Moving into a luxury hotel in the world’s most dynamic city was just the tonic I needed. If I had to live with relatives I hardly knew, what better place than The Mayfair Hotel?
At 23, I’d found myself alone and poor at Christmas, 1899. The new century beckons and the smell of change is in the air, but English society is not so enlightened as to accept over-educated middle-class women with no intention to marry. So I packed up my things and moved to London after the wealthy uncle and aunt I hadn’t seen in over a decade offered me a home in their hotel.
On the surface, it’s wonderful. If I want a sandwich brought to my suite in the middle of the night, I speak into the brass tube and kitchen staff deliver it. If I want tickets to an opening night show, the manager will secure the best seats. The staff are eager to do as I ask and my family are not as greedy and cruel as I’d expected.
But it’s not all roses. The assistant manager might be charming but that handsome face is hiding a secret. I just know it. And then there’s my aunt’s strange illness, my uncle’s allusions to the hotel’s financial troubles, and the Christmas Eve murder of a hotel guest. If the killer isn’t found by the New Year’s Eve ball, the hotel’s reputation will be destroyed.
I decide to help in the only way I know how. Ask questions and piece together the puzzle. But my inquiries land me in hot water, not only with the suspects, but also with my controlling uncle who doesn’t think the women in his family should be anything more than decorative ornaments.
If it wasn’t for the new friends I’ve made among the hotel staff, I probably would have given up. In fact, maybe I should give up.
But giving up is not in my nature, and being decorative and living the life of luxury is not my style. I prefer to get on with things; I want to right the wrong done to the victim.
And I want to set right the wrongs that I, myself, have done.
Murder at the Mayfair Hotel is the first book in the NEW “Cleopatra Fox” historical mystery series, released December 1, 2020.
December 1899. After the death of her beloved grandmother, Cleopatra Fox moves into the luxury hotel owned by her estranged uncle in the hopes of putting hardship and loneliness behind her. But the poisoning of a guest throws her new life, and the hotel, into chaos.
Cleo quickly realizes no one can be trusted, not Scotland Yard and especially not the hotel’s charming assistant manager. With the New Year’s Eve ball approaching fast and the hotel’s reputation hanging by a thread, Cleo must find the killer before the ball, and the hotel itself, are ruined. But catching a murderer proves just as difficult as navigating the hotel’s hierarchy and the peculiarities of her family.
Can Cleo find the killer before the new century begins? Or will someone get away with murder?
Meet the author
With more than 1.8 million copies of her books sold, C.J. Archer is the USA Today bestselling author of over 50 novels in the historical mystery and historical fantasy genres. She lives in Australia, sets her books in England, and has fans all over the world. For more information about her books or to contact C.J, check out her website at cjarcher.com.
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