Today I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Murder at the Fair by Verity Bright.

Synopsis

Summer flowers, warm sunshine, a maypole dance and… is that another murder? A tricky case is afoot for Lady Swift!

Summer, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, the best amateur sleuth in the country, is delighted to be in charge of the prize-giving at her village summer fair. But the traditional homemade raft race takes a tragic turn when the local undertaker, Solemn Jon, turns up dead amongst the ducks. Jon was the life of any party and loved by the entire village. Surely this was simply an awful accident?

But when a spiteful obituary is printed in the local paper, Eleanor realises there may be more to Jon’s death than first thought. Despite handsome Detective Seldon giving her strict instructions not to interfere, Eleanor owes it to Jon’s good name to root out the truth. So with her partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog, Eleanor starts digging for clues…

When another local dies in a riding accident, the police refuse to believe he was murdered. But a second vindictive death notice convinces Eleanor of foul play. Solemn Jon’s assistant, a bullish banker and a majestic marquess make her suspect list, but it isn’t until she finds a dusty old photograph that she knows the true culprit behind both crimes. Then another obituary appears – her own! Can Eleanor nail the killer before she too turns up dead among the ducks?

An utterly compelling and charming cozy mystery! Pure delight for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss.

My thoughts

This is my third Lady Eleanor Swift mystery and actually the 6th book in the series. I do so enjoy these delightfully cosy crime novels. They are filled with humour and clever plots that allow you to engage those ‘little grey cells’ and attempt a little sleuthing of your own.

In this latest case Lady Swift is guest of honour at the local village summer fair but things turn rather grim when a body is discovered. At first glance the death appears tragic but accidental and the village mourns the well liked undertaker Solemn Jon. However, events soon take a turn after a spiteful obituary appears (rather too quickly) in the local paper and Solemn Jon’s wife talks to Eleanor of his ‘strange behaviour’ in the weeks leading up to his death.

The police have concluded it an accidental death but Eleanor has that ‘feeling’ that just won’t go away and feels that she must help his widow discover the truth. She’s soon knee deep in investigating and events begin to take an even darker turn leaving her in grave danger. She does however have her most trusted of side kicks, butler Clifford by her side which stands her in good stead for solving the crime in the nick of time.

Another super story that I thoroughly enjoyed. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Many thanks to Sarah Hardy for inviting me to take part in this blog tour and for supplying me with a review copy via Netgalley. It was, as always, an absolute pleasure to return to this series again.

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.

Tweets by BrightVerity

Buy Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3prBNUJ