Totally gripped from the beginning… Grab yourself a copy of this book! I absolutely loved this! What a fantastic plot, beautifully written, intertwining the relationships between the characters in such an ingenious and realistic way.

Death in the Mayfair Hotel by Fliss Chester moved at a slow pace to me. For fans of classic whodunits, this is for you.

Releases Sep. 13th. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

2.5/5 rounded up to 3 stars.

Though it is a classic historical mystery, added with a limited time to solve it, it fell short on a lot of points.

What I didn't like was that there was no portrayal of grief by the whole bunch of friends when they found out that they knew the victim and she was their friend. Rather the first thing they did was gossip about her life. They didn't even seem to feel the grief of finding the body.

Another thing was that I did not find the writing to be compelling enough, the urgency of the situation, with only limited time to solve the mystery and the emotions of the people surrounding the victim did not fly off the page.

Though I was also a little confused as to who was the killer and I liked the end, the first 40% of the book did not cast a good impression on me and even though it did get better, the group's initial reaction, and lack of emotions, did not sit right with me.

I received an advance copy of the book and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I’ve enjoyed the whole series of Cressida Fawcett Mysteries and this book was no exception. I enjoyed being back with a favourite group of characters and the ongoing progress in Cressida and Dotty’s personal lives was great to catch up with, although Cressida's is still very much a slow slow burn, The mystery itself was intriguing with a whole party full of possible suspect that kept me turning the pages. The atmosphere and descriptions as always was great and added to my enjoyment of the book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to @netgalley, @Bookouture and @FlissChester for this ARC. Another adventure of Cressida Fawcett. On Christmas Eve, a woman is found murdered in a fountain outside a bashing party. Cressida is on the case with her pug Ruby. I absolutely love this cute series! #DeathintheMayfairHotel #FlissChester #Bookouture #Sept2024 #CressidaFawcett

I’ve enjoyed the whole series of Cressida Fawcett Mysteries, so I couldn’t wait to start reading Death in the Mayfair Hotel.

This time, Cressida and her friends (and of course her pug Ruby) are spending Christmas Eve at a party at the Mayfair Hotel. Naturally, they find a dead body, and festive investigative shenanigans commence.

This murder mystery was so much fun. I very much enjoyed being back with a favourite group of characters. I love the ongoing progress in Cressida and Dotty’s personal lives. And the festive atmosphere was the cherry on top.

The plot itself was intriguing. Though I had a fixed suspicion from near the beginning, there were plenty of other suspects who all looked guilty. My suspicion was based on taking an instant dislike, rather than on facts. But I was wrong, and the culprit came as a complete surprise (though there were clues!).

As always, I loved Ruby. As well as bringing some welcome humour to the story, she also seems to have a nose for clues.

Overall, this was an intriguing mystery that kept me turning the pages, with plenty of gentle humour and festive atmosphere. I highly recommend it (and the whole series). Fliss Chester just gets better and better with each book!

I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

‘Death in the Mayfair Hotel’ by Fliss Chester is an entertaining historical mystery novel set against a glamorous backdrop and a fun cast of characters. Protagonist Cressida is a likable character - she is witty and funny, and doesn’t miss a thing.
Thank you Net Galley and Boukouture for my ARC.

Another adventure with Cressy and the gang!

Christmas Eve, 1925: Wealthy Cressida ‘Cressy’ Fawcett is attending the Christmas Eve Ball at the Mayfair Hotel along with some of her pals, including her BFF Lady Dorothy ‘Dotty’ Chatterton, Dotty’s sweetheart George Parish, and Dotty’s older brother Alfred, Lord Delafield (who may or may not want to be Cressy’s sweetheart). Ruby, her devoted pug is also there, enjoying the Ball and the various tasty tidbits she finds dropped on the floor. Typically, they’d be at their respective country manors Christmas Eve, but because archeologist George has just arrive from Egypt, they take advantage of the situation by staying in town to greet him and enjoy the Ball.

