Book Description:
Christmas at the castle with holly, handmade gifts, snowflakes and… is that a body under the tree? Someone call Lady Swift! Winter, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, amateur sleuth and reluctant lady of the manor, has been invited to spend Christmas in Scotland, at the beautiful castle of her dear friends Baron and Baroness Ashley. Even her favourite companion, master of mischief Gladstone the bulldog, is coming along to share a slice of turkey. As snow begins to fall outside, the rather mismatched group are cozy by the roaring fire, sharing a tipple over a plate of Mrs Trotman’s famous mince pies. But after what was supposed to be a fun party game, Mr Eugene Randall is found dead at the feast. A somewhat unpopular business associate of the Baron’s from across the pond, it seems Mr Randall has certainly upset somebody. Was it what he said about Scottish whisky? The killer must be in the castle… and when the Baron is arrested, Baroness Ashley begs Eleanor to investigate. Determined not to let her friend down, Eleanor sets about questioning the remaining partygoers. All too swiftly, someone else is found dead, having apparently fallen from a high balcony. As if one murder wasn’t enough to put a twist in the tinsel! Eleanor knows she’s skating on thin ice now. And when she discovers a hidden document that points the finger of suspicion at the unlikeliest of suspects, she realises there’s more to the story. Can Eleanor catch the killer before it’s time for Christmas dinner? The perfect cozy mystery to curl up with this winter! Fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss are in for a festive treat.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Death On A Winter's Day' by Verity Bright.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Verity Bright, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 24th November 2021.
This is the fifth book I have read by this author. It is also the eighth 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' (third book in the series), 'Mystery By The Sea' (5th book in the series), 'Murder At The Fair' (6th book in the series) and 'A Lesson In Murder' (7th book I'm 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 'Pure delight for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss.' 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' and 'A Lesson In Murder' 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 40 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 Scotland 🏴 , 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 Scotland 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 protagonists is Lady Eleanor Smith. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists 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.
🎶 It's beginning to look a lot like murder 🎶
Another successful unputdownable cosy mystery by the very talented Verity Bright. This one has a festive feeling that comes with it. 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 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 and suspense and is absolutely perfect to read either curled in front of the fire or lying on a beach which not many books can achieve. The atmosphere had a gothic feeling being based in a castle which made it perfect for a murder mystery. This one comes with a festive feeling, well a lack of one until Eleanor, Clifford and the gang saved their own day. 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.
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. Clifford is absolutely fantastic and I really enjoy how he makes me laugh with his diplomatic skills. I loved meeting them again along with Butters, Trotters and Polly who are all larger than life with their own exceptional personalities. I am completely invested in all the characters and always look forward to meeting them again. 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 🥂
Overall a fun and easy to read cozy murder mystery with just the tight amount of 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 and enjoyable read.
330 pages.
This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon 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://bit.ly/3qOZpoS
Audio Links:
Listen to a sample here:
Hi Kirsty - reviews like this so make my week 😊 And I'm so glad you never guessed who the killer was !