Decked with Folly

The Christmas curse (that is, “something quite dreadful happen[ing] to put a dampener on things”) strikes again in Kingsbury's diverting fifth holiday Pennyfoot Hotel mystery set in Edwardian England (after 2008's Ringing in Murder ). Cecily Sinclair Baxter, the Pennyfoot's proprietress, immediately suspects foul play after the body of Ian McBride, the estranged husband of her chief housemaid, Gertie, surfaces in the hotel duck pond. While Gertie emerges as the prime suspect in her husband's demise, Kingsbury expertly strews red herrings to suggest plenty of others had reason to wish Ian dead. Subplots involving Ian's first wife and what various members of the household staff were up to on the eve of the murder add intrigue. This makes the perfect stocking stuffer for the cozy fan in your life. (Nov.)