Slay Bells

Pennyfoot Hotel #14

by Kate Kingsbury

Cecily Sinclair Baxter hosts a holiday party at the Pennyfoot Hotel where the children of Badger's End can meet Father Christmas. Unfortunately, the jolly old man is found dead along with one of his helpers.

The role of St. Nicholas had previously been played by a notorious village drunkard, and the police believe the two men killed each other. But Cecily has her doubts, as the murder weapon was never recovered. And since no one has left the hotel since the crime, she's making a list of suspects-and checking it twice.

Genres: Mystery, Christmas, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Historical Fiction, British Literature

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

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

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Kingsbury, a descendent of Agatha Christie, writes wonderful cozy mysteries much in the vein of her ancestor. Cecily Sinclair Baxter, the manager of Pennyfoot Hotel, in England during the early 1900's, finds her footman dead from a supposed fall from the roof, but things get further complicated when Father Christmas (who didn't show up for the Christmas party at the hotel) is found dead in the chimney in the library of the hotel. Things go from bad to worse when a ghost suddenly appears to be haunting the hotel along with her husband's mysterious meetings.

This novel has a delightful cast of characters and a storyline that keeps adding layers of mystery.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 2006 Pennyfoot Hotel mystery series is set at Christmas time. Cecily once again is involved in a mystery. This time a seedy Santa hired to amuse the local children is murdered. With the help of her hubby and their doctor friend, Cecily finally arrives a solution. Engaging and/or eccentric characters include hotel staff as well as friend Madeline the herbalist and Phoebe the giddy socialite.

[Kate]

I want to come back to this book when I have read earlier ones in the series, it was enjoyable enough but I had no clue who anyone was! They were clearly established characters so were not introduced into the story.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a re-read from December of 2011. I love this series and I did raise my star rating to a four. I am not sure if I have read all of this series but it doesn't matter, I plan to work my way through them during the holiday seasons. Kate Kingsbury has created a series that reminds me of Downton Abbey except this is not a wealthy family but someone who owns the Pennyfoot Hotel. In this one, Father Christmas doesn't show up for a children's program. When the body of another employee is found after falling off the roof, they first think that Father Christmas drank too much and missed the program. Later when Cecily Sinclair asks someone to light the fire in the library, they soon discover where Father Christmas is. After removing his body, the doctor determines that Father Christmas has been stabbed. That is odd because that same day the cook is missing a knife that is found stuck in the kitchen ceiling. Then objects within the hotel disappear and are found in odd places. A maid says she saw a clown ghost and Baxter tries to control his wife Cecily from trying to investigate. These are always entertaining. A great list of characters that you care about. I highly recommend this series.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last Christmas book of the season--I promise. Cecily Sinclair Baxter owns the Pennyfoot Hotel in Badger's End, England. It's Christmas and chaos is running rampant. A footman breaks his neck as he falls from the roof, the village drunk is found in a Santa suit stabbed and stuffed in the chimney, and a clown "ghost" is running amuck in the hotel. Other than the three dead bodies, I kept expecting Basil Fawlty to come running into the plot yelling at his wife and smacking Manuel. A very thin plot. By the end of the book, I really didn't care who did the killing and wasn't particularly surprised at the outcome.

[Susan Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate Kingsbury is one of my favorite current mystery authors. I've enjoyed all the Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries I've read, and I'm keeping an eye out for the books I'm missing in the series.

[Marilyn Fontane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slay Bells by Kate Kingsbury is either the first or second of her Pennyfoot Hotel Christmas series. After a hiatus of about 6 years she is continuing this series, which I read some time ago, so I not only bought the new one, but decided to see how it fit with the earlier books in the series. Slay Bells is the earliest I had and although I remember the series as a whole well, I didn't remember many of the things occurring in this book. Cecily Sinclair Baxter is the primary protagonist, but one of her closest friends, Madeline Pengrath, a free spirited herbalist who also goes into trances with enigmatic but accurate predictions, is not yet engaged, much less married to Dr. Kevin Prestwick, but her other close friend, Phoebe Carter-Holms, the scatter brained socialite, is to her drunken Colonel Fortescue. Cecily is the owner of the Pennyfoot Hotel, set at the turn of the century (19th and 20th) and her kitchen staff, Mrs. Chubb the head of the staff, Michael the almost French chef, and Gertie the clumsy hard-working housemaid are already part of the establishment of both the hotel and novel.
In this novel, Phoebe hires a drunk to play Santa Claus for the children at the Pennyfoot Hotel and to come down the chimney, but he doesn't show up until much later when they decide to light a fire to warm the room. The resulting smoke makes them search the chimney and find Father Christmas dead from a knife wound and stuffed in the chimney. A couple of other people die as well, and there appear to be ghosts haunting the premises, moving heavy chairs to the bowling green, gloating above the balcony during a performance, moving a large plant to Mrs. Chubb's bed and other strange things, which of course the hotel staff try to hide from the guests while knowing that one of them is the murderer.
There are lush Christmas descriptions of Victorian decorations, food, and activities to set a festive mood in spite of the grotesque actions which are a part of the plot. In fact there are several plots going on simultaneously, creating a lot of suspense, but also humor. It's a fun book--light, lots of twists and turns and activities in the different plots. But it is Christmas and all turns out well--for the characters one is supposed to be interested in. It serves its purpose well.

