Murder at the Dolphin Hotel: A Gripping Cozy Historical Mystery

A Miss Underhay Mystery, Book 1

By: Helena Dixon

Narrated by: Alex Tregear

A room with a view...to murder

June 1933. Independent, young Kitty Underhay has been left in charge of her family’s hotel, The Dolphin, on the tranquil English coast. She’s expecting her days at the bustling resort to be filled with comfortable chatter with chambermaids as they polish the mahogany desks and glittering candelabras of the elegant foyer. Everything must be perfect for the arrival of a glamorous jazz singer from Chicago and a masked ball that will be the cultural highlight of the season.

But when several rooms are broken into and searched, including Kitty’s own, she quickly realizes that something out of the ordinary is afoot at the hotel. Soon, rumors are flying in the cozy town that someone is on the hunt for a stolen ruby. A ruby that Kitty’s mother may well have possessed when she herself went missing during the Great War. And when the break-ins are followed by a series of attacks and murders, including of the town’s former mayoress, it seems the perpetrator will stop at nothing to find it.

Aided by ex-army captain Matthew Bryant, the Dolphin’s new security officer, Kitty is determined to decipher this mystery and preserve not only the reputation of her hotel, but also the lives of her guests. Is there a cold-blooded killer under her own roof? And what connects the missing jewel to the mystery from Kitty’s own past?

A classic murder mystery! Fans of Agatha Christie, Elizabeth Edmondson, and T. E. Kinsey will love this whodunit.

©2019 Helena Dixon (P)2019 Bookouture

Fun English cozy mystery

If you’re looking for a light, fun, typically English cozy mystery, you’ll enjoy this book. Cute story, well performed. Not great literature, but it’s not meant to be. Entertaining and enjoyable.

Good story, reader has pronunciation issues

A bit of a convoluted story, but entertaining, with the crowd of characters keep interesting.

Reader did excellent characterizations, but has some painful pronunciations, which can jar you out if the story. Luckily, they were one offs, not words used repeatedly.

Excellent start of a new cozy series!

I can't wait to read/listen to the next book in the Underhay series, This was such a well developed beginning. Great characters and back stories are always the most important element and this really gives a feel for the personalities, their history and their place. The historical elements were very interesting and descriptive enough to give me a sense of having been in the room, or the sidewalk.
The description of the book gives you the overview, I hope it entices you to jump in, because it is very entertaining.
Narration - very good. Male voices and female with accents well done.

Loved it!

Well done and fun to listen to . Story line was good and narrator was nice to listen to!

Enjoyable lightweight mystery.

I liked the characters I was meant to like and didn’t like the dastardly ones! Good ending.

Loved this one!

Sometimes it’s just nice to escape into a good story. This one is a great choice for that. I enjoyed the characters and the tale and the inevitable happy ending. There are a lot of open plot lines so future episodes in the series should have opportunities to develop if you enjoy reading series novels. I highly recommend giving this one a listen.

One serious flaw

Otherwise, it wasn't a bad start to a new series.

A character described as a black Chicago native shouldn't sound like a white woman from NC! British narrator failed on how to handle that; I had to keep reminding myself the woman wasn't white.

A great “listen”…

A fun listen. Great character development, however I’m not fond of the narrator’s breathy southern belle voice for a black, female vocalist. It did not work for me. Problem solved in the next book I’m sure. Highly recommend the series.

Wonderful

I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next one in this series. Thank you

Not a terrible read.

I can't put my finger on the reason this book left me unsatisfied. The narrator was adequate: The story mildly amusing. I guess I just couldn't identify with the characters. I wanted to love this book but toward the end, I just wanted it to be over.