Who doesn't love a good classic mystery story and this is the first in the series, I can't wait for more so much fun!

“Kitty Underhay was on reception duty at her grandmother’s hotel.”  Thus begins “Murder at the Dolphin Hotel,” first of a cozy mystery series by Helena Dixon, set in Dartmouth, England in 1933.  Well, not quite the beginning, but close enough.

Immediately she’s graphically treated to a description of a murder victim – just as her grandmother’s going off and leaving the hotel in her hands.  Soon readers found out there’s a threat against Kitty – at least her grandmother thinks there is, and has taken steps to protect her.  Trouble is, she hasn’t bothered to tell Kitty about the new man she’s hired to oversee security.  But the new “security agent,” Matt Bryant at least has a plausible reason for being there – he tells Kitty he’s been hired to protect the hotel.  She doesn’t like it, but there’s nothing she can do about it.  And so, we’re off, to find out along with Matt where the threat is coming from.  We’ve already been told what Grandmother thinks.  She’s receiving threatening letters.

There’s family secrets involved.  A missing mother and father.  And Matt has secrets and sorrows of his own.  Obviously designed to draw these two together.  It isn’t subtle.  The author does tease us with who might be behind it all.  She throws out some interesting clues.  

The famous jazz entertainer at the hotel says she’s seen her father, very recently.  So why hasn’t he come by?  

And someone attacks a friend of her grandmother. One of the hotel’s long-time staff is killed. Things are coming closer to home.  

What’s this treasure that everyone is looking for, then?  A gemstone, it turns out.  And a great many people think that Kitty has it.  There’s a whole lot of people looking for it, that’s for sure.

The final scene is thriller-ish.  Will our hero come to the rescue?  Of course, he will.  And family ties will be revived.

While the book moved along well and was plotted well, this is romance masquerading as mystery – make no mistake, that is what this is.  There’s also not much sense of time or place.  Where is the Dartmouth, Devon of 1933?  Would have wanted to see more of that.  This is a historical mystery, after all. 

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for a copy of this book, in exchange for this review.

This isn't the first Cozy Mystery but I have to say that although I enjoyed this story I have to say that there were way to many characters. Which made the story hard to follow.  The story flowed well and I did enjoy it for the most part.  There were parts that were kind of on the boring side.  One other thing about this story is that it was WAY descriptive.  But I enjoyed it enough that I would like to check out the next title in the series. This is definitely one of those titles that you either will enjoy it or you won't.  


Go Into This One Knowing: Very Descriptive, Multiple Characters

A pleasantly surprising cozy mystery and a light and delightful read. 

I was unsure about this book in the early going, but quickly came around to its charming characters and propulsive plot. 

This book relies less on atmosphere than most cozy mysteries, which concerned me at first but felt like a nonissue by the end of the book. And while the solve is not exceptional, it’s perfectly fine. 

Perhaps most intriguing is how well this book sets up the future installments of the series with several engaging storylines that have me eager for the next volume. 

And finally, it’s worth mentioning that this is one of those books where the mere act of reading it feels like a joy unto itself. More of Kitty and the rest of this charming cast of characters, please!

Murder at the Dolphin Hotel is a fun, 1930s-set, cosy English murder mystery. It is written in a modern way but still evokes the classic Golden Age style.

Kitty is smart and engaging and I liked her immensely; Matthew is charming and brave, and both are fully rounded characters. The Dartmouth of summer 1933 is also vividly brought to life, as are the realities of people still recovering from the horrors of the war.

The story moves along at a brisk pace and includes a number of whodunit staples – mysterious strangers, family secrets, hidden jewels and multiple murders, with lots of red herrings and plenty of suspects.

I loved Helena Dixon’s clear, easy style of writing and they way the narrative was shared by Kitty and Matthew. I thoroughly enjoyed the well-plotted story and did not at all manage to guess whodunit!

I loved getting to know Kitty and Matthew and am delighted to see there is already a second instalment of this engaging series due out.