Cressy (and Dotty) have high hopes that George will take the opportunity to propose to Dotty, so when he guides Dotty outside by the fountain, Cressy and Alfred quietly follow them out, hoping to catch the romantic moment. However as George lowers to one knee, Dotty screams in terror. And then screams again. Not at George’s proposal, of course, but because another chum, Lady Victoria Beaumont, Countess of Worcester, is floating dead in the fountain. Victoria’s debutante season was the same as Cressy’s and Dotty’s, meaning they were friends. She had married to Lord Beaumont, several decades her senior, soon after coming out.

Cressy is known for having an eye for detail, making her highly respected as an interior designer. The same eye for detail has made her success at solving several murders which she’s unfortunately also getting a reputation for. There are lots of suspects - Lord Beaumont, who may have been planning to divorce Victoria because of an affair she had; Mrs. Spencer, who is a ‘good friend’ of Lord Beaumont and may have wanted to be Lady Beaumont herself; Clayton Malone, the recently dumped boyfriend; Cordelia Stirling, who’s sweetheart Marcus Von Drausch is Lord Beaumont’s current heir, assuming Victoria don’t have a child; Dr. Hart, a fertility expert that Victoria was seeing despite their being animosity between them; even sweet Dora Smith-Wallington, another old chum who was seen having an argument with Victoria a few minutes before her death.

Because Victoria was an old pal, Cressy feels she has to investigate. Fortunately for her, her favorite police duo of DCI Andrews and Sergeant Kirkby are on site as the official police presence. Unfortunately for her, she, along with most of the other guests, have to leave at midnight, meaning Cressy only has a few hours to solve the crime - assuming she can keep from getting distracted by thoughts of one Lord Delafield.

I’m a fan of Cressy, so it’s no surprise I really enjoyed this book, much more than the last one. I really liked the tight deadline and isolated cast of suspects. There was a lot background information about characters - like Lady Victoria - which were provided seamlessly. I also like how Cressy’s thoughts about Alfred and her desire for independence keep evolving; Cressy has hidden from marriage so far because she doesn’t want to lose her independence, having her finances controlled by her husband, etc. But maybe Alfred…? As usual, there’s a lot of humor, including the suggestion of some outrageous past adventures (‘she did that thing with the copy of The Times and the peacock feather’ Dotty said, before Cressy hushed her friend).

Highly recommended. I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.

I do enjoy these characters and the very close friendship amongst them. Ruby always adds a dash of the unexpected!

I enjoyed that the storyline wasn't a Hercule Poirot style one (All sitting round while the lead walks everyone through the clues). I liked that, despite heavy snow, there was no indication that all the guests were going to be stuck together as a result. I appreciated that the author referred to Cressida's flair for interior design and leveraged the metaphor a little more this time. These elements together increased the interest in the storyline for me. There were some good clues for those paying attention(but no spoilers here)

I struggled with the victim being a 'friend'. Somehow this doesnt feel cosy and I struggled with the evident lack of grief. This pulled it back to a three out of five for me.

My thanks to #Netgalley and Bookouture for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review

Cressida and Dotty's friendship was easily the best part of this book. They were hilarious, intelligent, and very much for the girls.
The book itself was a slow burn overall.
There was little to no romance involved (which is fine), and the characters were getting foggy for me towards the middle of the book. I enjoyed the period piece and descriptions that made surroundings come to life.
Overall, decent read with its slow moments

1920s, amateur-sleuth, class-consciousness, historical-novel, historical-research, pug, verbal-humor, friendship, friends, family-dynamics, family, wealthy, investigation, murder, romantic*****

The body in the fountain was no stranger, but one of Cressida's good friends. Now she had to interview everyone right that night and find out who did the deed and why. The only character missing in this romp is Bertie Wooster! Really enjoyed this classic mystery full of sneaky laughs. Read it in one afternoon.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you!
#DeathintheMayfairHotel #NetGalley #Fliss Chester @SocialWhirlGirl #CressidaFawcettMysteries6