Book Description:
A grand villa, croissants for breakfast and a dead body in the wine cellar… Lady Swift can’t seem to take a vacation from murder!
Summer 1923. Lady Eleanor Swift is finally persuaded by her butler, Clifford, to take a villa in the south of France for the season. She plans to do what a glamorous lady abroad should: long lunches on the balcony followed by lazy afternoons lounging by the pool. Even Gladstone the bulldog is looking forward to a daily paddle in the ocean.
But when Clifford examines the wine cellar, he discovers there are no decent reds but there is a very dead body. The victim is famous American movie star Rex Armstrong. Poor Rex seems to have been stabbed with a sword from the film set. So how did he end up in Eleanor’s villa?
Before Eleanor even has time to change out of her travelling suit, her beloved butler is arrested for the crime. At sea without her right-hand man, Eleanor must gather her wits if she’s to outsmart a murderer and save Clifford.
Attending a glitzy party at the luxurious Hotel Azure with the film’s cast and crew so she can question her main suspects, Eleanor overhears the director having a most unsettling telephone call that throws all her theories out of the water. Can Eleanor unmask the true killer before her time abroad is cut murderously short?
A gripping historical murder mystery full of charm and intrigue, set in the beautiful French Riviera. Fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Lee Strauss will adore The French for Murder.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The French For Murder' by Verity Bright.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Verity Bright, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 30th May 2022.
This is the seventh book I have read by this author. It is also the tenth 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), 'Death On A Winter's Day' (8th book in the series) and 'A Royal Murder (9th 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 'Fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Lee Strauss will adore The French for Murder.' 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', 'A Royal 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 39 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 France 🇫🇷.
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. I loved that this book was based in France as it felt like a mini holiday. I was just devastated to get to the end to have to unpack my suitcase!! I'm hoping Eleanor, Clifford and the gang will return one day!! 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!!
One of the things I love about Verity is that she includes historical notes at the end of her books. I am fascinated by history and manage to learn something knew every book. The fact that Verity always does her research when writing these fantastic books shines through so congratulations Verity!! It is always frustrating when I read a book to find the whole storyline spoiled because the author hasn't done any research. The historical notes Verity has included at the end of this fantastic novel include information on The Riviera (Cote d'Azur), The Murphys, Sunbathing, inventions such as water-skiing, the electric blender, the refrigerator, the hairdryer and the convertible, Hollywood, Droit de Suite, buying low and selling high, Rigor Morris, Fort Carre, Napoleon, Wine and Provencal Beef Daube. Absolutely fascinating as always Verity. Thank you 😊
Although this is the tenth book in the series you will have 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, Cozy Animal Mystery, Cozy Culinary Mystery, Cozy Crafts & Hobbies Mystery, Murder and Crime amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey, Lee Strauss and anyone looking for a very easy, page turning and enjoyable read.
332 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.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@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 Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Verity Bright here: https://www.bookouture.com/verity-bright/
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B09SZSXT2Lsocial
You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you'll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo
Thanks so much for your detailed and wonderful review, Kirsty. I'm thrilled you enjoyed it :) And I wish Clifford - and Hugh(!) were real :)