Hello! Welcome to JuliaPalooza for my stop on the Books-On-Tour for Death in the Mayfair Hotel by Fliss Chester, which is published by Bookouture today, 13 September 2024.
About the book
In a candlelit ballroom, London’s most fashionable amateur sleuth, Cressida Fawcett, is dancing the night away in her sparkling silk dress. It’s a night Cressida will never forget. Because outside the window, there’s a body under the falling snow…
Christmas Eve, 1925. The Honourable Cressida Fawcett is delighted to attend an exclusive ball at London’s glamorous Mayfair Hotel. When she steps out into the moonlit courtyard with her little pug Ruby wrapped in her furs, she is thrilled to see a dashing man propose to her best pal under the swirling snowflakes. But instead of squealing ‘yes’, Dotty lets out a terrified scream…
Because floating in the fountain, with her long blonde hair rippling in the ice-cold water, is the body of their dear friend Lady Victoria Beaumont.
It’s clear the wealthy young beauty was murdered, whacked over the head with a bottle of champagne. Would Victoria’s elderly husband Lord Beaumont kill his wife over rumours of her younger beau? Or did someone clobber Victoria to prevent her producing an heir for the Beaumont fortune?
A snowstorm prevents the authorities from arriving, and just as Cressida searches for clues, she finds herself locked inside a large wicker hamper. Why does the scent of the hamper’s smoky luxury tea remind her of the crime scene? And will a suspiciously rotund Ruby follow her snuffly nose and find Cressida in the nick of time?
Trapped in the hotel with a killer lurking among the guests, will Cressida lose someone dear to her heart? And when she finds a clue among the Christmas crackers, can Cressida solve her most mysterious case yet?
The perfect cozy whodunnit for a cold winter’s night. Fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss won’t be able to put this down!
Shelve on Goodreads | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Waterstones
With the cold snap in the air this week, the seasons have certainly changed and you might just now be ready for an extremely cosy mystery in the form of Death in the Mayfair Hotel. This is the first of Fliss Chester‘s whodunits I have read but it was easy to catch up with Cressida and her pals, despite not having read the earlier books in the series.
This instalment finds the Honourable Miss Fawcett Charleston-ing up a storm on Christmas Eve at a gorgeously luxurious hotel with several of her good friends and many other acquaintances. Unfortunately a rather romantic moment is spoiled by the discovery of a fellow guest lying dead in the freezing fountain. Desperate to prevent a panic, the police try to keep the truth from the wider group of revellers, hoping no one will try to leave before their Carriages at Midnight which gives Cressida a literal ticking clock by which to conduct her police-sanctioned investigation.
The book has a cheery style and Cressida is a perky and likeable leading lady. The party-goers provide a wealth of suspects to choose from. Her investigation takes in the great and the good of 1925 society, with most of the characters being well-to-do ladies and gentlemen, and also the more down to earth staff of the hotel. She is ably supported in her endeavors by her enthusiastic and very cute pug, Ruby who, when not sniffing out clues, is usually snaffling something delicious from the buffet table. The hotel is described with decadent details, bringing the Christmas decorations and festivities cosily to life.
The ending was a revelation and I did not guess whodunit and it was a most dramatic outcome. I thoroughly enjoyed Death in the Mayfair Hotel and recommend it to all cozy lovers looking for a festive tale. I will definitely be reading more from Fliss Chester.
With huge thanks to the publisher for my copy of Death in the Mayfair Hotel and for my spot on the blog tour.
If you enjoyed my review, please consider liking and/or sharing and, of course, buying the book:
Shelve on Goodreads | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Waterstones
About the author
Fliss Chester lives in Surrey with her husband and writes historical cozy crime. When she is not killing people off in her 1940s whodunnits, she helps her husband, who is a wine merchant, run their business.
Never far from a decent glass of something, Fliss also loves cooking (and writing up her favourite recipes on her blog), enjoying the beautiful Surrey and West Sussex countryside and having a good natter.
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About the Blog Tour
Please check out the rest of the great posts on the tour for Death in the Mayfair Hotel:
juliapalooza.com 