Murder at the Mayfair Hotel

Cleopatra Fox Mysteries, Book 1

By: C. J. Archer

Narrated by: Marian Hussey

Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

It was the most fashionable place to stay in London, until murder made a reservation. Solve the puzzle in this new mystery from USA Today bestselling author of the Glass and Steele series.

December 1899. After the death of her beloved grandmother, Cleopatra Fox moves into the luxury hotel owned by her estranged uncle in the hopes of putting hardship and loneliness behind her. But the poisoning of a guest throws her new life, and the hotel, into chaos.

Cleo quickly realizes no one can be trusted, not Scotland Yard and especially not the hotel’s charming assistant manager. With the New Year’s Eve ball approaching fast and the hotel’s reputation hanging by a thread, Cleo must find the killer before the ball, and the hotel itself, are ruined. But catching a murderer proves just as difficult as navigating the hotel’s hierarchy and the peculiarities of her family.

Can Cleo find the killer before the new century begins? Or will someone get away with murder?

©2020 C. J. Archer (P)2020 C. J. Archer

Hussey or a Lady?

Which provoked me more? I first heard Marian Hussey perform Monsters and Manners. I quickly fell in love with the narratrix and the series! Murder and the Mayfair was recommended to me on Audible and when I saw Marian's name I was sold. Next came the Lady, Cleo Fox. Her story was charming and elegant yet grimy and cheesy. Overall I adored the storyline and the characters. I kept thinking Cleo and Harry would end up together but the story (mostly) let out romance which ended in relief for this novel. Just a new girl trying to fit in while Curiosity drew her to solve a crime. Very entertaining indeed.

Wonderful New Series

Wonderful new series by one of my favorite authors! I can hardly wait for the next one.

Drawn out but a decent story

The main character is a sheltered poor rich girl. The social issues and limitations for this time period is annoying but accurate. Took a while to get to the murder and sidetracked but I was invested.

Second time around

Love CJ Archer series. Making a second round on some series as waiting new additions.

Fantastic!

This was such a fun book. I loved the characters and the narrator did an excellent job of bringing them to life!

Can't wait to listen to more!

I loved the characters and the narrator was great. It was such a great story and kept me entertained throughout. I'm looking forward to the other books in the series.

Annoyingly naive heroine

Cleo has few redeeming characteristics and is determined to plow down obviously incorrect avenues for 3/4 of the book. She throws people under the bus with wild accusations without a second thought, while breaking numerous rules and laws herself. Also, most of the other characters were very shallow and had personalities that vacillated from hot to cold so quickly and without reason that it felt very forced, unrealistic, and not appropriate for the time period.
The reader did a lovely job with the voices and made it easy to follow who said what.

A Great start for a series

Delighted I found this book and look forward to more. Narrator is exceptional. Great characters.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Author was thorough while not getting too caught up in description. Humorously and mysteriously written. Enjoyed!

Fun and fast-paced

I loved the ensemble of characters and how they interacted in this upstairs downstairs cozy murder mystery. Cleo is perfectly placed to be the go between the two levels of society. The mystery was well done with perfectly timed red herrings and enough jumping to conclusions to entertain anyone. Cleo and Harry have great chemistry with just the right touch of sexual heat and antagonism to make you want to see what may develop between them. If you like a cozy murder mystery with engaging characters and well developed dialogue you will like this book. The narrator was most excellent.