Title: A Very English Murder (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery 1) by Verity Bright
Date Published: 7th April 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Description:
Move over Miss Marple, there's a new sleuth in town! Meet Eleanor Swift: distinguished adventurer, dog lover, dignified lady… daring detective?
England, 1920. Eleanor Swift has spent the last few years travelling the world: taking tea in China, tasting alligators in Peru, escaping bandits in Persia and she has just arrived in England after a chaotic forty-five-day flight from South Africa. Chipstone is about the sleepiest town you could have the misfortune to meet. And to add to these indignities – she's now a Lady.
Lady Eleanor, as she would prefer not to be known, reluctantly returns to her uncle's home, Henley Hall. Now Lord Henley is gone, she is the owner of the cold and musty manor. What's a girl to do? Well, befriend the household dog, Gladstone, for a start, and head straight out for a walk in the English countryside, even though a storm is brewing…
But then, from the edge of a quarry, through the driving rain, Eleanor is shocked to see a man shot and killed in the distance. Before she can climb down to the spot, the villain is gone and the body has vanished. With no victim and the local police convinced she's stirring up trouble, Eleanor vows to solve this affair by herself. And when her brakes are mysteriously cut, one thing seems sure: someone in this quiet country town has Lady Eleanor Swift in their murderous sights…
If you enjoy witty dialogue, glamorous intrigue and the very best of Golden Age mysteries, then you will adore Verity Bright's unputdownable whodunnit, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Downton Abbey!
Review:
I saw this for free a couple of weeks ago on Amazon and immediately snapped it up as I love a good cozy mystery, especially one set in the early part of the twentieth century.
A Very English Murder is the first in the Lady Swift mysteries and sets it up nicely for the rest of the series.
Lady Eleanor Swift inherits Henley Hall from her uncle after his untimely demise. A little overwhelmed on arrival, she heads out into a storm with elderly Bulldog Gladstone and ends up stumbling upon a murder. When the police finally arrive and she takes them to the scene of the crime, there's no sign of a body or blood. Not to be deterred, she vows to get to the bottom of it, even if it puts her life in danger.
Eleanor, or Ellie as she likes to be known, is an interesting character. Her parents disappeared when she was young, so her uncle packed her off to boarding school, but the second she could, she escaped abroad and went on some fascinating adventures. I found her a little bossy and abrasive at times, but I warmed up to her by the end.
Another intriguing character is her uncle's butler, Clifford, who seems to appear out of nowhere and is always sneaking about. As her uncle's right-hand man, he knows a lot of secrets about her uncle who doesn't seem to just be the aloof and cold man that Eleanor thought he was. We don't find out much about her uncle, but it leaves it open to find out more in future stories, which I'm looking forward to.
The mystery was packed with clues and red herrings. Even though I figured out whodunnit a bit early, it was fun to read along to see when Ellie would decipher all the clues.
A Very English Murder is a must if you love a classic style mystery.
About The Author:
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 Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.
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