I have tried very hard to like this book. I have struggled since the beginning to read it and I cannot figure out why. I just do not seem to be able to connect to it in any way. I am sure others will enjoy it, but I did not finish it.
Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

Another mystery with a rich spoilt character solving mysteries with her ubiquitous dog on hand. The only differences here were the era of 50s and the setting of a hotel which is hardly left due to acrophobia peeked my interest. However I was a little disappointed with the execution. I couldn’t connect to the main character and mostly found her annoying and very childlike and spoilt. It is a first book so hopefully will improve in future books. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I don’t usually read historical fiction etc etc I know nothing about this time period besides the fact that it’s the year both my parents were born. This mystery book, which reads like a cozy mystery without the puns, features a character with agoraphobia. This agoraphobia mostly functions like a video game’s invisible fences; ie, it’s never particularly inconvenient for the plot, but if the plot calls for her not to go into a place or situation, suddenly she remembers she has agoraphobia. It has a good and puzzling mystery at its heart! Three stars for likable characters; would have been four stars if not for the “invisible fence” of agoraphobia.

I'm a New Yorker, a huge fan of historical mysteries, and have worked in hotels for the vast majority of the past 2/3 of my life. How could I NOT request this one? Unfortunately, the story fell short, the writing felt like it was a bit too YA for my tastes, and it was a struggle to even make it to the halfway mark. Evelyn is far too Paris Hilton in the '50s for me to care .... right down to the dog in the purse, the constant need to appear in the tabloid pages, and soooo much pink. I just couldn't. It ended up on the DNF pile and it's not one I will likely attempt again in case the timing was just off.

This charming, frothy concoction is as charming and frothy as it’s heroine, Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy, daughter of the owner of New York City’s Pinnacle Hotel. She lives in the penthouse, and she never leaves the building – there’s no need! She has a social life, friends, food delivery, even a dog walker. It’s 1958 and she loves to dress like her favorite movie star, Marilyn Monroe. Her fluffy white dog – she carries him around in her purse – is named Presley. As the story opens there’s a big art exhibition opening, and Evelyn is on the arm of movie star(let) Henry Fox. She’s dressed to the nines, in a replica of Marilyn’s pink dress in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Things go all to heck when the big reveal of the artist’s masterpiece proves to be an empty canvas, the painting somehow having been stolen during the fancy soiree. Things really fall apart when the painter is found murdered in the hotel a day or two later. Evelyn, who wears a St. Anthony medal around her neck and is indeed skilled at finding lost things, wants to figure out where the lost painting has gone and who has killed the painter.

She’s helped in her search by her friend Mac, who is skilled at picking locks and who walks her dog for her twice a day. He’s a bellman at the hotel but he’s much more than that to Evelyn. Henry, who uses her as a front, is not really her boyfriend, and it’s obvious it’s Mac who’s going for the title. The two have a nice back and forth banter, with Mac providing some real-world practicality to balance out Evelyn’s sheltered rich girl perspective.

This historical cozy shades in Evelyn’s character in deepening shades as the book proceeds. She’s tasked with finding a lost little girl (a task that brings up memories of her hotel childhood) and it becomes apparent, as she is the one to find the body, that there’s another, more traumatic and more personal body in her past. It’s led to her not wanting to ever leave her safe place, i.e., the hotel. When she thinks about it, she realizes she hasn’t left the Pinnacle in over a year.

Golden provides the reader with a tight but varied circle of suspects, including hotel employees, the artist’s assistant, a count and countess, and, it turns out Henry himself. Evelyn is sure of Henry’s innocence though Mac is not. Mac himself is fired and only allowed back on hotel property when in the company of Evelyn. Within this tight circle of suspects, the author also provides the reader with a very nicely done traditional mystery novel, complete with a summing up by the detective (that would be Evelyn) at the end.

The historical details are light except for the details of Evelyn’s clothes, so this book comes down on the cozy side of things. It’s a smart, well-done cozy with a really interesting main character that I guarantee you will want to get to know better. I loved Evelyn, I loved her dog, and I enjoyed her relationship with both Mac and Henry. This is a wonderful series launch, filled with a delightful amount of sparkle.

An interesting start to a new series - but I found Evelyn really annoying. A wealthy, spoiled young woman who lives in one of her father's hotels, she sets out to solve a murder despite having agoraphobia. And that agoraphobia seems somewhat incomplete. I liked her friend Max, her dog Presley, and was intrigued by the ins and outs of the hotel. That said, the mystery wasn't strong enough to overcome the character for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. There were enough positives to make it worth a sequel (and a second chance from me).

