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Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries Books in Order

Part ofKate Kingsbury Books in Order

See 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

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23 books

1

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.

2

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.

3

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.

4

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.

5

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.

6

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.

7

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.

8

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.

9

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.

10

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.

11

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.

12

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.

13

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.

14

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.

15

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.

16

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.

17

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.

18

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.

19

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.

20

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.

21

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.

22

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.

23

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.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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