SYNOPSIS
Winter, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, amateur sleuth and reluctant lady of the manor, has been invited to spend Christmas in Scotland, at the beautiful castle of her dear friends Baron and Baroness Ashley. Even her favourite companion, master of mischief Gladstone the bulldog, is coming along to share a slice of turkey. As snow begins to fall outside, the rather mismatched group are cozy by the roaring fire, sharing a tipple over a plate of Mrs Trotman’s famous mince pies.
But after what was supposed to be a fun party game, Mr Eugene Randall is found dead at the feast. A somewhat unpopular business associate of the Baron’s from across the pond, it seems Mr Randall has certainly upset somebody. Was it what he said about Scottish whisky?
The killer must be in the castle… and when the Baron is arrested, Baroness Ashley begs Eleanor to investigate. Determined not to let her friend down, Eleanor sets about questioning the remaining partygoers.
All too swiftly, someone else is found dead, having apparently fallen from a high balcony. As if one murder wasn’t enough to put a twist in the tinsel! Eleanor knows she’s skating on thin ice now. And when she discovers a hidden document that points the finger of suspicion at the unlikeliest of suspects, she realises there’s more to the story. Can Eleanor catch the killer before it’s time for Christmas dinner?
Title: Death on a winter's day
Author: Verity Bright
Series: Lady Eleanor Swift Mysteries #8
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication date: November 24, 2021
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.
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REVIEW
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Christmas is canceled! Not if Lady Eleanor Swift has a say on it! Death on a winter’s day is book 8 in the Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery Series and it’s still as fresh as book 1!
Lady Eleanor, Clifford and all the Henley Hall staff travel to a remote castle in Scotland to spend the holidays with some friends, but after an innocent game of Wink turns deadly with a real corpse, things will go rather unchristmassy quite fast. Will Ellie and Clifford uncover the murderer this time?
You betcha! There has come a point in this series in which I just consider the murder mystery a secondary element of the story. Once again, the real appeal of the book to me is in its characters. Ellie, Clifford, Seldon…I would gladly read pages and pages of Lady Eleanor having secret celebrations with all the members of her household. I love how they feel like a family, and it’s always a delight to spend time with them.
Ellie is as quirky and free spirited as usual and Clifford kept imparting small doses of wisdom laced with dry humor that I always find so funny.
Ellie’s personal storyline has moved forward significantly and I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for her in future installments. I’m curious to see if this new situation will affect somehow her relationship with Clifford.
It’s always nice to see these characters out of Henley Hall. I’ve never been to Scotland but after reading some of the descriptions and tales described here I would fly there in a moment’s time.
The mystery was good and the resolution had more action than usual and it included some ties with Ellie’s parents’ story.
Perfect story for Christmas to read beside a cozy fire and a cup of hot chocolate (with a splash of whisky. We’re in Scotland, after all!).
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Hi Javier - thanks so much for the review - I love writing about charachters more than I love plotting too :)
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