Lady Eleanor Swift has a special royal invitation. She’s got just the right dress and the perfect plus one… But wait! Is that a body by the throne?

Lady Eleanor Swift is at Buckingham Palace to see her new husband, Detective Chief Inspector Seldon, knighted. Brimming with pride, all she can hope is that Gladstone the bulldog behaves himself in front of the king.

But the happy day is overshadowed when Dilly Dalrymple, a royal guard, collapses. The head of the royal police asks Eleanor and Hugh to investigate the murder – unofficially. This is her first clue that there’s more to the story…

Donning a disguise as a journalist for a well-to-do magazine, Eleanor, with butler Clifford posing as her photographer interview the high-profile guests and residents at the palace. She wasn’t expecting gossiping wives, affairs aplenty and talk of long-lost treasure! Was Dilly killed to settle an old score or was he perhaps a little too close to someone else’s wife?

But when another soldier is murdered at midnight, hours after the palace gates are locked, Eleanor knows she needs to keep her wits about her… And when everyone seems to have a reason to lie, can Eleanor dig up the truth before it’s her head next?

A totally gripping royal whodunnit full of twists, set in 1920s London. Fans of T.E. Kinsey, Catherine Coles and Lee Strauss will be utterly obsessed!

My thoughts…

For those of you who don’t know 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. It feels slightly surreal that that we have now reached book 23 in the series. I have reviewed every single book except for the first (I don’t know why but I didn’t join the party until book 2!). The incredible thing is that it was only around five and a half years ago that the first book, A Very English Murder, was published. Now that’s a lot of books, and in quite a short space of time. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every one of them. They are classic cosy fiction. A murder (or two), a selection of suspects and a sharp minded detective to eventually bring the culprit to justice. The winning ingredients in this series, in my opinion, are the characters and the fact that the stories are set in the 1920s. There is a charm about these books that make returning to them a pure joy. Like visiting an old friend. Because old friends are what they have become. Lady Swift and her entourage have become very dear and I still enjoy seeing where their next adventure goes.

In Murder at the Royal Palace, we enter the world of Beefeaters, Royal Palaces and dark secrets hidden within. I really enjoyed this one. Seldon is busy tying up the loose ends of a very successful career at Scotland Yard. He has been knighted for his services to his King and Country and now holds a title to match his wife – even though his modesty continues to play down his achievements. But even as he comes to the end of one career, the small matter of a murder at the Palace brings along the first case in the new detective agency that he is launching with Eleanor and the whole Henfield Hall gang. Undercover Eleanor is always as she enjoy shedding the ladyship title and becoming someone else for a while. Danger is always snapping at her heels though and more often than not she ends up in a life threatening predicament that you have to wonder how she’ll get of.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved looking behind the scenes at this intriguing branch of royal body guards in a setting that has provided the backdrop for it’s fair share of grisly deaths in it’s time. The Tower of London. Steeped in tradition it was a real delight to spend some time there alongside Lady Swift as she tries to solve the mystery of a murder that the palace simply doesn’t wat to consider happened. As always there are many obstacles to overcome and of course Eleanor, along with Clifford, Hugh and all the rest work together to bring the fiend to justice. The historical detail is always interesting and both scene and characters are expertly handled by the author. Another delight and although I sense the number of books to come may be fewer then we’ve had, I still can’t wait to see what happens next.

The Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery books are a wonderful example of English Cosy Crime. It is pure escapism with frightfully delightful tea and cakes alongside. I loved it.

Thank you so much to the lovely team at Bookouture for inviting me to take part in this and previous tours. I’d also like to raise a glass to Verity Bright. These charming books lightened the load. Always comforting to fall in to and never disappoint. What a wonderful gift to offer in these dark times.

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