This is book two in a series. This is a historical mystery. This had great characters. It is very fast paced. It is written so well.

Apparently I've missed the first in the series. I think I should have read it as there are parts where I feel I've missed something. Despite this, I very much enjoyed the mystery.

This 2nd entry in the Hotel Mysteries by Jim Eldridge is a fast-paced action mystery that begins during the early days of the Blitz, when the Earl of Lancaster is murdered in the bomb shelter underneath the ritzy Savoy Hotel where he and his wife are staying. Lots going on here with regard to both this death and the additional bodies that start piling up as DCI Coburg faces class conflict, interoffice jealousy, potential governmental traitors as well as losing his own home to the indiscriminate bombing of WW2. An interesting mystery and another fine entry in Eldridge's growing list of books.

I do like this series and it is better read as the set but can be a stand alone
The relationship between an aristocratic inspector and his working class sergeant during the blitz is at the heart of these books and they two of them work together seamlessly to find out the killer.
This time it’s a murder in the shelter of the Savoy hotel and a conflict between the residents of the hotel and local people who all want to have the same strong shelter.
Coburg is tasked with investigating and as always all is not what it seems

Murder at the Savoy is the second Hotel Murder historical mystery by Jim Eldridge. Released 21st Oct 2021 by Allison & Busby, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. (Paperback format released 17th March 2022). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is an engaging and well written mystery supposedly set in 1940s London as the blitz is heating up. The main protagonist, a well-heeled Scotland Yard DCI and his colleagues are trying to solve a stabbing murder at the Savoy in the bomb shelter during the bombing by the Luftwaffe. The mystery itself is well wrought and the characters are well delineated and distinct. The historical aspects of the story, however, along with the dialogue and the mores of time as written are distinctly modern and completely anachronistic. I found my suspension of disbelief severely hampered by very modern dialogue or attitudes. This wouldn't normally be a problem, but is more of an issue for historical fiction. The story is also fairly gritty for a historical cozy mystery, and includes on page descriptions of blood and fairly graphic murder (a throat slashing).

Although it's the second book in the series, the necessary character backstories are provided and the mystery itself is self-contained, so it can be satisfyingly read as a standalone. It's an undemanding and pleasant read for fans of British historical mysteries with the aforementioned problematic anachronisms. The third book in the series was published in April, 2022, so the series as a whole is a good candidate for a weekend binge read.

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is the second book in a series called "Hotel Mysteries". I have not read the first one but that did not take away from my reading and enjoying this one. I really enjoyed how the author, Jim Eldridge, included historic events and people in his story. In the beginning, there is a group of people outside the Savoy that want to be allowed to stay in the underground luxurious bunker in order to be safe from the bombs falling in London. Unfortunately for them one of the wealthy guests is murdered that night and they become suspects. DCI Coburg and his partner are assigned the task of finding out a' whodunit'. I really enjoyed this cozy mystery and some of the historical people included in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this story.

I received an ARC of this via NetGalley and the publishers, in return for an unbiased review. This is the latest in the Hotel Mysteries series, and I really enjoyed it - the relationship between Edgar and Rosa has now become a marriage, and she helps him solve the murder. Definitely a good installment in the series, looking forward to the next one! Apologies for the delay in reviewing!

In the second instalment of the Hotel Mysteries series, we once again find ourselves in the middle of wartime Britain. It's the early 1940s and London is still getting bombed frequently, causing a lot of destruction and panic and unrest. Thank god for good old plain murder! And thank god for Chief Inspector Coburg and Sergeant Lampson, who'll solve the case while dealing with pesky aristocrats, pesky communists, those damn Hitler sympathisers, a new wife, headstrong teenagers,...

The Earl of Lancaster gets murdered in the air-raid shelter of the Savoy, after a bunch of outside people from a poorer part of the city invaded the hotel looking for a safe place to sleep during another bombing. Suspicion immediately falls on one of the invaders, among them the estranged son of the Earl. Inspector Lomax arrests the man and assures the Savoy manager that the case is closed. Unfortunately for Lomax, the Savoy owner pulls some strings and Coburg is ordered to take over the case. Good thing too, since the Earl's son definitely didn't kill his father. But then someone else gets murdered at the Savoy, in seemingly the same manner. And the Earl's son had been there when it happened. Did Coburg make a mistake or is there more going on at the Savoy than it seems?

