set mysteries with young amateur sleuths, like Nita Prose’s The Maid.”
—Library Journal
“Effectively evokes the social milieu of the late 1950s.”
—Booklist
“A witty, lighthearted mystery novel.”
—Foreword Reviews
“If you love cozy mysteries and charming characters, you will love this book.”
—Manhattan Book Review, 5-star review
“The humor, insight, and sharp wit make this a light and refreshing read.”
—Historical Novel Society
“It’s as if Eloise is all grown up and a sassy, savvy sleuth at the Plaza hotel! Hotel owner’s daughter Evie Murphy is smart and daring in this delightful Golden Age mystery”
—Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of the Royal Spyness mysteries
“The Socialite’s Guide to Murder is nonstop entertainment—at turns witty, charming, touching, and spellbinding. An enticing treat for cozy mystery fans.”
—Kelly Oliver, award-winning and bestselling author of the Fiona Figg Mysteries.
“This book has all the things I love in a mystery novel – a unique sleuth, a quirky cast of suspects, and a twisty whodunnit. Throw in scandal, secrets and a luxury hotel setting, and I’m hooked. The Socialite’s Guide to Murder is an engaging debut that had me turning the pages quickly to find the answers.”
—C. J. Archer, USA Today bestselling author of the Cleopatra Fox Mysteries
“An endearing heroine, a luxury hotel, and a bevy of suspects pepper this delightful debut title by S. K. Golden . . . A fun romp in a glitzy setting with a spunky sleuth!”
—Nancy J. Cohen, award-winning author of the Bad Hair Day Mysteries
“A delightful tale of glamour and murder at a luxury hotel in 1950s New York City . . . A wonderful romp of a mystery!”
—Dianne Freeman, author of the Agatha and Lefty award-winning Countess of Harleigh Mysteries
“A rip roaring historical mystery, jam-packed with wit and glamour and endearing characters. Murder has never been this fun!”
—T.A. Willberg, author of the Marion Lane series
Kirkus Reviews
2023-08-12
The death of a visitor to her latest party before he’s even left the Pinnacle Hotel gives New Yorker Evelyn Murphy another excuse to play detective.
It's 1958. Having already sent his young and very pregnant second wife, Elena, home separately, Judge Cliff Baker makes it only as far as the parking garage before someone injects him with a lethal dose of heroin. Nor is his body the extent of the discoveries that await Ev and her new lover, Pinnacle bellhop Malcolm Cooper, in the garage. When Det. Laurence Hodgson and his unsympathetic new partner, Det. McJimsey, arrive and pop the judge’s trunk, they find an agitated young woman inside. By the time she dies several days later, when she’s smothered in her bed at Manhattan General Hospital, Ev’s father, Pinnacle owner Mark Murphy, the third (or maybe fourth) richest man in the world, has returned from his latest trip, been shot up with a hefty dose of heroin, and been sent to Manhattan General, where he lies unconscious while someone strangles his visitor, Florence, Ev’s longtime maid. When Hodgson gets fired for failing to establish security protocols that might have saved Florence’s life, the unlovely McJimsey is left in charge of the case, and Ev visits Hodgson—telling him, “No coffee for me, thanks. Do you have champagne?”—to enlist him as her equally unofficial investigative partner. Though the period details are less thickly strewn than in The Socialite’s Guide to Murder (2022), the ending comes as quite a surprise.
The heroine’s serenely coy sensibility vividly evokes the 1950s.
