Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries Books in Order
Part ofKate Kingsbury Books in OrderSee all the Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries by Kate Kingsbury in order, with short summaries, holiday entries, series notes, and a good place to start.
Last updated: July 1, 2026
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Publication Order
23 books
Room with a Clue
by Kate Kingsbury
1993
At the Pennyfoot Hotel in Edwardian England, owner Cecily Sinclair sees her smooth-running business threatened when an unpleasant guest dies. To save the hotel's name, she starts asking questions the police miss.
Do Not Disturb
by Kate Kingsbury
1994
Another death at the Pennyfoot pulls Cecily Sinclair back into sleuthing when gossip and class tensions start spreading through Badgers End. Protecting her guests means looking well beyond polite appearances.
Eat, Drink, and Be Buried
by Kate Kingsbury
1994
A festive atmosphere at the Pennyfoot turns sour when a killing disrupts the hotel's careful routine. Cecily follows the whispers behind the scene, knowing one wrong move could ruin her business.
Service for Two
by Kate Kingsbury
1994
Cecily's seaside hotel should be serving comfort and order, not murder. When trouble lands at the Pennyfoot again, she and Baxter have to sort the clues before scandal overwhelms the season.
Check-Out Time
by Kate Kingsbury
1995
Badgers End is full of secrets, and Cecily Sinclair is once again forced to leave hospitality behind for detection. A suspicious death makes check-out anything but simple.
Grounds for Murder
by Kate Kingsbury
1995
Even a quiet day at the Pennyfoot can end in scandal. Cecily traces a fresh murder through local gossip, divided loyalties, and the many hidden corners of hotel life.
Chivalry is Dead
by Kate Kingsbury
1996
Polite manners offer little protection when murder visits the Pennyfoot again. Cecily must look past good breeding and romantic appearances to find out who is truly dangerous.
Pay the Piper
by Kate Kingsbury
1996
Cecily knows that a charming guest or tidy story can hide something darker. At the Pennyfoot, a new death leaves her sorting through money, motive, and carefully polished lies.
Ring for Tomb Service
by Kate Kingsbury
1997
A fresh death sets Cecily and the Pennyfoot staff on edge as rumors race through the hotel. She will have to keep the guests calm while quietly chasing a killer.
Death with Reservations
by Kate Kingsbury
1998
Reservations pile up, tempers flare, and Cecily's hotel becomes the scene of another suspicious death. Solving the crime is the only way to keep the Pennyfoot from becoming known for more than seaside luxury.
Dying Room Only
by Kate Kingsbury
1998
Another Pennyfoot case traps Cecily between nervous guests, stubborn officials, and clues that refuse to line up. The hotel may look elegant, but danger is moving just under the surface.
Maid to Murder
by Kate Kingsbury
1999
When one of the Pennyfoot's maids becomes entangled in a killing, Cecily has little choice but to step in. Clearing the staff means probing the sharp divide between upstairs polish and downstairs secrets.
No Clue at the Inn
by Kate Kingsbury
2003
Back in Badgers End after time away, Cecily and Hugh find the Pennyfoot changed and just as troublesome as ever. A maid's death in the middle of Christmas preparations makes their return anything but restful.
Slay Bells
by Kate Kingsbury
2006
A Christmas party at the Pennyfoot goes badly wrong when holiday cheer gives way to murder. Cecily has to keep the festivities afloat while untangling a deadly seasonal mess.
Shrouds of Holly
by Kate Kingsbury
2007
Christmas greenery, missing men, and a grim discovery send Cecily into another winter investigation. Holiday charm is everywhere, but so is danger.
Ringing in Murder
by Kate Kingsbury
2008
Wedding plans and holiday bustle should keep Cecily busy enough, yet murder intrudes once again. At the Pennyfoot, even the most cheerful season comes with deadly complications.
Decked with Folly
by Kate Kingsbury
2009
The hotel is dressed for Christmas, but someone has brought trouble in with the decorations. Cecily faces another holiday mystery full of nerves, secrets, and suspicious guests.
Mistletoe and Mayhem
by Kate Kingsbury
2010
Friends, family, and holiday visitors pack the Pennyfoot just in time for murder. Cecily must cut through the seasonal confusion before mayhem becomes tragedy.
Herald of Death
by Kate Kingsbury
2011
A strange pattern of killings unsettles Badgers End during Christmas, and Cecily sees danger closing in fast. The festive mood darkens as she hunts a killer with a chilling signature.
The Clue is in the Pudding
by Kate Kingsbury
2012
Christmas dinner at the Pennyfoot demands perfection, but murder ruins the menu. Cecily follows a trail of small domestic clues that may point to something much worse.
Mulled Murder
by Kate Kingsbury
2013
Staff shortages and holiday expectations already have Cecily stretched thin when another body turns up. Christmas at the Pennyfoot is warm, lively, and unexpectedly lethal.
A Perilous Promise
by Kate Kingsbury
2016
This shorter Pennyfoot tale pairs Edwardian atmosphere with an old promise that leads straight into danger. Even away from a full hotel season, Cecily cannot avoid a mystery for long.
A Merry Murder
by Kate Kingsbury
2019
It is Christmas at the reopened Pennyfoot, and Cecily Sinclair Baxter hopes for celebration, not another corpse. When a young maid is threatened with arrest, she steps back into sleuthing to protect her staff.
Series background & context
The Pennyfoot books are classic cozy mysteries with a strong hotel twist. Set in Edwardian England, they revolve around the Pennyfoot Hotel in the seaside town of Badgers End, where comfort, routine, and reputation matter a great deal. The woman at the center is Cecily Sinclair, later Cecily Sinclair Baxter, who ought to be focused on guests, meals, staff problems, and the endless work of keeping a fashionable hotel afloat.
Instead, murder keeps checking in.
That tension is what gives the series so much of its charm. Cecily is practical, observant, and not especially patient with foolishness. When a guest dies, a maid falls under suspicion, or village gossip starts hiding something darker, she cannot help getting involved. The local authorities are not always quick to see what is right in front of them, and Cecily understands better than most how much can be concealed by money, manners, and polished social ritual.
The hotel setting does a lot of work here. Kingsbury gets to move easily between upstairs and downstairs worlds, wealthy visitors, overworked servants, local tradespeople, loyal staff, and the ordinary chaos of a business where appearances are everything. A case never affects just one person. It threatens the running of the hotel, the trust inside the staff, and the fragile standing the Pennyfoot has built with its guests. Hugh Baxter becomes an important part of that world, and the books are at their best when hotel management, village life, and sleuthing all start bumping into one another.
Many of the later entries are Christmas mysteries, which turns out to be a perfect fit. The decorations go up, the kitchens are stretched to the limit, the guest list gets longer, and everybody is supposed to be cheerful. Of course, that only makes the secrets stand out more sharply. Kingsbury is very good at using holiday bustle to raise the pressure while keeping the tone warm and readable.
These are not hard-edged crime novels. They are gentler than that, but never empty. The pleasure comes from the mix of setting, character, and puzzle. If you like seaside England, hotel drama, small social embarrassments that grow into bigger trouble, and an amateur sleuth who has every reason to mind her own business and never quite does, Pennyfoot is an easy series to sink into.
It is cozy, but not sleepy. That is the trick.
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