Cosy mysteries are right up my alley, I love the setting in Dartmouth (near the sea and near the birth place of Agatha Christie) and I'm very interested in the 1930's so I couldn't miss this book. I could almost imagine Hercule Poirot on vacation in the area!

This is an excellent mystery, it is very well written with unexpected plot twists and a satisfying ending. The main characters are  very likeable and have great chemistry. I cannot wait to read the future stories and see how the characters develop.

I'm extremely happy to have discovered a new author and recommend her to anyone interested in cosy mysteries.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Murder at the Dolphin Hotel is a great mystery with interesting characters and storyline. The book is well written and the characters are well developed.

This is an intriguing, cosy, well paced, historical murder mystery that I found delightful to escape into and a lovely page turner.

Kitty Underhay’s mother disappeared without trace when she was a child. Kitty was brought up by her grandmother, the owner of the Dolphin Hotel, where they both live. It is in 1933 that Kitty’s grandmother travels to look after her sister. Kitty is left in charge of the hotel, unaware of the mysterious notes her Gran has received. She is surprised to meet Matthew Bryant, who her Gran has employed as additional security during her absence without mentioning anything to Kitty. An accident, hotel rooms being broken into and searched, more mentions of Kitty’s missing Mum, all add to the suspense as the story unfolds and show just how necessary Matthew’s role is. Just what are burglars searching for? How does Kitty’s Mum have a role in all this? Can Kitty and Matthew work together to uncover just what is happening – and why?

This is a delightful read that takes you right to the heart of the story from the very start. The author’s writing style is engaging, the plot intriguing and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the dramatic finale. I’ll definitely be looking out for more in this series in future and have no hesitation in highly recommending it to anyone who enjoys cosy historical mysteries!

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest review after choosing to read it and enjoying doing so.

I absolutely love discovering new authors and I especially like discovering new authors in the crime and mystery genre.  Helena Dixon is definitely a new author for me.  The synopsis for 'Murder At The Dolphin Hotel' certainly sounded like the sort of read I would enjoy and I must be psychic because that's exactly what happened.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Murder At The Dolphin Hotel' but more about that in a bit.
Kitty Underhay is an extremely likeable young lady and it took me no time at all to warm to her.  She hasn't had it easy in life.  Her mother vanished from her life a good few years before the main part of the story takes place and nothing has been heard from her since her disappearance.  Kitty lives with her grandmother in the family hotel, which is called 'The Dolphin Hotel'.  Her grandmother has been training up her granddaughter to eventually take over when she passes away or retires.  That said, Kitty's grandmother doesn't seem to have much faith in her abilities because she doesn't think that her granddaughter will be able to cope with running a busy hotel when she (grandmother) goes to visit her sister.  Her grandmother is also worried about the fact that she feels Kitty is going to be in danger during her absence, as she has received some concerning letters.  Kitty is more capable than her grandmother thinks.  She is lovely, witty, fun to be around,, friendly, kind hearted, compassionate, helpful, inquisitive, determined, occasionally stubborn and definitely tenacious.  Is Kitty's grandmother right to be so concerned?  Will Kitty manage to solve the case?  Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out.
To say that 'Murder At The Dolphin Hotel' is addictive reading is a huge understatement.  I was hooked on this book right from the start and I found it extremely hard to put the book down for any length of time.  I became so wrapped up in the story that I was able to shut out all other distractions, which is unusual for me.  Usually I have the attention span of a gnat and I am easily distracted but not in this case.  The pages turned at a furious rate as I galloped my way through the book.  I think that as I had taken to Kitty so well that I needed to know if she solved the case and if she survived.  I reached the end of the book far quicker than I had wanted to.  I was wanting to ration how much of the book I read at any one time so I could prolong my enjoyment of the story but I was enjoying the book so much that any attempts at rationing were thrown out of the window.
'Murder At The Dolphin Hotel' is really well written.  The author certainly knows how to start the story with a bang or in this case in the form of a newspaper report about the disappearance of Kitty's mother.  I loved the fact that the author has set this book in the 1930s, which is a period that fascinates me.  Through Helena's very vivid and realistic descriptions, I really did feel as though I had been picked up and transported back to the Thirties with all the relevant sights and sounds.  I also felt as though I was part of the story myself.  
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Murder At The Dolphin Hotel' and I will definitely be recommending it to other readers.  I look forward to reading many more books in the series featuring Kitty Underhay.  Fortunately I don't have too long to wait because the second book in the series called 'Murder At Enderley Hall' is due for release on 19th March 2020.  The score on the board for 'Murder At The Dolphin Hotel' just has to be 5* out of 5*.