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Pennyfoot Hotel mystery that I read, but I don't think it'll be the last. I definitely enjoyed the book; the cast of characters was fun, I felt like Kingsbury did a good job with character development throughout the book (at least, for the main 3-4 characters, which is more than most authors focus on), and the mystery was intriguing. I did guess near the end (right before it was "officially" revealed) whodunit, but that was more due to the amount of clues that had been dropped prior to the whodunit being revealed.

Definitely would recommend to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries. This was one of the best cozy mysteries that I've read in awhile, which I do think was helped along by the fact that this story took place at Christmastime (which happens to be my favorite time of the year).

[Heather W · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - a really fun, easy and well written cosy mystery. Slay Bells follows characters in the Pennyfoot Hotel as they find that their Santa has been murdered and his helper has fallen off the roof. Can the manager of the hotel, Cecily, solve the murder and save her hotel.

I loved reading this book, it is well written with a great cast of characters and a plot that held my attention throughout. It is a really easy read that is like sinking into a hot bath - completely relaxing and enjoyable. The solution is reasonably straight forward, but it is still fun to see our cast reach the point you did 5 chapters back but you are willing to let them off because they are such cinnamon rolls and you love them. It is hard to write a long review but if you want a really easy read that has a great cast and a fun story, I really recommend this one.

[Madison Sheridan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shallow Historical Fiction

Historical fiction, but not in the intent to engage with historical events, just old enough to justify misogyny. I’ve never hated a protagonist’s friend as much as Phoebe, or one’s partner. Baxter frustrated me to no end. I wanted more of Madeleine, but I doubt I’ll read any more books to see more of her. I respect the author greatly for actually writing and putting out these books, but they just are not for me.

[Sara Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would be a traditional cosy mystery but the subject matter - coupled with a few instances of bad language - means, for me, it is not a cosy. That being said, this is a good mystery with well-written characters and a plot that moves at a steady pace. The crime is straightforward and parts of it are easy to solve, the motive is believable and all loose ends are successfully tied up by the end of the book. All-in-all, not a bad read. Recommended.

[chrisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really should have liked this book - a mystery set at Christmas combines two of my favorite things, but for me this book just dragged on and on. It was boring the vast majority of the time and most of the characters slightly annoyed me. This is the first book I've read in this series, and it's doubtful that I will read more.

[KathyNV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take a wonderful old hotel full of Christmas guests and an add a Santa who has problems delivering presents then watch as the chaos ensues! Frustrating husbands, a wonderfully close and gossipy staff and a Christmas extravaganza had me hearing the bells! “Slay Bells” has some fun characters and a plot that took me in several directions at once! This is a fun holiday read!

[Jim Toner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good cozy mystery set around Christmas time. As someone who worked in hotels, I could relate well to the story. Ms. Kingsbury does a good job of creating relatable characters. I plan to read more of her books.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very much. I picked it because it was a Christmas book but I think I will start this series in 2018.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable Christmas cozy. I liked the characters and the story line, and even had a LOL a few times. Kingsbury did an excellent job.

[Cathy Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the old fashioned mystery. It kept me guessing for a good portion of the book.

[Maryann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yawn. These are getting way too predictable.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love a Christmas murder mystery?? Quick, light hearted, and very British.

[Perfumegirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

made it 1/2 way ~ found it quite boring.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series especially the Christmas ones.

[Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh! Not the biggest historical mystery fan and this is book 14 in a series I never read. Fun for Christmas but don’t think I’ll start the series from the beginning.

[Christy J-Furem · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mystery except for one loose end. The series and characters are good though.

[Drebbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cecily Sinclair Baxter is annoyed when Sid Porter fails to show up at the children's party where he was hired to play Father Christmas. Her annoyance soon turns to horror when it's discovered that one of her footmen fell to his death from the roof where he was apparently helping Sid. Even worse, Sid, dressed in his Father Christmas costume, is found stabbed to death in her chimney. With the Pennyfoot Hotel filled at Christmas, Cecily does her best to keep the deaths quiet but it's not easy to do with a practical joker moving things around the hotel and a clown "ghost" hanging around the hotel. The police are on holiday and Cecily starts investigating the deaths herself. While Cecily is investigating, she is also worried about her husband Baxter's strange behavior and wonders what secrets he is keeping from her.

"Slay Bells" is a nice entry in Kate Kingsbury's delightful Pennyfoot Hotel series. The book is set in England in 1914 and has a nice old-fashioned feel to it. Kingsbury fills the book not only with the mystery but also with Christmas traditions such as holiday shows with skits and dancers and descriptions of food including blood pudding which makes the time period come alive. All the favorite Pennyfoot characters are there: Cecily, Baxter, Gertie, Mrs. Chubb, Michel, Madeline, the Colonel, and Phoebe are all there. Ex-maid Doris even pays a visit to the Pennyfoot and there's a new maid, Pansy, who figures quite prominently in the story line. There are several plot lines in the book: the murders, the "ghost", the practical jokes, Baxter's secret and Kingsbury neatly ties everything up at the end with quite a few surprises. The actual murder plot line is well done and the identity of the murderer will be a surprise to most readers. As Kingsbury often does in her books, the motive is a sad one that will have readers in some ways feeling sorry for the murderer.

"Slay Bells" is a nice cozy mystery to read.

[Marigold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm putting this on a Humor shelf because I found it sort of hilarious, though it's a mystery!

I got this book in a roundabout way from a friend who passed away a few years ago. Her husband decided to pass on a lot of her books & some of us were invited over to pick out some. She liked science fiction and formula mysteries like this one; those are not my genres but I grabbed this book, as I do like a silly Christmas-themed mystery from time to time! So I saved the book to read at this holiday.

I didn't realize this was one of a series, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of it. It does refer to some of the past books but if you're just reading this for sheer silliness, that won't matter to you.

This is what Agatha-Christie-meets-Downton-Abbey would be if Downton Abbey were a hotel! The Pennyfoot Hotel is apparently the scene of mayhem on a regular basis, but in this case it revolves around Santa and a mysterious clown/balloon man. There are multiple murders, things get moved around a la poltergeist, & the Christmas entertainment may or may not go on as planned at the hotel!

I actually quite liked the characters though they are pretty formulaic. Spunky woman hotel owner who solves all the crimes? Check. A couple of kookie friends? Check. Handsome husband? Check. Flirtatious doctor and clueless rural detective? Check. Loyal driver/handyman? Check. Housemaid with a heart of gold & brains too? Check. Temperamental cook? Check.

I might even read another in this series, just for fun! But at this season, what's better than a book where characters say things like, "I certainly hope we get the body out of the chimney before the guests arrive for caroling!" Or "...a desperate killer still lurked among them. It put a damper on the festivities, to say the least." Ha!!

[IslandRiverScribe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read but it falls flat compared to the earlier books in the series. While Kingsbury makes Cecily far more mature and palatable than in earlier works, Baxter is now a cardboard cutout and a stereotype rather than the fully fleshed character he has previously been.

Stereotype or not, Baxter is definitely part of an important secondary and emotional situation. And Gertie gets plenty of emotional airtime also.

For a cozy, the murder and the secondary mystery are not quickly solvable. And the book’s title is both a play on words and part of the story. However, this is definitely a book that will be best appreciated if read during the Christmas holidays.

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mildly amusing murder mystery, with enough twists and turns that it was not predictable. However, there were a number of things that were "off" ... moving the body before the inspector was there, keeping things from the local constabulary (though he was obviously kind of dim-witted) ... and a few other things that made this imaginary world not quite work properly. Some of the characters were fun to get to know, and there were enough enjoyable parts of this book.

[Upstatemamma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really fun to read. It was a murder mystery and followed along the path of most murder mysteries. I haven't read a real murder mystery since I used to read Nancy Drew books as a kid. I loved those. So, I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't overly predictable, but it did not have a surprise ending either.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time reading a Kate Kingsbury mystery, I enjoyed the light fun story taking place in England in 1914 at the Pennyfoot Hotel. The characters were charming which helped to add to the plot lines in the book. Definitely not an intense story, it was an easy and quick read (predictable butstill engaging). Another author to hunt for at yard sales!!