Do not Disturb

Pennyfoot Hotel #2

by Kate Kingsbury

The Pennyfoot hides many secrets and its downstairs staff keeps a tight lip, even when the Edwardian aristocrats are spotted dallying with damsels in the boudoirs, or gambling in the forbidden card rooms hidden below the floorboards. Should now and then one of the hotel guests fall prey to a dastardly murderer, however, it is up to Cecily Sinclair to restore order before Scotland Yard steps in and shuts down her infamous seaside hotel.

DO NOT DISTURB!

A knock on the door in the dead of night, and seconds later, a man lies dead, poisoned by a mysterious substance. Who else to blame but the local herbalist — considered a witch because of her powerful potions. Once again Cecily is called upon to discover the real killer before her best friend is thrown in jail for a crime she simply couldn't have committed.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Historical Fiction, Historical, Historical Mystery

203 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

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

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cecily runs the Pennyfoot Hotel - a hotel serving the aristocracy in quiet Badger's End. Only things are not so quiet anymore. Murders are occurring and her friend is suspected. A lot of red herrings, an interesting cast of characters and a satisfying resolution.

[Kwoomac · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a website called bookbub.com where you can get kindle books for free. Free books! When I first signed up, I went a little crazy and downloaded every book they sent me. So, this is one of them You get what you pay for. Mediocre mystery where very little happens. No suspense. The characters were so similar that I kept mixing them up. And the red herring! : the widow who keeps her face hidden behind a veil. She has huge hands, huge feet, and is super strong. The author makes references to this mysterious "woman" on almost every page. But guess what? She's just an ugly woman with a scarred face who is freakishly large. Sigh. A waste of my time.

Since I was reading this on my kindle, I kept checking what page I was on and how much longer the book was because nothing was happening. Even in the climactic scene between the killer and our heroine, I felt nothing. Go ahead, kill her, she's boring.

[Anne Hawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great re-read

I read this series quite a while ago and loved it. It is refreshing to have good mystery that doesn't involve blood and gore, torture and the worst that humans can do to one another. Enjoyable cozy mystery!

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste of money, I was giving the series one more chance because a lot of times you can't tell with the first book of a series. That was a giant mistake on my part, are all this author's mysteries super easy and boring? Granted the mystery was better this time around than the first book. Even though once again I figured out the killer and motive way too quickly.

I found a character I loathe more than Phoebe in this series, Ian, maid Gertie's young gentleman friend.

I wanted to scream in anger at Gertie (one of the few characters I actually like from this series. First she lets Ian talk her into engaging in some rompy pompy so that she thinks she's in the family way. (Thankfully she's not pregnant) Than when she finally tells him about her news, he basically calls her a whore, says it's not his problem, and basically abandons her.

Turns out while he is courting Gertie, he also had another young lady in London, who he knocked up and abandoned as well. The poor thing was so ashamed of her actions about being an unmarried pregnant woman she takes her own life. Her grandmother distraught over losing her beloved granddaughter sets out to kill the man responsible (Ian) for her death. The book makes the grieving grandmother into the villain and Ian the blackguard who used, abused, and ditched the poor young lady, the victim. What horrible acid trip rabbit hole did I fall down that this is the point of the story?

Though to be fair, the grandmother did kill several other men who she thought were Ian first. Simply because she didn't know who Ian was because her granddaughter kept him a secret.

And once Gertie finds out she's not pregnant, she apologizes to Ian, like she was the one in the wrong. The most maddening thing of all, is that Gertie takes the bastard back and goes back to being all sweet on him and letting him walk all over her after the vile way he treated her. Does she not have any common sense or self respect?

This was a giant disappointment and I will not be continuing with this series.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great cozy mystery near the Pennyfoot hotel. Though this time the murder doesn't happen at the Pennyfoot, when Cecily's friend and employee are implicated, she is on the case! I really love reading about how Cecily slowly puts the piece together in this boggling mystery. I also love learning more about the main characters' lives during this series. Poor Gertie! She goes through a lot in this one. Also Baxter drive me nuts as usually, but a little less so this time. I wish we saw more of Madeline and Penelope, but it was understandable. I can't wait to continue.

[Maam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant way to spend an afternoon while resting due to illness. Would also be a good poolside read. Light and entertaining. I see that it is a series with many,many books. I am interested in reading #1 just to fill in some questions from this one but do not see it as a series I'd get interested in.

[Colleen McAllister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful, Charming, and Witty Tale

This was such a cute read! I love a good mystery, but not the bloody stuff you find these days. I prefer old-fashioned mysteries where much of the action takes place in you own imagination. This story was a good one which kept me reading till the end.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just did not enjoy this book like the last one (well, I think I rated that as a 3). The character Cecily irks me and then this book reminded me so much of the last one (but with less oomph) that I did a lot of scan-reading to hurry to the end. I doubt I will read more in this series.

[Kristie · Rating 4 out of 5]

New to me author and series. I typically don't read books set in this time period, but I rather enjoyed this one! Looking forward to spending more time at the Pennyfoot learning about its owner, employees, guests and more!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted something laid back after a few heavy books, but boring is not what I wanted. I was expecting it to be funny and cute, nope, just predictable.

[Barbara Delaughter · Rating 2 out of 5]

found it slow and draggy. if they drank less tea they might get something done

[Nola Arganbright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great cozy mystery from Kate Kingsbury. I enjoy the Pennyfoot Hotel series and the sleuthing of its proprietor.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay. Just okay.

Full review at Booklikes.