As soon as I saw the setting I knew I wanted to read this. I spent many happy holidays in Dartmouth as a child, and remember looking out at the beautiful view of the river from a hotel window just as Kitty does in the story. Plus I always enjoy a good cosy set in the 1930's!

So Murder at the Dolphin Hotel ticked several boxes for me before I even started to read it. It also turned out to be an excellent mystery with many twists and turns and an unpredictable ending. I enjoyed the characters and look forward to reading more about them in future books.

A good story well told and recommended to followers of the genre.

Exciting Cozy British Mystery
This is the first of a new series that should be fantastic. This story brings to mind 'The Maltese Falcon'. There are plenty of twists and turns, subterfuge and misdirection. In short, a mystery lover's mystery. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Kitty Underhay's mother disappeared when she was five; her father was gone even before then. She grew up with her grandmother at the Dolphin Hotel. During the summer of 1933, Kitty's great-aunt is ill so her grandmother travels to be with her leaving Kitty and the regular staff to run the hotel. Also present will be the new security officer, Matthew Bryant.  He was a captain in the military and trained to help protect. 
Why a new security officer? Kitty doesn't know this but her grandmother has been receiving threatening letters. They imply that there is something valuable at the hotel and the sender wants it back. And there's a mysterious death. Then another. It's up to Kitty to figure out what's going on.
I liked the character development and forgave a little bit of shallowness for this being a first book but I also felt like the story was well built out. There were people thrown in at the end that weren't even well-disguised red herrings. Connections between characters magically appeared. And while the book started off strong, there was some time in the middle that I had to force myself to pick up the book to keep going. I hope that some of these things (story, character building, pacing) will be worked out in the next book in the series.

Three stars
This book came out December 11th
ARC kindly provided by Bookouture and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

As much as I love a heart-racing, hang onto your seat thriller, there’s something about slowing down and being completely engrossed in a cozy mystery during the holiday season that I absolutely love.

The Murder at the Dolphin Hotel takes place in the summer of 1933 in Dartmouth, England. Mrs. Treadwell (Grams) owns the beautiful Dolphin hotel, which is always bustling during the summer. However, Grams must reluctantly leave since her sister took quite the tumble resulting in some broken bones. While Grams trusts her granddaughter Kitty Underhay to run the hotel in her absence, she decides to hire ex-army Captain Matthew Bryant as head of security to keep an eye on things. The timing couldn’t be more perfect since Grams been receiving some ominous and threatening letters regarding some sort of treasure.

While Kitty may have brushed off Grams concerns at first, strange things start happening. After Kitty discovers that someone has rummaged through her belongings and people are being attacked/murdered, she realizes that she may actually be in serious danger. Matt and Kitty realize that they have to work together in order to figure out what is happening before Kitty loses the hotel or her life.

From the very first chapter, I was sucked into this storyline. I loved that Kitty is an independent and headstrong woman that is capable of not only running a hotel in the 1930s, but that she can also help solve mysteries without completely losing her sanity. She was such a fantastic character to get behind. Matt and Kitty were a lot of fun to watch together and complement each other throughout the story. They make a fantastic team, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for them in the future. I loved all the twists and turns that this whodunnit presented, which left me guessing up until the very end.