It’s 1958 and Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy has not left the Pinnacle Hotel in fourteen months. She suffers from agoraphobia, and what’s more, it’s her father’s hotel, and everything she needs is there. Evelyn’s always been good at finding things, she discovered her mother dead in a Manhattan alleyway fifteen years earlier. Now she’s finding trouble inside her sanctuary. At a party for artist Billie Bell, his newest work is stolen, and Evelyn’s fake boyfriend (and real best friend), movie star Henry Fox, is accused of the theft. But just as Evelyn sets out to prove Henry’s innocence, she finds Billie Bell dead.

The murder weapon links the crime to the hotel’s chief of security. But why would he use a knife with his initials on the handle? With her beloved home in disarray, Evelyn joins up with hotel employee (and her secret crush) Mac Cooper to get to the bottom of the case.

As Mac picks locks and Evelyn snoops around the hotel, they discover the walls around them contain more secrets than they previously knew. Now, Evelyn must force herself to leave the hotel to follow the clues—but when she and Mac set off to chase a lead, their car crashes and they barely escape with their lives. Someone snipped Evelyn’s brake lines, and now the stakes have become dangerously high.

Evelyn’s knack for sleuthing—and her playful imagination—are always hard at work, and she throws an elaborate party at the hotel where every guest is a suspect. But will the killer emerge from the glamorous lineup? If not, Evelyn just might find herself…next in line for murder.

This is S.K. Golden’s debut novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. At first, I didn’t like Evelyn. I didn’t like the way she treated Mac or the way she viewed her world. Snobby, pretentious, self-absorped, and not knowing the value of work. Not qualities I look for in people. Slowly, as the mystery progressed, I liked her more because her personality changed little by little. In the end, she was close to someone that I wouldn’t mind hanging out with. Evelyn really focused in on the mysteries and showed the reader that she had intelligence. I also like how she stood by her employees and her friends. I also think her love for her pup, Presley, is what kept me from really hating her. I mean, seriously? Who hates a dog lover?

The mystery was fine. I guessed the murderer fairly quickly, and would have liked more historical information about the Pinnacle, but overall the flow was very well written. I can’t wait for the next book and hope the Pinnacle is more prominently featured.

Overall I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

"The hotel was her refuge, but scandal is afoot - and a killer stalks the halls in this charming series debut perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ashley Weaver.

It's 1958 and Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy has not left the Pinnacle Hotel in fourteen months. She suffers from agoraphobia, and what's more, it's her father's hotel, and everything she needs is there. Evelyn's always been good at finding things, she discovered her mother dead in a Manhattan alleyway fifteen years earlier. Now she's finding trouble inside her sanctuary. At a party for artist Billie Bell, his newest work is stolen, and Evelyn's fake boyfriend (and real best friend), movie star Henry Fox, is accused of the theft. But just as Evelyn sets out to prove Henry's innocence, she finds Billie Bell dead.

The murder weapon links the crime to the hotel's chief of security. But why would he use a knife with his initials on the handle? With her beloved home in disarray, Evelyn joins up with hotel employee (and her secret crush) Mac Cooper to get to the bottom of the case.

As Mac picks locks and Evelyn snoops around the hotel, they discover the walls around them contain more secrets than they previously knew. Now, Evelyn must force herself to leave the hotel to follow the clues - but when she and Mac set off to chase a lead, their car crashes and they barely escape with their lives. Someone snipped Evelyn's brake lines, and now the stakes have become dangerously high.

Evelyn's knack for sleuthing - and her playful imagination - are always hard at work, and she throws an elaborate party at the hotel where every guest is a suspect. But will the killer emerge from the glamorous lineup? If not, Evelyn just might find herself…next in line for murder."

I really have a thing for murders at hotels.

3.25 stars

A quirky mystery series debut set at the Pinnacle Hotel in New York City in 1958. The main character is poor little rich girl Evelyn, whose father owns the hotel. She can be hard to warm to -- she is a bit of a Paris Hilton type, publicity obsessed, carries around a spoiled little dog in a purse, spends an inordinate amount of time and energy on hair, makeup and clothes - a la Marilyn Monroe style.

But then you find out there are a few more layers. For starters, she is agoraphobic and hasn't left the hotel for more than a year. Her mother was murdered when Evelyn was 6 and Evelyn discovered the body. She's plenty smart, although she isn't above hiding her brains behind her pretty face and vapid socialite guise.

She has a fake boyfriend -- a gay Hollywood actor who needs a public girlfriend, and her closest friend is a hotel employee that she tips well to walk her dog. But it is a bit of a lonely life and she is not generally well respected by the hotel staff.

A theft and murder in the hotel pique her interest and she involves herself in finding a solution. This was the debut, so there was a lot of background to set up so subsequent books might be less uneven. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Socialite's Guide to Murder is a fun escapist book chock full of murder, celebrities and hijinks with bits of romance throughout. Evelyn's mother had been murdered earlier, causing Evelyn to keep to her suite in the Pinnacle Hotel due to agoraphobia. When a murder occurs at the hotel she and her love interest Mac Cooper investigate by inveigling and picking locks. Her father owns the hotel and as a socialite, she is not a great class match for Cooper. But as a team they complement each other as they dig up clues.

