Fascinating 1920s #Murder #Mystery – Murder In The Snow by Verity Bright – #BooksOnTour #BlogTour

 

Title: Murder In The Snow

Series: Lady Eleanor Swift #4

Author: Verity Bright

Publisher: Bookouture

Published: November 19th, 2020

Pages: 291

Rating: 4.5/5*

 

My Review:

This is another superb cosy murder mystery featuring Lady Eleanor Swift and her intrepid butler and supporter, Clifford. The repartee between these two had me laughing out loud despite the somber nature of their investigations, and Gladstone is as stoic as ever!

Eleanor inherited her title following the tragic death of her uncle and the disappearance of her parents. She’s spent her years on adventures around the world and hasn’t been brought up to be Lady of the manor but she’s endeavouring to fulfil the role with the guidance and protection of Clifford. This isn’t the first time this pair have investigated a murder but they’d certainly never expected one to be committed during the first Christmas Eve party hosted by Eleanor for the local villagers. The police don’t seem to be too interested in what happened though Detective Seldon isn’t totally ruling out foul play. However, the victim doesn’t seem to have anyone who’ll miss him but just who killed him – and why? As more people are poisoned and incriminating evidence planted, can this duo identify the killer and bring them to justice?

This is such a fun read with great characters, plenty of suspects to confuse you, red herrings to distract you and a touch of romance to sweeten it all. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Agatha Christie and Vivian Conroy mysteries also set in this era.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for my copy of this book which I have voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.

Synopsis:

An English Christmas has mince pies, cheerful carols, a twinkling tree… and a murder? Thank goodness Lady Swift is on the scene!

Winter, 1920. Amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is feeling festive. She is playing host to the entire village at Henley Hall for gifts, games and gingerbread. She’s also purchased perfect presents for each of her household – not forgetting the biggest bone in the butcher’s shop for her partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog – and is looking forward to celebrating her first English country Christmas.

As snowflakes fall, Eleanor is cheering on contestants in the traditional Christmas fun run in the grounds of the Hall. But tragedy strikes when one of the runners drops dead at the finish line. Dashing Detective Seldon is convinced it’s just a heart attack, but Eleanor isn’t so sure. When she finds a rather distinctive key where the man fell, Eleanor knows she’ll never rest until she finds out the truth about what happened in her own home.

Next the vicar is taken ill with what looks like poison and Eleanor starts to wonder if the two cases are linked. When someone tries to frame her by planting poisoned berries in her own kitchen, she knows speed is of the essence. But the entire village was at Henley Hall for the festivities and Eleanor has enough suspects to stuff a town full of turkeys. Can she nail the true killer and clear her name in time for Christmas?

Christmas won’t be complete without it! A festive treat for fans of Agatha Christie, TE Kinsey and Lee Strauss.

Author Bio:

Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humour, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.

https://twitter.com/BrightVerity

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/2GRtSyc

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