DEATH AT THE SAVOY - Ron Base & Prudence Emery


1963 London is an intoxicating, exciting time.  Hollywood stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton can be seen, bickering in bars. Noel Coward might not be too far away, champagne glass in hand. And if the night is right and the light is right, you might even catch a glimpse of Princess Margaret, all at the Savoy Hotel.  Quite the grand place to be seen.  Unless, that is, there's a dead body in one of the rooms and you're a young hotel worker from Canada and the police have their eyes on you as the murderer.  Such is the problem facing the young, attractive Priscilla Tempest.

It doesn't help that Priscilla tends to enjoy the perks of her job (being in the press office for the Savoy) such as the slightly-more-than-occasional champagne, and she always seems to fall for the wrong man - one who brings trouble wherever he goes. So when it is learned that Priscilla spent time with the deceased man (who was an illegal arms dealer) the night before he was found dead, Scotland Yard's Inspector Robert Lightfoot and the hotel's manager, Clive Banville, keep the young Canadian until a close watch.

Since she knows she's not the murderer, Priscilla must find a way to elude Lightfoot, keep out of trouble but keep Banville happy, and uncover the real culprit.  It's a good thing she's got tenacity going for her!

I haven't read a lot of historical fiction set in the 1960's but, hey, why not?  It was maybe as an exciting time and as full of dramatic social change as was the 1920's. And for some of us, the people and places that put the history into perspective are still familiar in our minds. So: the Savoy Hotel, 1960's Liz Taylor & Richard Burton, a murder mystery ... a recipe for success!  But that recipe still needs to be baked right, and this one isn't quite.

There might have been a little too much time spent trying to establish the historical aspects, and tossing around the familiar (real) people to give this some context, and not enough time actually letting us in on who Priscilla really is.  I never felt as though I got a good sense of her character and what makes her worthy of having her own story.  She's quite unremarkable with just enough spunk to keep us reading. 

But my general reaction throughout the book was: "What? Why"

Even the whole concept of being set in the 60's was a let-down.  This could have been in the 20's.  Or the 40's. There was just nothing special about the time-frame other than the names of the people who passed through the space.  

I'm not sure how many books there are in the series, but this is probably the last one for me.

Looking for a good book? Priscilla Tempest is not nearly as her name might lead one to believe and Death at the Savoy, by Ron Base & Prudence Emery is a mystery set in the 1960's that fizzles rather than excites.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

2-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Death at the Savoy

author: Ron Base & Prudence Emery

series: Priscilla Tempest Mysteries #1

publisher: Douglas & McIntyre

ISBN: 9781771623216

paperback, 288 pages

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