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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
Finished reading: May 13th 2024
"Perhaps her grandmother had been right to hire Mr. Bryant; extra security might be in order after all. Something terrifying was going on at the Dolphin."
WARNING: it's another unpopular opinion review!!
I confess that the main reason I picked up my copy of Murder At The Dolphin Hotel was because I needed it for one of the remaining prompts of the What's In A Name? challenge. Still, I can't deny that I was in the mood for a cozy mystery and I liked the sound of the 1930s setting as well as the fact that the hotel seems to have an important role in the plot. Add a missing ruby and more than one mystery to solve, and I truly expected to have a great time reading this first book of a series... But in the end this story wasn't able to convince me completely. I think this had a lot to do with the direction this story took. I know a cozy mystery is always lighter on the crime itself, but it almost felt like the mystery was only a sidenote in Murder At The Dolphin Hotel, with the bodies piling up but no proper investigation going on at all. Add the fact that main character Kitty was all over the place and both incredibly naive and making stupid decision after stupid decision, and it just wasn't credible that she even made the discoveries she did. There were also so many stereotypes involved, and this includes our other lead character Matt. Related to this is the romance, which was rather lackluster and felt forced, and I just didn't feel the chemistry between Kitty and Matt at all. Sure, Murder At The Dolphin Hotel is a quick read and the mystery itself is decent, but as a whole the story was quite forgettable and the lackluster romance didn't really help either. Also, I'm not sure up to what point the 1930s setting was portrayed in a consistent way? Either way, I don't think I will be continuing this series, as I can't see myself wanting to spend more time with the main character Kitty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Death, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Murder, and Violence
ladyethyme's review against another edition
2.0
TLDR: 1 Star for one of the most ridiculous, completely stupid heroines, a love interest dry and uninteresting, so completely dull that one could fall asleep reading it, and a hero so utterly incompetent as to be baffling how he can stand up on his own.
Not a particularly bright heroine…Chapt 2 she already is proving her to be pretty ridiculous. Oh, someone has been in your room, went through your stuff?
Let’s see…..should you tell your boss/grandmother who is leaving in a few days?? Hmmmm…lemme think….
Not a particularly bright heroine…Chapt 2 she already is proving her to be pretty ridiculous. Oh, someone has been in your room, went through your stuff?
Let’s see…..should you tell your boss/grandmother who is leaving in a few days?? Hmmmm…lemme think….
hermoine7's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
entangled_bookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
This book has got a sweet romance mixed with a gripping murder mystery which kept my guessing.
Would recommend!
Would recommend!
sarah_moynihan's review against another edition
3.0
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.
____________________________
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.
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.
____
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.
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.
____________________________
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.
Spoiler
Kitty's mother went missing when she was a very young girl, just six years, during the First World War. It's during this same war that Matt is supposed to have fought in and suffered such hardship. But by his own account, he was only 14 when the fighting began. Which granted he could have been old enough to fight for a very short while before the fighting ceased, but this is also a very near thing and stretches the imagination a little. Maybe he lied about his age? But in the interveening 19 years, she has grown up and taken on the responsibility of running the hotel with his grandmother. Whereas his timeline seems to only account for losing Edith and Betty and spending several years in a government position which he has recently given up. Maybe I'm nit-picking here, but I would not equate several years with the better part of two decades.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.
____
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.
kamilla112's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
jo_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
The first in what is obviously going to be a series of cosy mystery books, featuring Miss Underhay.
Kitty Underhay has been left in charge of her family's hotel - the aforementioned Dolphin Hotel whilst her grandmother goes to visit a sick relative.
Her grandmother knows something is wrong as there have been some suspicious letters sent to the hotel and she fears that Kitty may be in danger so she hires a new security officer Matt Bryant whose first job is to protect Miss Kitty.
Kitty is determined that the summer season at the Dolphin Hotel is to go without a hitch, a glamourous jazz singer is due and a masked ball to end the summer season in Dartmouth must go without a hitch and prove to Kitty's grandmother that she is more than capable of running the hotel.
Add to this some robbery, arson, a missing jewel and a few murders everything seems to be coming back to Kitty and her past. Can she possibly solve all of this before she puts herself in danger?
This is a lovely cosy mystery very much lighter than an Agatha Christie but certainly has plenty of nods to the Queen of Crime. Red herrings and twists and turns makes it an enjoyable page turner for any murder mystery fan.
Kitty Underhay has been left in charge of her family's hotel - the aforementioned Dolphin Hotel whilst her grandmother goes to visit a sick relative.
Her grandmother knows something is wrong as there have been some suspicious letters sent to the hotel and she fears that Kitty may be in danger so she hires a new security officer Matt Bryant whose first job is to protect Miss Kitty.
Kitty is determined that the summer season at the Dolphin Hotel is to go without a hitch, a glamourous jazz singer is due and a masked ball to end the summer season in Dartmouth must go without a hitch and prove to Kitty's grandmother that she is more than capable of running the hotel.
Add to this some robbery, arson, a missing jewel and a few murders everything seems to be coming back to Kitty and her past. Can she possibly solve all of this before she puts herself in danger?
This is a lovely cosy mystery very much lighter than an Agatha Christie but certainly has plenty of nods to the Queen of Crime. Red herrings and twists and turns makes it an enjoyable page turner for any murder mystery fan.
shelleyjld's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book. Right before this one, I tried to read “A Very English Murder” and it was abysmal. Despite similar characters and issues and plots, Murder at the Dolphin Hotel is far superior.
The plot is interesting and has enough twists to keep you guessing. The love interest has unexpected depth. The historical references are interesting and purposeful.
Overall, I loved it so much that I immediately read #2, which was also delightful.
The plot is interesting and has enough twists to keep you guessing. The love interest has unexpected depth. The historical references are interesting and purposeful.
Overall, I loved it so much that I immediately read #2, which was also delightful.
leacherry's review against another edition
5.0
Fun and whimsical mystery that will keep you entertained no matter what! The story has smaller mysteries embedded inside the main theme and will keep your mind occupied with thoughts of whodunnit.