Overall, if you’re looking for a great cozy murder mystery then definitely give this one a read!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing an eARC for review. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

"They fetched a body out the river this morning"

With a dead body virtually on her doorstep, Kitty really wasn't thinking anything amiss.  But when she feels herself purposefully pushed into the path of an oncoming coal lorry, she starts to wonder.   On discovering that her room had been methodically searched, she's sure there's something going on. 

And so starts her adventure.  Kitty is determined to solve this, even if the local constabulary seems to not give it too much importance.  

This is my first encounter with Dixon's writing,  but what an introduction!   Endearing, engaging characters; and a fast moving plot line filled with unexpected twists and turns.   This is a whodunit that you will not want to put down till it's done! 

I really enjoyed Dolphin Hotel, cannot wait to read more by this wonderful writer! 

[I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via NetGalley, and am leaving an honest review of the book.   The opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]

It’s 1933 and Kitty Underhay is helping her grandmother, Mrs Treadwell run the Dolphin Hotel. Kitty has lived with her grandmother since she her mother went missing years before. Despite several attempts to locate her mother, she has never been found. 
Mrs Treadwell leaves Kitty in charge of the hotel when she has to go away to look after a relative, but not before she employs Captain Matthew Bryant, a war hero who is still troubled by his past, to come and keep an eye on Kitty and look after the security of the hotel. What Mrs Treadwell hasn’t shared with her granddaughter is that someone has been sending anonymous threatening letters to her. When matters take a more sinister turn, Kitty and Matthew make it their business to find out exactly who is behind it all and what it is they are looking for.
I loved this cosy mystery. There were many twists and turns and I couldn’t wait to find out the identity of the perpetrator behind the crimes. I look forward to reading more in this series. 
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

1933. Seventeen years have passed since Kitty Underhay's mother, Elowed, disappeared. Kitty now co-runs the Dolphin Hotel with her grandmother Mrs Treadwell. But Mrs Treadwell has been receiving threatening letters and has employed a Captain Matthew Bryant to investigate and keep Kitty safe, while she travels to Scotland to look after her inujred sister.
But several murders later Inspector Grenville, Bryant and Kitty are no further solving the cases.
An enjoyable and well-written cozy historical mystery. It also has some very likeable characters and I look forward to reading more about them, seeing how they and their relationships will develop.
Overall a good solid start to a new series.

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of Helena Dixon’s ‘Murder at the Dolphin Hotel’ in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in a series of cosy mysteries set in the 1930s featuring amateur sleuth Miss Underhay.

June 1933 - Kitty Underhay lives in Dartmouth at the hotel that has been in their family since the 16th Century where she assists her grandmother in its day to day running. After receiving a number of disturbing letters, her grandmother decides to hire former Army Captain Matthew (Matt) Bryant to look after security at the hotel and keep an eye on Kitty.

When her grandmother is called away to care for a family member, a number of incidents occur at the hotel and bodies start mounting up locally. A glamorous American Jazz singer has been booked to headline the hotel’s summer entertainment. Yet she also brings news of Kitty’s father, who had abandon his family and Britain at the start of the Great War. 

In addition, rumours of a valuable gemstone left in the possession of Kitty’s mother (also missing since the war) brings various baddies out of the woodwork. The local police are flailing about (very much in the tradition of coppers in Golden Age Detective fiction) leaving Kitty and Matt no choice but to step in to solve the various mysteries. 

This was a fun whodunnit with two appealing leads. It had just the right combination of tension and cosiness. I feel that it is a very promising opening to this series and look forward to reading the next outing for Kitty and friends.

In one of my favorite genres, cozy mysteries, Murder at the Dolphin Hotel introduces readers to a new amateur detective as well as a new series.

The very first thing that I enjoyed about this book is the setting. It is 1933 and is in Dartmouth, England. Kitty Underhay is suddenly manager of her grandmother's hotel. Kitty is new at her job, and her grandmother, lovingly called Grams, also hires ex-captain Matthew Bryant to watch over things as she has to deal with an emergency in Scotland and is very concerned with Kitty's safety.

