Pinnacle Hotel #3
This adorable series continues to be both adorable and thoughtful. The heroine, hotel heiress and agoraphobe Evelyn Murphy, dresses almost completely in pink and dyes her hair blonde like her idol, Marilyn. It’s 1958 and Elvis rules, as does Evelyn’s spoiled pom, Presley. Evelyn’s almost boyfriend Mac has taken off for parts unknown, and so she’s entertaining ideas of other suitors throughout the book.
The main story, however, centers on the “Ladies Who Love to Sparkle”, women who sell costume jewellery, Tupperware party style. As Evelyn enjoys tea in her hotel’s dining room, one of the sparkle ladies asks her to join them. They share their catalogue, and all share a glass of champagne. So far so good, but then the leader of the group collapses in Evelyn’s lap and later dies in the hospital.
Evelyn, who never leaves the hotel, decides that this death is a murder, not an accident, and using the many tools she has at her disposal – including a private detective she keeps on hand – she begins her sleuthing. The sleuthing does involve her actually leaving the hotel. I’m not exactly sure how Evelyn’s agoraphobia would have been viewed or treated in the 50’s – my reference here is Betty Draper’s treatment in Mad Men, where her doctor reported her progress back to her husband. But Evelyn does have a doctor who is encouraging her to change her routine and try and get outside the hotel. And she does.
Those moments are a triumph, and it certainly aids Evelyn’s sleuthing for her to meet her suspects on their home turf. She’s often escorted by Henry, a movie star, who is secretly gay and often uses Evelyn as a beard. The two are genuine friends, however, and Henry is another useful member of Evelyn’s sleuthing arsenal.
Golden is good at keeping her story percolating, including a possible romance with a lawyer and the new hotel piano player, who is very dashing. Evelyn and her assistant and friend Poppy are also putting together a gala for charity which is more or less the denouement of the novel, in classic golden age style.
While Evelyn appears fluffy and dumb, she really has good instincts and ways of figuring out what’s happening. She reminds me a bit of Joan Coggin‘s creation of Lady Lupin, who marries “down” (a vicar) and makes her way through village life with a startling amount of perception and humor. Evelyn shares Lady Lupin’s style and charm.
The mystery part is also quite clever and while the suspect pool is pretty small, Golden manages to create suspense and a bit of a thrill at the end of the novel which also includes a cliffhanger, making any reader more than ready for the next instalment. — Robin Agnew