JANUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Narrator Amara Jasper inhabits the role of agoraphobic, rich, spoiled, and very clever Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy, daughter of The Pinnacle Hotel’s owner in 1958 New York City. Jasper captures Evelyn’s perkiness as she describes her fancy clothes, teetering stilettos, and attachment to her purse-sized dog, Presley. When artist Billie Bell’s masterpiece is stolen and then he’s murdered, Evelyn investigates with the help of the hotel’s staff and the 10-year-old daughter of the French diplomat, all of whom are given unique accents. Evelyn ferrets out clues using her intimate knowledge of the hotel’s secrets and its residents. Jasper’s smooth, upbeat performance captures the hotel’s international ambiance, Evelyn’s lighthearted banter, and her competent solutions to puzzling crimes. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
08/29/2022
In Golden’s debut, a sprightly series launch set in 1958, Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy—fashionable daughter of the owner of New York City’s glittering Pinnacle Hotel—faces the theft of a valuable painting; the murder of the artist; and the possible involvement of her best friend, an actor. Haunted by past trauma but adept at finding lost items, Evelyn enlists the aid of handsome and shady hotel employee Malcolm “Mac” Cooper as she contemplates whether a guest or a staff member may be the perpetrator. Detective Hodgson regards the hotel’s security chief as the prime suspect, but Evelyn is not so sure, eyeing individuals such as an obnoxious countess, a mysterious maid, and a prickly hotel manager. Though the detective dismisses Evelyn’s sleuthing, even he must concede she may be on to something when her room is ransacked and her life is endangered. With her creation of an intriguing upstairs/downstairs world, Golden channels the spirit of the late Hugh Pentecost’s Beaumont Hotel. Readers will be eager to check into Evelyn’s next adventure. Agent: Madelyn Burt, Stonesong. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
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. Evelyn Murphy is the perfect sleuth for the occasion—charming, wealthy, and agoraphobic. She almost never leaves the hotel. With an endearing optimism, Evelyn takes matters into her manicured hands to find the killer and protect her home, her friends, and her little dog Presley. 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
Library Journal
09/01/2022
DEBUT In 1958, the Pinnacle Hotel in New York City is one of the premier hotels, and Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy is the pampered only child of the owner. After she discovered her mother's murdered body when she was only six, Evelyn suffers from shell shock and agoraphobia, so she seldom leaves the hotel. She does attend parties there, though, including one celebrating the paintings of artist Billie Bell. She's shocked when her best friend, actor Henry Fox, gets into a fight with Bell. That makes him the primary suspect when Bell's latest painting is missing when it's time for the unveiling. Evelyn knows Henry didn't steal it, but the artist is killed before she can investigate. When a hotel employee is arrested for the murder, Evelyn recruits a bellboy, her secret crush, to help her find the killer. After a series of mishaps, Evelyn holds a Hercule Poirot—style reveal to announce the solution. VERDICT Evelyn is quite spoiled, something of an acquired taste as an amateur sleuth. Suggest to readers who enjoyed other hotel-set mysteries with young amateur sleuths, like Nita Prose's The Maid and Audrey Keown's Murder at Hotel 1911.—Lesa Holstine
JANUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Narrator Amara Jasper inhabits the role of agoraphobic, rich, spoiled, and very clever Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy, daughter of The Pinnacle Hotel’s owner in 1958 New York City. Jasper captures Evelyn’s perkiness as she describes her fancy clothes, teetering stilettos, and attachment to her purse-sized dog, Presley. When artist Billie Bell’s masterpiece is stolen and then he’s murdered, Evelyn investigates with the help of the hotel’s staff and the 10-year-old daughter of the French diplomat, all of whom are given unique accents. Evelyn ferrets out clues using her intimate knowledge of the hotel’s secrets and its residents. Jasper’s smooth, upbeat performance captures the hotel’s international ambiance, Evelyn’s lighthearted banter, and her competent solutions to puzzling crimes. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-07-13
Golden’s debut dives back into 1958 Manhattan in pursuit of a killer who’s stalking the Pinnacle Hotel.
Maybe lounging around would be more exact than stalking, since the leisurely felonies kick off with the head-scratching theft of painter Billie Bell’s hefty latest canvas during a crowded reception where nobody notices a thing. Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy, daughter of the Pinnacle’s absent owner, is concerned when suspicion falls on Henry Fox, an old movie-star friend whose official story is that he’s in love with her. She needn’t worry, though, since Billie’s fatal stabbing with a knife inscribed with head security guard Phil Hall’s initials leads to Phil’s arrest instead. Convinced that neither of them could possibly be guilty, Evelyn, a shameless clotheshorse who artlessly observes, “I wore whatever Marilyn Monroe was wearing,” joins forces with bellhop Mac Cooper, her secret love, and Amelia, the precocious 8-year-old stepdaughter of a visiting French diplomat, to discover the truth. For her pains, her room is broken into and ransacked and the brakes on her Rolls tampered with. But Evelyn, who’s always been good at finding things even though she realizes midway through her first case that she’s clinically agoraphobic, unmasks the killer at a climactic gathering at which she exults, “Poirot always does this,” en route to a nifty final twist that’s the high point of the so-so plot. When the heroine’s father scolds her at the end for spending so much money, you have to sympathize.
A catty yet decorous whodunit festooned with period trappings.
