Book Description:
At the royal boat race there are beautiful barges, plenty of bunting, a handsome prince and… is that a body in the water? Lady Swift is on the case!
Spring, 1923. One-time adventurer and now amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is attending the annual royal regatta with her new pal Tipsy Fitzroy. Tipsy has Eleanor trussed up like a debutante in a new dress, determined to turn her into a proper society lady. Even Eleanor’s favourite companion, Gladstone the bulldog, has a new outfit for the occasion.
But the sparkling prize-giving ceremony is interrupted when the devilishly handsome host gulps his glass of champagne on stage and collapses to the floor. The victim is none other than the king’s cousin, Lord Xander Taylor-Howard. He was rumoured to be entangled in a rather dubious gambling ring, but did someone kill him instead of collecting his debt? Or was this simply an ill-timed tragic accident? Either way, a right royal scandal is afoot…
Sir Percival, the head of the royal police, asks Eleanor for her help investigating. He’d do anything to keep the story under wraps. She knows it will get her into hot water with a certain dapper Detective Seldon, but she’s determined to see justice done. However, as she digs deeper, she learns Lord Taylor-Howard was hiding more than one murky secret. It isn’t until she takes a closer look at the unfortunate royal’s shattered champagne flute that she stumbles upon just the clue she needs. But can she reel in the killer before her ship is sunk too?
A warm and witty 1920s mystery that cozy fans will just adore. Addictive reading for fans of T E Kinsey, Lee Strauss and Agatha Christie.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'A Royal Murder' by Verity Bright.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Verity Bright, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 28th February 2022.
This is the sixth book I have read by this author. It is also the ninth book in her 'Lady Eleanor Smith Mystery' series but can be read as a standalone. I have previously read Verity's 'A Witness to Muder' (3rd book in the series), 'Mystery By The Sea' (5th book in the series), 'Murder At The Fair' (6th book in the series), 'A Lesson In Murder' (7th book in the series) and 'Death On A Winter's Day' (8th book in the series) which I would also recommend reading.
I was originally drawn to this book by its fantastic eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Addictive reading for fans of T E Kinsey, Lee Strauss and Agatha Christie.' I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Verity and if this is as good as 'A Witness To Murder', 'Mystery By The Sea', 'Murder At The Fair', 'A Lesson In Murder' and 'Death On A Winter's Day' it is sure to be an epic read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of 36 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in England 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have actually visited and had holidays in England on several occasions so am looking forward to seeing if I recognise anywhere that Verity has based the book on.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Lady Eleanor Smith. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO VERITY ON YET ANOTHER PAGE TURNING SUCCESS!!
Another successful unputdownable cosy mystery by the very talented Verity Bright. I'm always a bit dubious with books based historically as I worry about not being able to 'deal' with the language used but I absolutely love how Verity has written her books. The language used is perfectly suited to the era whilst being easy to read and making it quite humorous on several occasions. The atmosphere and descriptions were perfect. The synopsis and cover also suit the storyline.
The storyline had me hooked immediately and I love the way that Eleanor and Clifford go about their detective work. There was so much going on that it kept me entertained thoroughly throughout with mystery after mystery and clue after clue. It was filled with suspense, mystery, laughter, murder, clues, deceit. tension, suspense and so much more!! It is absolutely perfect to read either curled in front of the fire or lying on a beach which not many books can achieve. I never did work out who the killer was and was completely shocked when they were discovered. A great achievement as I am a huge crime fan and tend to work out who did what quite early on, especially considering I have read so many of Verity's books yet she manages to get me everytime. The atmosphere was perfectly suited to the mystery. I also love the fact that although this is a cosy mystery it also had me in stitches of laughter in so many occasions which makes it the perfect light hearted read!!
I also wanted to thank Verity for the absolutely fascinating historical notes at the end of the book. The fact that you have done your research shines through and I was absolutely intrigued reading the information about the Henley Regatta, Influenza, the Line of succession, Cyanide, the Official Secrets Act (1911), Women in the intelligence service, The Tower, Canes, Phone tapping and Telephones, Telegraph's and Radio. I am a huge history fan so this was much appreciated and I also learnt a few things so thank you.
Although this is the eighth book in the series I had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.
The characters were all larger than life, realistic and a complete breathe of fresh air. Eleanor is an amazing character, very bubbly and certainly not your typical 'Lady', she is absolutely unique as well as a very strong female lead which is a great bonus for myself being female. I absolutely adore her relationship with Clifford along with the rest of her "staff" that she treats more like friends. The only downfall is that herself and Clifford are fictional as these are two characters I would absolutely LOVE to meet in real life!! Clifford is absolutely fantastic and I really enjoy how he makes me laugh with his diplomatic skills while being extremely sarcastic at times. It is so sweet how he has taken Eleanor under his wing and admonishes her in several occasions in his humerus ways. I loved meeting them again along with Butters, Trotters and Polly who are all larger than life with their own exceptional personalities. I cannot wait to meet them all again and see what they get up to in the next "episode".
A huge congratulations on another fantastic success Verity!!! Here's to looking forward to your next book 🥂
If you are looking for a cosy mystery that will have you laughing until your crying look no further!!!
This is exactly why you are one of my favourite authors and this is one of my favourite 'series' Verity! A page turning and unputdownable success!
Overall a fun and easy to read page turning cozy murder mystery with the perfect amount of crime and humour that will keep you turning the pages.
Genres covered in this novel include Cozy Mystery, Murder and Crime amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Agatha Christie and anyone looking for a very easy, page turning and enjoyable read.
317 pages.
This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@VerityBright @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
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. https://twitter.com/BrightVerity
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B09M3RYT22social
Audio:
Listen to a sample here:
Thanks for such a detailed and fabulous review, Kirsty. And I'm so glad you enjoyed the historical notes. 😊