Murder at Hotel 1911

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Title:

Murder at Hotel 1911

Author:

Keown, Audrey author.

ISBN:

9781643854960

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

277 pages ; 22 cm

Series:

Ivy Nichols mystery ;

Subject Term:

Panic attacks -- Fiction.

Hotels -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Allergy -- Fiction.

Cooks -- Fiction.

Hotels -- Employees -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Chattanooga (Tenn.) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Mystery fiction.

Summary:

If you want to spend a night amid the luxury and charm of the early 20th century, book a room at Hotel 1911. You'll find 28-year-old Ivy Nichols behind the reception desk. The hotel is Ivy's only link to the family that abandoned her when she was a small child. Now, plagued by panic attacks, she pedals her sea-green Schwinn bicycle to work every evening, hoping desperately to hold on to her job. When wealthy, imperious Ms. Swain arrives at the hotel and belittles Ivy, the young woman seeks consolation in the welcoming kitchen of George, the hotel's chef. Despite her tormentor's barbs, she dutifully informs George that Ms. Swain has a deadly allergy to shellfish. So when Ms. Swain collapses at dinner and dies, the police suspect that the chef made a tragic, inexcusable error. Desperate to save George's career, Ivy sets out sleuthing. She learns that numerous people in and around the hotel had motives to contaminate Ms. Swain's plate. Among them are Jeffrey Swain, the victim's son and heir; painter Rose Jewett; and British expat Hemal Sandeep. Even after the police find traces of shellfish in George's kitchen, Ivy is determined to clear her friend's name. But the stress of the investigation, in a hotel filled with suspects, threatens to precipitate another terrifying panic attack...or something more deadly.

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	MYSTERY KEO	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove)	MYSTERY KEO	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	MYSTERY KEO	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wildwood Library (Mahtomedi)	MYSTERY KEO	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A hotel clerk prone to panic attacks turns amateur detective in this elegant and atmospheric murder mystery.

If you want to spend a night amid the luxury and charm of the early 20th century, book a room at Hotel 1911. You'll find 28-year-old Ivy Nichols behind the reception desk. The hotel is Ivy's only link to the family that abandoned her when she was a small child. Now, plagued by panic attacks, she pedals her sea-green Schwinn bicycle to work every evening, hoping desperately to hold on to her job.

When wealthy, imperious Ms. Swain arrives at the hotel and belittles Ivy, the young woman seeks consolation in the welcoming kitchen of George, the hotel's chef. Despite her tormentor's barbs, she dutifully informs George that Ms. Swain has a deadly allergy to shellfish. So when Ms. Swain collapses at dinner and dies, the police suspect that the chef made a tragic, inexcusable error. Desperate to save George's career, Ivy sets out sleuthing. She learns that numerous people in and around the hotel had motives to contaminate Ms. Swain's plate. Among them are Jeffrey Swain, the victim's son and heir; painter Rose Jewett; and British expat Hemal Sandeep.

Even after the police find traces of shellfish in George's kitchen, Ivy is determined to clear her friend's name. But the stress of the investigation, in a hotel filled with suspects, threatens to precipitate another terrifying panic attack...or something more deadly.

Author Notes

Audrey Keown set her mystery series in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the place she calls home. She lost her heart to the city in the early days of its downtown revival, and its bridges, coffee shops, breweries, parks, and people are its mixtape back to her. For ten years she wrote professionally for Chatter magazine and the Chattanooga Times Free Press , which sharpened her storytelling skills for cutting into fiction writing. Themes of redemption and connection to history often find their way into her work. Like her protagonist, she has battled anxiety and writes about mental illness in her fiction in hopes of helping lift the stigma. This is her first book.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Ivy Nichols, the narrator of Keown's solid debut and series launch, takes the job of night clerk at the period-themed Hotel 1911, which was once the estate of her long-missing mother's wealthy Chattanooga, Tenn., family, many of whom suffered from mental illness. Ivy, who's prone to panic attacks, believes that working in the former family home may give her some insight into her own condition. As a bonus, her best friend, George Anghelescu, is the hotel's acclaimed chef. But when a guest, the loud and unpleasant Amelia Swain, dies of an allergic reaction at dinner, the police suspect George of murder, and Ivy determines to save him from a homicide charge. Plenty of people had motive, but who had the opportunity? Was the ill-tempered Amelia actually the target, or was someone trying to ruin George? The intriguing cast of characters includes the hotel's general manager, the upright Mr. Fig, who knows a lot more than he lets on. Readers will look forward to Ivy's story unfolding in future installments. Keown is off to a good start. Agent: Annie Bomke, Annie Bomke Literary. (Aug.)

Kirkus Review

A secret family connection helps a newly minted amateur sleuth solve a crime. Ivy Nichols, 28, has fought panic attacks ever since her mother vanished when she was a child. Having dropped out of college because of them, Ivy is living with her father, but she lies to him about the job she's taken at a hotel that was once her maternal family's mansion, not wanting to stir up bad memories for him. The owner's conceit is to operate the hotel as it would have been run in 1911, with the staff dressed in period costume and the butler, Mr. Fig, wielding an iron hand. Ivy is delighted with every bit of knowledge she can cull about her family home, from artwork to secret passages, and Mr. Fig, who favors her, is happy to oblige. Trouble commences when wealthy, obnoxious Amelia Swain and her son arrive. Their reservation had not been taken correctly, but Ivy smooths things over while listening to Amelia give dire warnings about her shellfish allergy. Ivy finds comfort and support in George, the hotel chef, who's meticulous about everything in his kitchen. When Amelia dies from an apparent allergy attack, Ivy is certain that George made no mistake, but he lands in trouble with the police and gets put on leave. Now Ivy must focus on discovering who might have wanted Amelia dead and how they accomplished it despite George's insistence that no one else was in the kitchen. Overcoming panic attacks may be the least of her problems as she learns more about her family's past and all too much about the present to suit a clever killer. This character-driven debut combines a knotty mystery with the believable real-life problems of its appealing sleuth. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

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