Service for Two

Third in a series of Edwardian mysteries set at the Pennyfoot Hotel in Badgers End, Kingsbury's latest is a rather pedestrian affair. When the wrong body is discovered in the casket of the local doctor and a series of jewel robberies is linked to the Pennyfoot Hotel, the proprietress, Cecily Sinclair, takes it upon herself to find out who is responsible. Though Cecily is supposed to be a liberated woman--she smokes cigars, after all--her character never really comes alive. Of more interest are the well-drawn characters of the servants. Will Gertie actually marry Ian? And what of Ethel and her new swain? There is more suspense downstairs than in the mystery upstairs. One more unfortunate problem is that readers not familiar with the first two books ( Room with a Clue and Do Not Disturb ) may be somewhat lost in this one. When one of Cecily's friends is seated ``beneath James's portrait,'' for instance, the reader is unaware until later that James was the heroine's husband, who died the previous year. Since several matters are left unresolved, this is obviously not the last we shall see of the Pennyfoot Hotel, but be advised: begin at the beginning of this saga, or else be prepared to find the characters more of a mystery than the plot. (May)