The socialite is Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy, a young woman whose father owns the Pinnacle Hotel. Evelyn hasn't left the hotel in 14 months and rationalizes that she has no need to do so, for everything she could want is in this upscale hotel. It's 1958 and she's the "girlfriend" of Henry Fox, a gay actor who is her best friend. She has another good friend at the hotel‒Mac‒who's a bellhop who walks her dog Presley and helps to pick locks for her snooping, as needed.
The hotel is the site for a party for artist Billie Bell, who plans to unveil his latest masterpiece, but when the drape is removed, the painting is missing. Later, Evelyn discovers the artist himself has been murdered. Evelyn, who reads Agatha Christie and other prominent mystery writers of the time, is determined to solve the theft and the murder and to win over Police Detective Hodgson, who has failed to appreciate her at all.
The novel portrays agoraphobia in the self-obsessed (and dog-obsessed) title character believably. I'm not sure whether I'll read other titles in the Pinnacle Hotel Mystery series, but maybe...
No comments:
Post a Comment