The Socialite’s Guide to Death and Dating: A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery

Golden’s frothy and frivolous second cozy centered on New York City’s glamorous Pinnacle Hotel (after 2022’s The Socialite’s Guide to Murder) finds Evelyn Murphy, the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, presiding over a Halloween fund-raiser for the mayor’s 1958 reelection campaign. The event is being held at the Pinnacle, which Evelyn’s father owns and she rarely leaves, having called it home for most of her life. As the gala winds down, Evelyn and her assistant/lover, Malcolm Cooper, decide to take her Rolls Royce for a spin. In the hotel parking garage, they discover the body of Judge Cliff Baker, who’d attended the party, in his Cadillac, with a syringe sticking out of his arm. Worried that the detectives assigned to the case aren’t cut out for the job, Evelyn decides to take matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, the surprise arrival of her frequently absent father creates havoc in her romantic life. Stuffing the narrative with lovely descriptions of Evelyn’s outfits and makeup tips cribbed from Marilyn Monroe, Golden achieves a certain effervescence, but the plot—littered with one too many red herrings—is as insubstantial as cotton candy. In the crowded field of historical cozies, this doesn’t stand out. Agent: Madelyn Burt, Stonesong. (Oct.)