I like that we get glimpses or mentions of real historical figures peppered throughout the story, with appearances from people like Churchill and Agatha Christie. It was also fun to see more of Coburg's private life, as he is now married to Rosa and adjusting to life as a married man. Rosa also sees some action in the story's B-plot, teaming up with Coburg's older brother Magnus on a secret mission.

There's also a C-plot involving Inspector Lomax trying to find dirt on Coburg, as a way of getting revenge for being thrown off the case. To be honest, those scenes became a bit tedious, but they never completely destroyed my enjoyment of the story.

Yes, there's murder and violence and war. But gosh, aren't these books just so fun? I can hardly wait for the next one!

This is the second in Jim Elridge’s hotel Murder series set in World War II. Following on one month from the first story set in the Ritz, this tale begins with the stabbing of an Earl at the Savoy hotel. I thought it was well written, with absolutely flawlessly done characters, and absolutely unputdownable.

<i>Murder at the Savoy</i> is a murder mystery set during WWII, in the opulent Savoy Hotel. The protagonist, DCI Edgar Coburg, is an aristocrat who is a WWI veteran and who is now solving crimes during WWII. <i>Murder at the Savoy</i> is a part of “The Hotel Series” written by the prolific author Jim Eldridge.

The story begins in the midst of the blitz in London. Everyone is trying to find a place to find shelter. In the many poorer areas, shelters are being bombed and people are being killed. Some groups try to enter the Savoy Hotel shelter because an article is published describing what an excellent bomb shelter it is. Some of the impoverished are able to stay one night in the shelter due to the kindness of the doorman but the next morning one of the hotel patrons is found murdered. DCI Coburg is asked to lead the investigation because he is part of the aristocracy and is trusted by many of the people who would frequent the hotel. Among the many suspects are the patrons of the hotel, the hotel staff, and the poor people who stay there the night the patron is killed. The investigation takes a turn when at one of the hotel maids is found killed in much the same manner as the first victim. The investigation continues during the months of the bombings. There are many personal conflicts associated with the murder but these are all complicated by the war where people are going missing in the midst of the bombings.

The story is compelling because it is set in London where people are just trying to survive in the midst of the war. Although interesting, the murder mystery does not have a significant twist and the result is expected. The story itself is still very good because of the people involved. We learn a lot about the interactions between the aristocrats and the ordinary people who live in London in the ‘40s.

The characters are very compelling especially DCI Coburg who is part of the aristocracy and so has inroads into questioning that other detectives do not. At the same time, he is shut out of talking to many of the maids and poor people who don’t trust him. For this he must use his assistant to help. The interaction between these two men and what they are capable of achieving together is very interesting.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a murder mystery but also anyone who is interested in how ordinary people cope with tragedies that take place during the war and still carry on with their everyday lives. I’ll give this book a five on five. I would like to thank NetGalley and Allison and Busby for providing me a digital copy of this novel. I provide this review voluntarily.

I know it's only fiction, but this hotel series from Jim Eldridge requires more suspension of disbelief than should be required for a book that appears to be aimed at the Historical Mystery genre. The more I read, the more unlikely do the events seem. There is no more than a gentle nod towards the era in which this book claims to be set, and one might more easily imagine that the book was set in 21st Century London rather than London during the Blitz, given the mores and attitudes of the characters, with their ready acceptance of casual sex and homosexuality. Even the language used by the characters is anachronistic to a fault, with the statement 'just a couple of gay boys' being levied at two minor characters by another character. The term ‘gay’ in this context was not in common usage in the 1940s.

Once again, Jim Eldridge shows that either he has absolutely no idea of police procedure, or simply disregards it. This time he has DCI Coburg, a senior police officer, glibly telling the Savoy Hotel manager that one of his staff, a murder victim, was several months pregnant. I was aghast when I read this because there was absolutely no reason for the manager to have been told this gratuitous piece of personal, private information, and it seemed no more than passing on gossip, to no earthly purpose. It did not advance the plot, nor did it help in solving the murder, and the manager had no need to know. It is gravely doubtful that the police would divulge such information in this casual manner.

This book again evinces Eldridge's seeming preoccupation with sex, although at least this time readers are spared Rosa and Coburg's constant bedhopping – thankfully. However, they do have to contend with the amorous antics of a Ritz chamber maid who was no better than she should be. The author again made an anachronistic slip in having Coburg wonder whether the maid got herself pregnant deliberately or was it an accident. In the 1940s birth control was not as simple as today, especially for an unmarried young woman, so it is unlikely that she had much control over the consequences of her promiscuity. A man as blasé about sex as Coburg should surely have known this.