The premise is wonderful but the main character Evelyn is a little too vain and flighty, though underestimated which is to her advantage. The story is also predictable and feels like a light cozy. However, this is Pinnacle Hotel Mystery #1 and there is enough in it to try the second in the series when it is available. The era is pretty wonderful to read about. I'm besotted with the cover!

My sincere thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this charming book.

Evelyn leads a rather empty life at the hotel her father owns. Her daily activities include lounging by the pool, going for beauty treatments and shopping through catalogue. (By the way, a roof top pool in New York?) Evelyn doesn’t have a job at the hotel, but she sometimes helps out finding things.

When a hotel guest is killed she decides she must find out who did it.

I didn’t find Evelyn endearing. I found her too vapid, always dressing in pink and looking out for photographers to snap her for the society pages. I didn’t care for the murdered man either, or for the man that was first arrested.

As such, I wasn’t compelled to read all the way to the end of the story.

Yet another historical mystery book with a title like all the others… Some ladies ‘guide to’ murder/poison. And yet, when I saw it on Netgalley I knew I wanted to read it.

What makes this book stand out from the others is the main character. Where in most of these books the lady ‘isn’t like the other girls’ and doesn’t care what society thinks of her, Evelyn is the definition of girls. Described by the other characters as a spoiled brat, who will dress whichever way Marilyn Monroe does, and with no personality of her own. She has a dog in a handbag. She has casual fun with the bellboy. Her Daddy is the owner of a very fancy hotel. And she is fake dating her gay best friend, who happens to be a movie star. And yet… there is something about her that makes her a likable character and fun to follow.

Evelyn’s mother was murdered, and Evelyn was the one to find her body. The killer was never caught. Because of that Evelyn has developed agoraphobia. But when a someone is murdered in her safe place (the hotel, which she hasn’t left in 14 months), she needs to find the killer for her own peace of mind.

This book is quite heavy on the romance. Not really my thing, but the romance itself is fine I guess. There are some cringy moments for sure, some scenes that could have been written a lot better, some miscommunications that were unnecessary. But overall, I didn’t mind it. I do wish we had spent a bit more time on Evelyn’s other relations and the side characters. Especially ‘best friend’ Henry was done dirty. He is one of the big suspects, and we are supposed to not want it to be him because he is Evelyn’s best friend. But none of that love for each other comes across to us as a reader. The writing utterly fails to get across their real feelings for each other behind the fake dating front. Which is such a shame because I love male-female besties in my books.

The mystery itself is pretty decent. The who did it was a bit anticlimactic (though not too obvious), but the how and why were still interesting discoveries. I also really liked the detective slowly giving in to Evelyn’s charm and at the end even somewhat liking her. I would love to see how they become friends in later books.

Seeing as I don’t know anyone with agoraphobia or shell shock, I can’t give my opinion on how well that was written… although I feel it wasn’t the best representation. It felt more like a plot device at times, a way to mark off the crime-scene. The panic attack was handled fairly well though. But Evelyn doesn’t let it stop her. She realizes she wants more from life and makes the necessary steps to start getting over her fears… even though it definitely isn’t fun.

Although this is clearly the author’s debut book could use some work, it was fun and very easy to read. And I will keep my eye out for book two for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review. This was a fun, zippy, bright new start to a series. Evelyn is so darned earnest and naïve, clearly privileged and used to getting her way-but she's not a bully, she has a good heart, and she honestly sees past the mask a person can put up to see the real human underneath. I love the inclusion of mental health in a subtle but relatable way, and the story is fun without being too bogged down.

A Socialite's Guide To Murder by S.K. Golden is a charming debut book in the Pinnacle Hotel Series. After finding her mother murderd as a child, Evelyn Murphy's has found comfort behind the walls of her father's Hotel. Everything she needs is there so why venture out. During a painting reveal a theft is committed and soon a murder. Now Evelyn has to find the murder to make the hotel her sanctuary once more.

This was a fun read and I enjoyed the unique take on the main character having agoraphobia. But at the same time I loved how carefree Evelyn was as long as she stayed within the walls of the hotel.
The book is set in the 1950's but I feel like it's has a 1930's fun playful style I just love. I especially loved The dog he was just so sweet being carried around everywhere and the French diplomats daughter was adorable and entertaining. I recommend this for anyone who is looking for a simple fun read.

Thank you Cooked Lane Books and Net Gallery for the ARC

I do believe that under the right circumstances, this book would have been probably a much better book to read for me. Said right circumstance would be the mood to read about a very vain and somewhat childish main character who is not very enjoyable to be around.

