Today I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Murder on the Cornish Cliffs by Verity Bright, the latest in the Lady Swift Mysteries.
Whats it about?
A festive invitation from an old family friend, the promise of gingerbread at the village inn, snowy walks on the Cornish coast with Gladstone the bulldog… But wait, is that a body on the beach?
Winter, 1923. It’s nearly Christmas and Lady Eleanor Swift has received a rather strange letter from an old friend of her uncle. Mr Godfrey Cunliffe has asked her to stay in Cornwall for the holidays – but only because he believes his gardener is trying to poison him! With not a moment to waste Eleanor hurries down to his picturesque manor house with her butler Clifford and handsome beau Detective Hugh Seldon. But they arrive too late to stop the crime…
Lying dead at the bottom of the steep cliffs, however, is not Mr Cunliffe, but the gardener himself. And his plans for restoring the gardens to their former glory are missing. Jerome St Clair has gone from suspect to victim. This certainly puts a twist in the tinsel!
As snow begins to fall, Eleanor quizzes the family. Mr Cunliffe’s alibi is as fragile as the glass baubles hanging from his towering Christmas tree. Eleanor quickly realises everyone from the handyman to the housekeeper is keeping secrets, and she’s convinced that Mr Cunliffe is still scared for his life.
When Gladstone the bulldog pulls a charred corner of the missing garden plans from a fireplace festooned with a gold-ribboned garland, Eleanor thinks the clue she needs is hiding out in the grounds. But when someone tries to run her over with the huge lawnmower, she knows she must wrap up the mystery fast before her Christmas is cancelled for good…
Murder on the Cornish Cliffs is a fun, twisty and absolutely gripping historical English cosy mystery, perfect for fans of T.E. Kinsey, Catherine Coles and Agatha Christie.
My thoughts
Another delightful romp with the endearing Lady Eleanor Swift, Clifford, Gladstone and his new best feline friend, and of course the dashing Detective Hugh. This time we are visiting an old friend of Eleanor’s beloved late uncle, Godfrey Cunliffe, who fears for his life. This is Cornwall at it’s coldest and the welcome for Eleanor isn’t much warmer. Everyone is a suspect and as always the only ones she can truly trust are Clifford and Hugh. She wants to think the bets of her beloved Uncle’s friend though and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, no matter how dangerous it might be and pledges to stay until she can prove Cunliffe’s innocence (or not). Her courage is tested to the limit though when her and Clifford are once again placed in mortal danger. With cliff top searches and visits to desolate lighthouses on turbulent seas, we really do wonder how she is going to come out of this one okay at times. Another thrilling read from Verity Bright, rich with historical touches and the same good humour that this series always brings, I thoroughly enjoyed this latest adventure and do particularly like the festive ones. A truly lovely bit of festive escapism and cosy crime.
Thank you to the lovely Sarah at Bookouture for inviting me to take part in this blog tour. A new Verity Bright novel is always a treat!
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.
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Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0CJ5MPVFJsocial
Audio:
UK: https://ow.ly/uvLR50QaY0H US: https://ow.ly/UcXU50QaY0F 
https://ow.ly/tWJM50QaY0I
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Tales Before Bedtime 