A Merry Murder by Kate Kingsbury

The Pennyfoot Hotel is all dressed up for Christmas.  They have lots of guests and all is going well until they find an unknown dead man in the laundry room.  Cecily wants to keep it quiet so the guests won't leave.  That's harder than you would imagine.

Berkley and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 1st.

When the old man they are using as receptionist at the front counter remembers a message he forgot to give her, he shouts it across the room and alerts most of the guests about the murder.  So much for secrecy.

The policeman they have in their district is a bit lazy, and when he finds a note in the man's pocket with a signature, he's sure he's found the killer.  Cecily disagrees.  The maid is fifteen and very shy and withdrawn.  It would be totally out-of-character for her.  But when they go to her room, she's not there.  Nor are any of her belongings.

The cop looks for the young lady.  Cecily looks for the killer.  She's eventually successful in her quest but then she finds herself alone in the room with the killer, who has a nasty knife.  This could go either way...