Unfortunately, I’m not in the right circumstances, and it doesn’t help much that if she’s not talking about fashion, or getting people to do things that might get them arrested, I’m stuck following her in a “maybe relationship / maybe not” in a pseudo-forbidden romance angle. Given my hatred of that genre as a whole, and it’s inclusion in anything I read, it doesn’t really help out much in hooking me into the mystery or the antics involved when it’s prevalent from the start. It also doesn’t help at all that the book, while easy to read, feels much closer to YA than the adult vibes I was hoping to be in for.

Which makes it saddening that I’ll be dropping the book, as I’m not really enjoying it much. Its got the whole glam thing going for it which was so interesting in its own right, but I truly hoped that it had other elements that didn’t lessen the experience for me personally to want to continue till the end.

An agoraphobic hotel heiress unravels a murder in her hotel with the help of a charming bellboy, her spoiled dog, and her fake movie star boyfriend.

This book was good but tough to get through. I enjoyed the storyline but found the characters bland. Decent read but not my favorite.

The Socialite’s Guide to Murder is the first book in the delightful new Pinnacle Hotel series that takes place in New York City in the late 1950s. I've recently come to recognize that books primarily set in hotels are like catnip for me (specific, I know - but I haven't read one I haven't loved!) - so I had high hopes, and I’m happy to say that this one didn’t disappoint!

The story follows Evelyn, daughter of an extremely rich father who supports her over-the-top, luxurious lifestyle, as she lives her life within the walls of the Pinnacle - everything she needs is there, so why ever leave? Extravagant parties are the norm in the Pinnacle, but everything changes when during one particular party, a masterpiece painting goes missing and it’s just a matter of time before a body is found. Soon Evelyn finds herself teaming up with a hotel employee (a.k.a. her secret crush) and her dog Presley to find the thief and murderer, and to make the Pinnacle feel like home again.

While I’ll admit that I was a little bit annoyed with Evelyn for the first few chapters, it didn’t take long for me to get a sense of her personality and recognize that she’s just super quirky and naïve, rather than being the completely rude person I initially took her for. She grew on me quite a bit, and soon I just couldn’t help but root for her the rest of the way through. Don’t get me wrong, she’s definitely vain and materialistic and thoroughly enjoys being rich and flaunting it, but nothing about her felt malicious.

“When I sat, the wooden chair creaked beneath me, which I found incredibly impolite of it, considering I’d eaten only half that cheeseburger.”

“It’s always important to look your best, even if you’re hoping to not be seen.”

““Detective.” I smiled at him. “This is America and I’m wealthy. I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do.””

While the author did a great job at describing detailed scenes of Evelyn’s makeup routine and picking out clothes, I did wish there was a bit stronger sense of place and more imagery of the Pinnacle hotel itself. I felt like there was so much potential to get the reader even more completely immersed in the extravagance of the setting, but I just didn't quite feel it as strongly as I wanted to.

All in all, this fun, fast-paced story combined a great cast of characters with an intriguing puzzle of a plot and featured all the glitz and glamor the whole way through - I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“𝑰 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚.”

A cozy mystery taking place in the 1950s mostly set at a hotel? YES PLEASE! The Socialite’s Guide to Murder was a fun lighthearted mystery with a loveable cast of core characters.

The narrator, Evelyn Elizabeth Tracy Murphy, is the hotel owner’s daughter; although she is spoilt, she is someone who you want to root for. She cares deeply for the people who show up for her, and shows wisdom beyond her posh upbringing, like her pact with best friend Henry to keep his secret safe for his career. People underestimate Evelyn because she is a rich socialite and admires Marilyn Monroe; they dismiss her as being unimportant and unintelligent, and she works hard to prove otherwise, reminding me a lot of a 1950s Elle Woods. I also really liked how S.K. Golden highlighted Evelyn having anxiety, something that was definitely not commonly talked about in the 1950s, alongside the trauma of discovering her mother’s body when she was six, leading to how much she values the safety of the Pinnacle Hotel. The core mystery of the theft of an art piece and the murder of the artist was intriguing and had enough red herrings to keep you guessing. I love Evelyn’s core group of friends, Mac, Poppy, and Amelia (a sweet child always ready to help). I hope that Golden adds Henry into that group; there is a lot of potential for character growth and fun as they help Evelyn with whatever adventure she stumbles upon next.

The Socialite’s Guide to Murder is a story of glamour, secrets, love, safety, and fun. It is labeled as “Pinnacle Hotel Mystery #1” which greatly excites me; I think the quirky employees, strong core friend group, and hotel setting will make for a great series. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this puzzling mystery and its quirky heroine! A great pick for fans of cozy mysteries with unique spins.