The story was peppered with either Americanisms or anachronisms, both of which were glaring sores. For example, one of the kitchen staff at the hotel laughably employed the phrase ‘I was vulnerable’. Yes, of course this is a term which is likely to spring from the lips of a kitchen washer-up in the 40s! Another curiosity is the way in which Rosa Weeks has progressed from being merely a second-rate club singer and pianist into a jazz singer of some renown from one book to the next. What are we to expect in the third book – international fame?

In conclusion, had this been just a regular mystery story it would have been okay, but as a historical mystery, it is appalling. Essentially a modern story with modern characters, thinly disguised as a book set in London during the blitz.

You know how a whole world knows about an author and you are not one of those people….yep that happened here with Jim Eldridge. I love mystery books and I love London, so I requested this book title and little did I know I was entering into the world of DCI Coburg! How did I not know about these books…so much wasted time. Such great characters, including the Savoy!

Thank you NetGalley. Great book. Highly recommend this to anyone who loves Murder mysteries. Good escapism too

This is the 2nd book in Eldridge's Hotel mystery series and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Set during the blitz of ww2, the plot centres on a murder that occurs in an air raid shelter at the Savoy.
As with his other books Eldridge has a real eye for historical fact and blending this seamlessly with fiction.
Highly recommended.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Murder at the Savoy by Jim Eldridge
This is the second book in the hotel mysteries series. I had read and enjoyed the first one called Murder at the Ritz and very much enjoyed this novel. I was already familiar with the characters and their backgrounds but this could be read as a stand-alone without it affecting your enjoyment of the story.
It is set in London September 1940 during the Blitz. The Savoy hotel have advertised how safe and secure their underground shelters are so a number of people from Stepney arrive to seek shelter. (This is at the time when they are banned from using the underground stations for protection.) The duty manager allows the mob in but in the morning one of the guests is found dead, stabbed through the heart. The hotel contact DCI Coburg who is linked to the aristocracy and they hope he will deal sensitively with their crime. However when DCI Coburg and Sergeant Lampson arrive the local police are already dealing with the case.
The author describes the terrible situation which Londoners had to contend with then—houses being destroyed all around, living in fear every moment and having little or no communication with loved ones. Amidst all this, ‘normal’ life must go on, people have to earn money, families have to be provided for and crimes have to be solved.
This mystery combined real-life and fictional characters. At the Savoy is its owner Rupert D’Oyly Carte, Winston Churchill makes a brief appearance as do Oswald Mosley and Diana. Even Agatha Christie, turns up in the pharmacy helping out the medical examiner and DCI Coburg with information on poisons.
There are numerous other crimes which follow the initial one as well as meetings of fifth columnists. This is an interesting and entertaining read and I look forward to reading the next outing for these characters.
Many thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers Allison&Busby for my copy of this great read in return for and honest review.

My thanks to Allison and Busby and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Murder at the Savoy is the second in the Hotel Mysteries series by Jim Eldridge, set in 1940s London in the midst of the blitz. In this historical mystery, we follow Chief Inspector Coburg who is from an aristocratic background, his older brother being Magnus, Lord Dawlish. Coburg has recently married Rosa Weekes, a jazz singer (whom I think he met on his first outing). As the book opens, we meet Coburg and Rosa in a bomb shelter with the rest of the residents of their block of flats. Alongside, in the more affluent bomb shelter beneath the Savoy, a group of East-enders from Stepney are demanding entry, protesting against such a strong shelter being reserved only for the wealthy. The deputy manager allows them in, and makes suitable arrangements separate from the hotel’s paying guests.

The next morning however, one of the hotel’s guests, the Earl of Lancaster, is found stabbed. While Coburg is called in by Savoy owner, Rupert D’Oyly Carte, someone else places a call to the local police, and Coburg’s nemesis Inspector Lomax takes charge of the matter, arresting Lancaster’s son, the rebellious William (who was part of the Stepney group). Lady Lancaster insists William is innocent and wants Coburg to investigate. He is reluctant but once the commissioner is appealed to, and appropriate orders are issued, he takes over, much to the ire of Lomax (who can’t see beyonf Coburg’s privileged background). As Coburg with his deputy Lampson begin to investigate, they find that Lancaster was a womaniser hated by many (his own wife among them) and more than one person had reason to want to do away with him. There seems enough evidence to let William go for the present, but as soon as he is released, another death takes place.

