SYNOPSIS
At the royal boat race there are beautiful barges, plenty of bunting, a handsome prince and… is that a body in the water? Lady Swift is on the case!
Spring, 1923. One-time adventurer and now amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is attending the annual royal regatta with her new pal Tipsy Fitzroy. Tipsy has Eleanor trussed up like a debutante in a new dress, determined to turn her into a proper society lady. Even Eleanor’s favourite companion, Gladstone the bulldog, has a new outfit for the occasion.
But the sparkling prize-giving ceremony is interrupted when the devilishly handsome host gulps his glass of champagne on stage and collapses to the floor. The victim is none other than the king’s cousin, Lord Xander Taylor-Howard. He was rumoured to be entangled in a rather dubious gambling ring, but did someone kill him instead of collecting his debt? Or was this simply an ill-timed tragic accident? Either way, a right royal scandal is afoot…
Sir Percival, the head of the royal police, asks Eleanor for her help investigating. He’d do anything to keep the story under wraps. She knows it will get her into hot water with a certain dapper Detective Seldon, but she’s determined to see justice done. However, as she digs deeper, she learns Lord Taylor-Howard was hiding more than one murky secret. It isn’t until she takes a closer look at the unfortunate royal’s shattered champagne flute that she stumbles upon just the clue she needs. But can she reel in the killer before her ship is sunk too?
Title: A royal murder
Author: Verity Bright
Series: Lady Eleanor Swift Mysteries #9
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication date: February 28, 2022
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: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
9th installment in the Lady Eleanor Swift Series and still a fun read with a cast of lovable characters that it’s always great to meet back.
Lady Swift has a new friend, Tipsy, who has decided to make Ellie her new pet project and as Glinda said to Elphaba in Wicked “she’ll help her be popular, but she’s got an awfully long way to go!”. But Ellie resists Tipsy’s advice (well done, Ellie). The Bright Young People is not her scene, but she agrees to go with Tipsy to the Henley Regatta where she’s witness to a royal murder and soon finds herself investigating it.
The first half of the book felt a bit slow, perhaps cause Ellie and Clifford’s investigations are constricted to the requirements of the Royal Police, so the interrogations of the same suspects again and again became a bit repetitive. The second half really picked up the pace and the action increased several notches.
I love how Ellie’s character has grown since we first met her and the tight family she’s built around her trusted Clifford, the ladies of Henley Hall, Master Gladstone and Chief Inspector Seldon. I think it’s time for her relationship with Seldon to take a step forward for good! All this yes but no, taking a step forward and moving three steps back is starting to get a bit old. I’m really curious to see how Ellie manages around a serious relationship.
Although the mystery and the investigation stalled a bit at first, the resolution still delivered some surprises and, although I predicted some of it, it was still pretty satisfying.
Another enjoyable cozy mystery that will make you chuckle more than once with its unforgettable duo of sleuths.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Hi Javier - -thanks for the review - sorry you found this one a little slow at the beginning. And I agree about Ellie and Hugh - they do, however, make steps forward only in the one I'm writing now :)
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