Today I am delighted to jump on the blog tour for A Midwinter Murder by Verity Bright, the latest festive outing in the Lady Eleanor Swift mysteries.

Homemade baubles, reindeer-shaped cookies and snowy walks across the rolling moors… but Lady Swift’s festive plans are ruined when a body turns up!

Winter 1924. When Lady Eleanor Swift unexpectedly finds herself a guest of the reclusive Duke of Auldwyke, she’s determined to enjoy Christmas with all the trimmings at his sprawling manor house. And that includes kisses under the mistletoe and cozying up by the fire with her fiancé, dashing detective Hugh Seldon.

Instead, the season of goodwill turns frosty as she finds the Duke’s studious secretary, Mr Porritt, dead in the storeroom. Clasped in his chilly hand is a golden pendant in the shape of a rose. The Duke denies ever having seen the necklace before. But Eleanor can see the lies in his eyes… Did it belong to his mysteriously absent wife?

Hugh and Eleanor must ditch relaxing with hot cocoa in favour of interviewing the Duke’s holiday guests. Every suspect has a secret they’d kill to keep: the socialite with the false name, the Sir with a questionable inheritance and the husband hiding a crack in his marriage.

As the blizzard outside rages, Auldwyke Hall becomes cut off. Trapped by the snow, Eleanor and Hugh must skate around the increasingly secretive Duke to unwrap the identity of the killer. But does the answer to the secretary’s murder lie with a ghost of Christmas past? And when an attempt is made on the Duke’s life too, they realise the killer is closer than they think…

A gripping and twisty Golden Age murder mystery set in a country house on the Yorkshire moors, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss!

My thoughts

Twenty books! Can you believe it!? I can honestly say that I have enjoyed each and every one. I do think the more festive settings are particularly wonderful and Verity Bright has a talent for setting the atmosphere. Cosy gatherings with her beloved staff, delicious food and drink, a sprinkle of romance and of course a murder or two along the way. This time we are in the wild Yorkshire moors in a country house that seems to be holding a secret or two. I loved that Eleanor and Hugh were very much working together on this one (alongside Clifford of course) and we get to see their relationship develop a little deeper. We may even get a wedding one of these days. There is also the possibility of new romance blossoming along the way in future stories, if we are lucky enough to have them.

A perfectly cosy read to curl up with this winter. Some gentle escapism that was very welcome indeed. Thank you to the lovely team at Bookouture for continuing to invite me to take part in these blog tours. It is an absolute pleasure.

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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