Meanwhile, Lady Winship, a guest at the Savoy, arranges for Rosa to be invited to the Savoy to perform, while also inviting her to one of her and her husband’s soirees. Rosa’s suspicions are aroused and at the party she finds a group of people conspiring to end the war for England, in favour of Hitler. She also finds a surprising guest and after talking it over with Coburg, decides to keep up the acquaintance and see just what they are up to.

This turned out to be an enjoyable and interesting historical mystery/police procedural. Despite it being a second in series, I found it quite easy to follow the storyline, with enough background on Coburg, Rosa, Lampson, and others to not feel lost. I think this can be read as a standalone as well.

The author brings out really well the atmosphere that Londoners had to live in back then—houses being destroyed all around one, people killed, having to live in fear every moment, and with little communication with loved ones—and this was a state of affairs that went on for nearly 6 years. And amidst all this, ‘normal’ life must still go on, people have livelihoods to earn, families to look after and provide for, and of course there is crime to be checked as well. (In his acknowledgements, the author contrasts this—a time he was himself born in—with what people have faced during the last 18 months or so of covid, and one does realise reading it how much luckier we are, compared to things back then.)

I loved that this mystery combined real-life and fictional characters. At the Savoy (my second bookish visit there this year—the first being The Secret Life of the Savoy)—there is its owner Rupert D’Oyly Carte, Winston Churchill makes a brief appearance as do Oswald Mosley and Diana (while correct in other instances, in chapter 31 in my proof copy, Diana Mosley was wrongly referred to as Unity, something I hope has been corrected in the final version), and we also meet Agatha Christie, back in the pharmacy as Mrs Mallowan, who helps out the medical examiner and DCI Coburg with some information on poisons.

The investigation was interesting to follow, and I wasn’t sure almost till the end who did it and why; there is as is usual in mysteries more than one death, and one can’t quite work out the precise connection between them either till it is explained. I also liked the parallel threads including the conspiracy plot and how that was foiled, and the odious Lomax’s attempts to get ‘revenge’ on Coburg, which really had me wondering as to its resolution.

All in all, this was good read, with likeable characters, an interesting mystery and other plotlines, great combination of real and fictional characters, and a backdrop that was very well done. I am looking forward to picking up more entries in this series!

4.25 stars

An interesting and well written story set in London in 1940 during the Battle of Britain. This was before the Underground stations were opened as shelters for people and the poor - especially in the East End of London were dying in large numbers. Add to this mmurder, communists, and fifth columnists and you've got a wild time for the police - and in-fighting too.

Loved it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Jim Eldridge's second mystery featuring Detective Chief Inspector Coburg and Sergeant Lampson, Murder at the Savoy, is excellent! Set during the early days of the London Blitz during World War II, this time they are investigating the murder of a lord in the air raid shelter at the Savoy. It just so happens that particular night, a group of Londoners from the east end demand to be allowed into the shelter, one of whom is the estranged son of the murdered man. While the DCI and his sergeant investigate this case, Coburg's new wife and brother get involved with the followers of Oswald Mosely and his British Union of Facists. Coburg and Lampkin are such interesting characters and very much at the opposite ends of London society, these differing perspectives add so much to the story. I find all of the characters in this series intriguing. Referencing Mosely and his group is so timely, British citizens embracing the enemies rhetoric for their own gain mirrors events happening in our own country. I enjoy several of Eldridge's series and this one has become a favorite. I very much look forward to the next installment. Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy. of #MurderattheSavoy.

I love Jim Eldridge's historical mystery and, even this one isn't a favorite, it's a compelling and entertaining novel that kept me hooked.
I was glad to catch up with the characters and being introduced to new one, the historical background is vivid and fascinating, the solid mystery is full of twists and turns.
I thoroughly enjoyed and can't wait to read the next book by this author.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

September 1940 After a night of bombing a body of the Earl of Lancaster is found, stabbed, in the underground shelter of the Savoy Hotel.
Inspector Arnold Lomax of the local station in called in to investigate. But soon DCI Coburg and Sergeant Ted Lampson of Scotland Yard take over this high profile case, much to Lomax’s annoyance. Lomax in his anger decides to discredit Coburg. But soon there is another murder at the Savoy.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery, with its likeable main characters. A good addition to the series which can easily be read as a standalone novel.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review