A Very English Murder

A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery, Book 1

By: Verity Bright

Narrated by: Karen Cass

An absolutely gripping cozy murder mystery

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 45-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 whodunit, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey, and Downton Abbey!

©2020 Verity Bright (P)2020 Bookouture

Needs a more scrupulous editor, but ok

This would have been much more cohesive- and enjoyable- had it had 45 mins or so lopped off. The protraction of the storyline gave too much opportunity for the protagonist to become obnoxious. What a know it all she is. With repetition, what she imagines is assertiveness on her part comes off as abrasiveness.
Another editor might have noted the several jarring. anachronisms in dialogue also. The rather proper English butler/valet says something is ‘way colder,’ the MC smarty pants uses the ‘NOT’ of modern sarcasm, and also ‘No way!’ Just as we would. As this story is set in the late 1910s, none of these terms would have been in use, of course.
The narrator is ok. Although somehow her inflections when voicing the MC serve to make her just the least bit more, well, grating.
I wanted to like this much more; I purchased 2 of the series during recent bogo; probably will not start the second.

Funny and engaging

Loved the characters and well written mystery chocked full of a dry sense of humour. Look forward to future book. Excellent narration by Karen Cass

Okay story but narration not my cup of tea

For me, this story just passes as a “murder mystery”. The ending was predictable and the worldly travel by a single woman in 1920 made the women’s lib a little too much.
The narrator was great at female voices but her male voice was way too nasally for me. I get the whole “Stuffy English Butler” but he doesn’t need to sound like he’s actually suffering from a cold.

So excited that I found this series

I love the characters! If you love cozy mysteries and you like to figure who did then this series is for you.

Delightful!

Very well done. Loved the unfolding of the mystery and the surprise ending. Look forward to the sequel.