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Book Review
Reviewed: 05 January 2025

The Socialite's Guide to Sleuthing and Secrets

by: S.K. Golden

A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery - Book 3

  • Rating: full starfull starfull starfull starstar outline (4.0/5)

A charmer, a sudden death, and stolen jewelry … Evelyn’s on it

Book 3 in the Pinnacle Hotel Mystery series picks up right where the last one left off.  Evelyn is heartbroken from Mac (Malcolm Cooper) leaving after her father threatened to cut her off financially. Poppy is Evelyn’s assistant in her role as hotel event planner. Former police detective turned private investigator Hodgeson is still looking into the death of Evelyn’s mom. Unfortunately, Evelyn has taken a step back, she has not left the hotel since Mac has left, despite the urgings of her analyst.

Evelyn has a murder literally fall into her lap, how could she not investigate it? Add to the mix the Gentleman Thief, adventures abound for Evelyn with the help of Poppy, Henry (dashing movie star), and Hodgeson.  

This case is quite difficult when there doesn’t seem to be a motive. As Evelyn works to convince the authorities the death was not accidental, deal with the findings in her mother’s death and get over her heartbreak, it is an emotional minefield for her.  As Evelyn navigates her way through we learn more about out how she became the person we met back in Book 1, The Socialite’s Guide to Murder. 

If I am not mistaken, Henry is a bit more active in this mystery. Hodgeson is … well, Hodgeson and I love it. There are new clues to some new challenges ahead for Evelyn and I can’t wait to see how she handles them. She is a young heiress barely out of her teens who lives in her father’s hotel without much experience in the real world. I cannot wait to see what happens in Book 4.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for the opportunity to do an early read and share my thoughts on the story. 

Happy Reading!

Release Date: 11-March-2025
Historical Mystery, NetGalley, Female-Led

Plot Summary

Hotel heiress Evelyn Murphy is on the hunt for a cunning killer and a mysterious thief in the third Pinnacle Hotel mystery, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ashley Weaver.

New York, 1958. When Evelyn’s mail is delivered during a luncheon in the Gold Room, she’s surprised to find she has received a diamond tiara, which catches the attention of a costume jewelry sales team lunching nearby. Their leader, Lois Mitchel is especially interested, but by the end of the lunch, Lois has choked and fallen into Evelyn’s lap–and by the end of the day, she’s dead.

The papers report on the death the next day, while also spreading news of a Gentleman Thief, who’s been leaving behind a red pocket square after robbing the city’s wealthiest. Determined to figure out what happened to Lois, Evelyn devotes herself to the investigation.

The truth is as rare as a diamond and just as hard to crack, and Evelyn swiftly discovers that this particular mystery is multi-faceted, too. From costume jewelry hawkers to wannabe-Robin Hoods and a detective in residence at the Pinnacle, nothing is simple. But neither is Evelyn–and this case is hers to solve.