The Socialite’s Guide to Murder by S.K. Golden – Get Ready with Me Character Guest Post + Giveaway

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The Socialite’s Guide to Murder (A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery)
by S. K. Golden

About The Socialite’s Guide to Murder


The Socialite’s Guide to Murder (A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – New York City, 1958
Crooked Lane Books (October 11, 2022)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639101764
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639101764
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09Q7XM28Y

The hotel was her refuge, but scandal is afoot—and a killer stalks the halls in this charming series debut perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ashley Weaver.

 

It’s 1958 and Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy has not left the Pinnacle Hotel in fourteen months. She suffers from agoraphobia, and what’s more, it’s her father’s hotel, and everything she needs is there. Evelyn’s always been good at finding things, she discovered her mother dead in a Manhattan alleyway fifteen years earlier. Now she’s finding trouble inside her sanctuary. At a party for artist Billie Bell, his newest work is stolen, and Evelyn’s fake boyfriend (and real best friend), movie star Henry Fox, is accused of the theft. But just as Evelyn sets out to prove Henry’s innocence, she finds Billie Bell dead.

 

The murder weapon links the crime to the hotel’s chief of security. But why would he use a knife with his initials on the handle? With her beloved home in disarray, Evelyn joins up with hotel employee (and her secret crush) Mac Cooper to get to the bottom of the case.

 

As Mac picks locks and Evelyn snoops around the hotel, they discover the walls around them contain more secrets than they previously knew. Now, Evelyn must force herself to leave the hotel to follow the clues—but when she and Mac set off to chase a lead, their car crashes and they barely escape with their lives. Someone snipped Evelyn’s brake lines, and now the stakes have become dangerously high.

 

Evelyn’s knack for sleuthing—and her playful imagination—are always hard at work, and she throws an elaborate party at the hotel where every guest is a suspect. But will the killer emerge from the glamorous lineup? If not, Evelyn just might find herself…next in line for murder.


GET READY WITH ME
for a party in the 1950s
by Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy

Hello, friends! I have a party to get ready for tonight and while I am looking forward to going with Henry (you know Henry, don’t you? Henry Fox, the movie star? He’s back in New York for his debut on Broadway) because it’s been weeks since I’ve seen him last, I’m not quite in the party going mood. The Pinnacle Hotel is dedicating the entire Silver Room to the artwork of Billie Bell, an artist I’ve never heard of, because one of our regulars – our regulars because Daddy is the owner of the hotel – Countess Drewry, otherwise known as Countess Dreadful, recommended him.

If I must go, I’m going to make it fun by dressing up. To be fair, the best thing about parties is the grand entrance. I thought it would be fun for you to get ready with me, so we can pass the time until Henry arrives, all the way from Hollywood.

First things first: we must start with skincare. My idol, Marilyn Monroe, swears by Erno Lazlo, but I have yet to find anything I like better than Pond’s Cold Crème and a bar of Pears soap. Be sure to moisturize after! I’m using Oil of Olay because I like the pink color.

It’s the little things, isn’t it?

I was by the pool today and ran out of time to do my hair properly, but I did sleep in curlers last night. So all my hair needs is a spritz of water and a light combing. I scrunch my fingers into my hair to help it find its curled shape again. I’m originally brunette, as you could probably tell by my dark eyebrows. But I went blonde about two years ago and I haven’t regretted it for a moment. I keep it short, around my chin, and like it slightly curled best.

I did say Marilyn Monroe was my idol, didn’t I?

Speaking of, if I have to go to a Countess Dreadful party, I’m going to do it style. Marilyn Monroe style. Lorelei Lee, specifically, when she sings that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. But before I can put on my dress, I have to have the right undergarments. A strapless, pink, long-line bra, a coordinating girdle, nude nylons with a seam up the back, a crinoline petticoat, and a few good spritzes of Chanel Number 5. Perfect. All set for the dress.

The dress is just the ginchiest thing. I had it special ordered. Vibrantly pink and strapless, it belts around the waist, and the tea-length skirt tickles my calves. I admired myself in the mirror, already feeling better about the night ahead.

I love getting dressed up. My mother was always so smartly dressed. When I was a child, I thought she was simply the most beautiful woman in the world. There are many things in my life I cannot control, but I can control what I wear, how my hair looks, and what lipstick color I choose. And putting all this thought into my outfits makes me feel closer to my mother, who I miss every single day.

Not everyone likes this sort of thing. I can understand that. I think that, when you have to do something you really don’t want to do, it’s good to reward yourself with something you do like to do. I like to dress up. But I also like to curl up in my bed with my dog and an Agatha Christie novel.

I’ll be doing that later tonight, mark my words. For playing nice with the countess, I’ve earned two good things plus a glass of champagne.

With my dress on and my hair styled and my moisturizer set, it’s time for makeup. Foundation first, followed by a bit of rouge. I want to look dewy and fresh, so I swipe Vaseline along my cheekbones. This is a trick I learned in a magazine about Marilyn Monroe’s makeup routine. Vaseline on the cheekbones, on the bottom lip after lipstick is applied, and a little on the eyelids. White, shimmery eyeshadow makes my dark eyes look bright. Automatic mascara – in a tube, will wonders never cease – make my eyelashes look thick. And the white liner in the waterline makes my eyes look bigger. Of course, you could always apply false lashes, and I know Marilyn wears them, but I have this habit of wrinkling my nose when I’m thinking and the false lashes get in the way. It’s a bad habit, I know, I’m aware of it, but I fear I’ll never be able to stop it so I work around it.

The most important part of the routine is my lips. Red, of course. I line them, carefully, before covering them in multiple coats of Guerlain’s Rouge Diabolique.

All that’s left are my shoes and my jewelry – diamonds, of course – but there’s a knock on the door. I think Henry is here!

Thank you for spending time with me while I got ready for the party! I hope we can spend time together again soon!

To learn more about Evelyn and her adventures solving murders in her father’s hotel, check out her debut novel, a historical, cozy mystery THE SOCIALITE’S GUIDE TO MURDER.


About S. K. Golden

Sarah K Golden is the author of the cozy mystery Murder at the Pinnacle Hotel. Born and raised in the Florida Keys, she married a commercial fisherman. The two of them still live on the islands with their five kids (one boy, four girls — including identical twins!), two cats, and a corgi named Goku. She graduated from Saint Leo University with a bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Administration and has put it to good use approximately zero times. She’s worked as a bank teller, a pharmacy technician, and an executive assistant at her father’s church. Sarah is delighted to be doing none of those things now. She is currently working on book two in the Evelyn Murphy series.

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