Book Description:
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 cozy mystery, perfect for fans of T.E. Kinsey, Catherine Coles and Agatha Christie.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Murder On The Cornish Cliffs' by Verity Bright.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Verity Bright, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 1st December 2023.
This novel consists of 42 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
YET ANOTHER HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO VERITY ON YET ANOTHER PAGE TURNING SUCCESS!! THIS HAS GOT TO BE MY FAVOURITE BOOK IN ONE OF MY FAVOURITE COSY MYSTERY SERIES!!
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 devoured it in one sitting as I just could not put it down and gave up on lying to myself saying just one more chapter as that never happened!! 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 every time. The atmosphere was perfectly suited to the mystery. I love the fact that this book takes us on a holiday into Cornwall and not just into Cornwall but into the gorgeous and gothic atmosphere of Godfrey's picturesque manor Gwel an Mor. Verity's gorgeous evocative writing skills and descriptions whisked me off to Cornwall and even with the murder and mayhem I was gutted when I came to the end and not only had to leave some amazing friends but also the gorgeous Cornwall!!! I actually went on holidays to Cornwall several months ago but Verity made me feel I was straight back there and made me look forward to my return next year even more!!! I loved getting to know more about Cornwall from the past, it's folklore and it's famous history of snuggling and shiowrecks. I think this has got to be my favourite book in this series so far with some of my favourite people (and animals of course) being in one of my favourite places ever!!! I also love the fact that although this is a cosy mystery it also had me in stitches of laughter on so many occasions which makes it the perfect light hearted read!! Verity's books always send me back to the past and I become so immersed in each of her fantastic books that I always feel a bit lost when I finally look up from my book and land back in 2023!!! If your looking for a dog with a huge personality, a Lady with an attitude, a politely sarcastic butler and a lighthearted cozy murder mystery then look no further!!
I always thoroughly enjoy reading Verity's historical notes that she includes at the back of the book and these ones are no exception so ensure you don't forget to read those. I love learning about history so was fascinated by the information she includes in the historical notes about:
🧚 Cornish Pixies.
😈Devil Worship And Mr Crowley.
🚨Cornish Lighthouses.
🌴 Lost Gardens.
🥚Egg Collecting.
🪽Mrs Liddicoat's Seagull Recipe
🎶Cornish Music And Instruments
🎄Cornish Christmas Customs
Thank you Verity for including these, I have yet again learnt quite a few facts that I had no idea about previously.
Although this is the sixteenth book in the series I would have 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. They are like the perfect comedy duo but don't tell Clifford!! I also love Sheldon who is completely overworked but still such a gentleman who is constantly on edge with Eleanor's adventures!! I adored that their love for each other shines through the pages in this book I loved meeting them all again although I did miss the Henley Hall ladies Butters, Trotters, Polly and Lizzie in this book. The gang are all larger than life with their own exceptional personalities and I hope we see more on them in the next book in this fantastic series. I can't forget the absolutely adorable Gladstone along with Tomkins who are adventures in themselves! It was interesting to meet another friend of Eleanor's late uncle. This is the first time we meet Mr Godfrey Cunliffe in this series. Godfrey and his family are a strange group of characters especially when it comes to his retainers and strange behaviour and attitude. I couldn't abide his old fashioned attitudes towards women and servants who he sees as inferior. I really could not stand him and the way he was with Ellie whose help he is asking for!!!! However, regardless of whether you love them or hate them each of the characters play their parts perfectly as always in Verity's books and I cannot wait to meet Eleanor, Clifford, Sheldon, Gladstone and Tomkins along with (hopefully) the Henley Hall ladies again in the next book in this fantastic series which is called 'A Death In Venice' and will be published on the 28th March 2024!!!
A huge congratulations on yet another fantastic success Verity!!! Here's to looking forward to your next book 🥂
f you are looking for a cosy mystery that has everything that you could ask for in a book and more then look no further!!!
This is exactly why you are one of my favourite authors and this is one of my favourite 'series' Verity! Yet another 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 hooked throughout.
342 pages.
This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £7.80 in paperback via Amazon (at time of review) which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
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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.
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