[Henriette · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cozy historical series I started to read because I enjoyed Royal Spyness so much and looked for an alternative. A lighthouse is supposed to be built, and there are locals, who object to the project. Then two of the workers on the project drop dead (one in front of the cottage he rented and the other in front of the pub) and the building site is sabotaged. Cecily gets involved because before the first man died, he was having dinner with one of her friends, who is believed to be the local witch. One of her former employees worked at the construction site and also becomes a suspect.

In short, having read many of these books the actual culprit was evident to me from the start (though I only got the motive partially right due to not all information being available from the beginning). There was a nice bit of misdirection, though. While I never believed that other person to be the murderer, it still to wonder how he fits into the story. The revelation made me think of a scene in "Junior" (movie with DeVito and Schwarzenegger), and I really would like to know, what some people believe German women to look like.

As I said, I started reading this series as an alternative to Royal Spyness. Unfortunately, it doesn't compare. For one, there is no clever integration of actual historical events, and it also lacks humor. Compared to a classic amongst Whodunnit like Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, the solutions are too apparent as are the false leads. For example, the primary suspect (I think Madeline was her name) is viewed with suspicions as she brews herbal medicines and entertains men (though possibly just by cooking them dinner). When two strangers drop dead, the police suspect her, because she knows about plants and had supper with one victim. At no point is a motive presented. If she were some psychopath, then corpses would litter her front yard. Even taking the period or the size of the village into account, it is surprising that the detective not once considered that the murderer could be an outsider just like the victims.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do Not Disturb by Kate Kingsbury is the 2nd book of the Pennyfoot Hotel cozy mystery set in a seaside village in Edwardian England. Hotel owner Cecily Sinclair chafes at the restrictions on women. Her trusted employee Baxter, who promised her late husband to watch over her, provides a humorous stuffy backdrop to Cecily's spunkiness. Cecily becomes quite a busybody when a construction worker at Badger's End lighthouse is murdered. There is no direct connection between the crime and her hotel, no need for her to get involved. But since the victim died of poisoning, and Cecily's eccentric friend Madeline sells potions, Cecily decides she must find the killer to clear her friend of suspicion. A second murder heightens the suspense, and Cecily begins to fear for the safety of hotel part-time employee Ian, who also works at the lighthouse. A subplot with the hotel maid and the cook is funny - the maid fears complete personal ruin (without cause; but she doesn't know any better). The series is pleasant, light entertainment with quirky characters and interesting period details. A peek into an earlier, slower-paced lifestyle. Lovely writing style; a shame the books are mostly out of print.

[Linda Brue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cecily Sinclair owns and runs the Pennyfoot hotel on a shoestring, trying to keep the hotel up to her exacting standards to attract the wealthy aristocrats that make the hotel the spot to come with a lady unknown to your wedded wife, or to partake in the card rooms hidden downstairs. The hotel's staff is known for its discretion, but when a murder is involved, things get a little more complicated. When suspicion falls on Cecily's friend, a herbalist known for her concoctions and potions, Cecily must set things right. A fun, gentle cozy, with a great cast of characters and an enjoyable mystery.

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy the Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries. This is my second reading of this book. Cecily Sinclair is the strong and willful owner of the hotel. She's ahead of her time thought she lives in Edwardian England and there are certain social mores. She is good at solving mysteries and finds herself in the middle of a very bizarre trio of murders. The suspect is her dear friend, Madeline Pengrath, an unusual woman who some in town suspect of being a witch.
Along with her hotel manager, Mr. Baxter, the cigar-smoking Cecily is on the hunt.
Good read. I'd recommend this to others for a good cozy British mystery.

[Valorie Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, women scorned!!!!!!!!

I loved this book, the stars should be 8.
Cecily had her work cut out for her on who was killing these men in the area.
Madeline, Phoebe, Gertie, Louise, and Mrs. Parmentier all have things they have to work out.
Ladies you all will have something to relate to in this book that they go through.
I don't want to ruin this for you so you have to read this book.
YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!
I didn't sleep much.

[Allison Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay cozy for its type. I read the first in the series so long ago that I don't really remember much about the Pennyfoot Hotel. I guess it has its mysteries - boudoirs and downstairs card rooms, but the true mysteries are its guests and staff. The mystery was fairly obvious to me, as well as how things played out. But I guess I'll read more in the series eventually.

[Jacquie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do Not Disturb by Kate Kingsley was such a fun book. Set in 1906 England, it felt like I could see the scenes and could visualize the Pennyfoot Inn with the fireplace going and all the activity in the basement and upstairs 😉. The characters popped right off the pages too.

So glad I read this one!!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series. A local building project has created some controversy, but when two men related to the project are found dead, suspicions begin to build. Cecily’s friend, Madeline is a suspect due to her practice of creating elixirs for people. With Baxter’s reluctant help, Cecily is determined to find the real culprit and the reason the project is being targeted.

[Michelle Forsythe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining British mystery! Had the paperback for many years and never got around to reading it until now. It was surprisingly really good. Enjoyed the characters, plot, and atmosphere. Highly recommend.

[Kim Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this second offering from Pennyfoot Hotel we are getting to know a little more about some of the characters, though one is remaining somewhat of a mystery. I am looking forward to reading more from this series.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book

You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this series. I have already ordered the next 2 in the lot from the library.

[Vashti Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love 💘 cozy mysteries

I cannot get enough of
her novels. I love how she incorporates the staff into the story. My favourite character is Gertie Brown, the head house maid

[Mary Padilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please write more

Can’t stop reading this series. Starting on my
next one. It’s gets more and more interesting
as you turn to the next page.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy read. Glad it was free but I won’t be reading the rest of the series.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this one had a little more depth to it than the first. Really got into the characters this time, so I will definitely be reading more of the series. See that there are lot's of them.