This is in large part to the fact that Grams had received threatening notes. What is more is the fact there might be a missing treasure of sorts in the hotel. So, Kitty and Matthew become aware that several rooms are being searched. Kitty even notices that her room was searched as well. Kitty has more than one near miss with her life, so she and Matthew become extremely vigilant to sort out what is going on.

Sadly, several townspeople are murdered and some are attacked. Everything going on points to the Dolphin Hotel. One more layer of this entertaining story is that Kitty has not seen her father in years, yet it seems that he is indeed around and has been spotted by a couple of the hotel's guests.

All of these factors work very well together to create a nice, enjoyable start to this series. Both Kitty and Matthew are likable characters. Add to this excellent prose and you just might see why I read this book in one sitting. This novel is one that I am glad to have read and I do look forward to continuing in this series.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

When her grandmother must travel to Scotland to care for an ailing relative, Kitty Underhay is left in charge of running the family's hotel during their greatest entertainment booking. After receiving several mysterious and threatening notes, Kitty's grandmother enlists a a former military man, Captain Matt Bryant to make sure everything is safe and secure in her absence.

Now with a murder so close to the hotel's front doors and rooms within in the hotel being secreted into and searched, it appears that her grandmother's fears may not be unfounded. As the crimes and danger seem to crouch ever closer, Matt and Kitty must work to find the answers they need before it's too late.
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Murder at the Dolphin Hotel is the first book in Helena Dix0n's new cozy myserty series, A Miss Underhay Mystery. I liked the mystery, the premise was great and I was intrigued trying to solve the mytery alongside Matt and Kitty. The book had a strong start that really pulled me in and, as this is one of my favorite genres, I was fully prepared to love this book. This book flowed really well, was a quick read, and I enjoyed the author's writing style.

As a cozy historical mystery, this book is a must-read. But there was too many moving parts and not enough connection to the main characters for me to be fully invested. Honestly there were so many characters and all were connected in some way, but there waas no real weight to them. And even with multiple deaths, the sense of danger driving Matt and Kitty did not seem to be very high and they did not seem to feel terribly affected at all.

My biggest complaint about this book was the seeming disconnect that I felt between the timelines for our two main characters for the first 3/4 of the book. When taking into account their ages during the war and then their lives since, it seemed as though more time must have passed for one charater than the other, Doing the math, we're talking about 19 years. 19 years have passed for Kitty, but it seems has though maybe only half that has passed for Matt. What is the age difference here? Because it seems from context that it must be much larger than what the math would signify. Maybe I was missing something? But this disconnect was really all I could focus on throughout most my reading and it really brought down my enjoyment of the book.

I would be interested in continuing with this series. Partially because I love a mystery and partially because I'm curious to see if these timelines would be cleared up for me as we learn more about out characters and their backgrounds. I would recommend Murder at the Dolphin Hotel to fans of cozy historical mysteries.
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Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for sharing an eARC of Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon for reviewing purposes. This is my honest review.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it’s a cozy mystery set in Dartmouth 1933. People still recovering after the First World War. Kitty Underhay is left to run her Grandmothers hotel whilst she has to go and look after great Aunt Livvy. Kitty knows the hotel well, and is no doubt that she is capable of running it for the time her grandmother is away. But what she doesn’t know, is that her grandmother has received some letters that are threatening to take something away. But what? Captain Matthew Bryant is hired as someone to watch over Kitty to make sure she is safe. Then things start happening, murders, kitty’s room is ransacked, fire, but what are they looking for? And who is it? What happened to Kitty’s mother after she disappeared in 1916?  Is her father around?  Kitty doesn’t know what he looks like as she hasn’t seen him since she was a baby.  But someone claims to have seen him in London recently, someone who knew her mother as well.

This is one of those lovely books that you can easily read in a sitting or two, the characters are very well rounded and relatable, there are some you wonder are they involved in what’s happening at the hotel, or are they just Red Herrings of which there are plenty just to keep you guessing. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Thank you to #netgalley and #Bookouture for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.