Thursday, November 19, 2020

BLOG TOUR - Murder In the Snow


DESCRIPTION:

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.


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MY THOUGHTS:

Title
:   Murder In the Snow
Author:  Verity Bright
Series:  A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #4
Publisher:  Bookouture
Genre:   Cozy Mystery
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   257
Date of Publication:   November 19, 2020
My Rating:   4 Stars

In typical fashion for a cozy mystery, Lady Eleanor Swift gets yet another chance to prove her excellent skills when it comes to proving that a man's recent death is due to more than natural causes. It is a busy time during the Christmas season during the winter of 1920. One of the activities at play is a race that seemingly went off without a hitch However, as the runners approach the finish line, one of them suddenly falls to the ground.

Resuscitation efforts prove futile as it immediately proves that the man that fell is indeed dead. A heart attack perhaps? Ellie highly doubts it and becomes quite determined to find the cause of death. When the local vicar falls ill with a case of apparent poison, Ellie feels that both situations are linked. Ellie refuses to back down and begins to recognize clues that prove her suspicions are correct. Time proves to be of the essence when she herself comes into the line of blame.

I loved this fourth story in the Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series. Between her faithful butler Clifford and her perfect canine companion Gladstone, Ellie proves more than adept at turning over clues when it comes to getting to the truth behind the events that have taken place. With a bevy of suspects, her efforts prove rather difficult, but the skills Ellie has learned when it comes to solving crimes work well when it comes to finding the killer, keeping her name clear and staying safe.

The Christmas season is soon to be among us, so why not grab this delightful story and settle down for what proves to be quite a cozy read. I enjoyed the twists and turns that this story took and found myself devouring this book in a single reading session. This delightful story is a great accompaniment to a wonderful series and I look forward to seeing what is next in store for Ellie, Clifford and Gladstone. 

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.


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 Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s. 

Twitter: @brightverity



1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for this review, Robin. So glad you enjoyed it, although you never let on if you guessed the killer :)

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