A Lesson in Murder by Verity Bright (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery Book 7)

 

Publication Date: September 14, 2021

Length: 325 pages

I have to admit, I get excited when it's time to review another Lady Eleanor book. They are by far my favorite cozy mystery series right now. The husband and wife team publish four per year and so I read them in season.  I am already looking forward to book 8 that I plan to read over the Christmas holidays. This one is the fall book, coinciding with the start of school, so as a teacher it was a bit of extra fun. 

Lady Eleanor is going back to school. Her old boarding school that is. Asked to make a speech at St. Mary's she is honored and excited. Ellie enjoys walking the halls of her alma mater and remembering good times and bad. She was always the rebel student and while she is happy to see the more modern, progressive changes that have been made since she left, she is also acutely aware of the still prevalent manners and customs of the old guard there. 

Before she can make her speech though, her beloved former teacher, Mrs. Wadsworth is murdered in the school library. As everyone dashes off to see what has happened, Ellie finds herself caught in another investigation with dashing Detective Hugh Seldon and her butler Clifford who decides to stay and help her. In order to be present on campus and help the search for the killer, Ellie takes over as guardian of one of the houses of students who grow to appreciate her. Clifford and Gladstone occupy a house nearby which Clifford of course furnishes in his customary impeccable style. When the art teacher is also found dead, Ellie and Hugh know they are running out of time. Who is knocking off innocent teachers? And why? Ellie also finds a link to her long lost Mother in a former diary, adding a personal element to the case she didn't expect. 

Being the seventh book in the series I thought I would grow tired of the formulaic aspect of the stories. And yes, they are predictable in some ways: Ellie's internal dialogue, Hugh's resistance to their romance, Clifford's perfection, and the way everything wraps up in a nice neat package at the end. But that is why it is a cozy mystery after all. This one was not as exciting as some of the others for me in that the location wasn't very exotic and I thought the secondary characters were not as interesting. But it is still a notch above many of the cozy series I have read this year. The authors have created main characters that I love and have distinct, quirky personal traits that make me want to see what they are doing lately. Some of the cozies I read could take place anywhere, at any time and there is very little effort made to drop me into the era they claim to be set in. These books do a great job of making reference to the time period and I feel like the 1920's are threaded throughout. 

If you are looking to start with a cozy series I highly recommend these books. From the gorgeous covers to the people to the intricate cases (which are usually pretty hard to figure out) to the unique settings, they are a lot of fun. I certainly have no other series I've read seven straight books from in recent memory, so there must be something that makes them stand out. 

Can't Wait Wednesday: Murder By Invitation by Verity Bright (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery) Book 15

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa  at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring Murder By Invitation by Verity Bright. I am currently finishing Book 7, A Lesson in Murder and enjoying it as always with these books. Eleanor, Clifford the butler, and Gladstone the bulldog are back for the new installment and although I'm choosing to read them in order, I want to promote these books for those who are ready for book 15. Hoping you've found something you can't wait to read this week!

September 27, 2023

Historical Mysteries

Description courtesy of Amazon books

Lady Swift has been cordially invited to a huge royal celebration in Little Buckford to toast the King’s birthday… but wait, is that a body in the village hall?

Lady Eleanor Swift and her loyal butler Clifford are busy lending a hand with preparations for the big day. The grand dining room at Henley Hall is overflowing with home-sewn flags, paint and royal rosettes. Even Gladstone the bulldog and his new friend Tomkins the ginger cat are invited!

But just days before the event Mr Prestwick-Peterson, the chairman of the celebrations committee, is found dead in the village hall: strangled with handmade red, white and royal blue bunting.

With the village hall in total disarray and a key part of the decorations missing, Eleanor wonders if someone dastardly is sabotaging the King’s birthday celebrations?Teaming up with her handsome beau Detective Hugh Seldon to question the local butcher, baker, and pub landlord it becomes clear that the meddlesome busybody Mr Prestwick-Peterson was not universally liked in charming Little Buckford. Indeed, the only mystery is why he wasn’t murdered before…

Searching Mr Prestwick-Peterson’s pristinely organised rooms, Eleanor is surprised to find a faded photograph of a beautiful young woman hidden within the pages of a novel. Could this be the key to untangling this very village murder? And can Eleanor catch the killer before the party is over for her, too?

A totally charming, unputdownable Golden Age murder mystery with characters readers will adore. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss.

Stacking the Shelves #14

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week :) 

Several of my fellow book blog friends have recommended this author to me. Loving historical mysteries set in India I thought I needed to try it. Looking over the series this one appealed to me first even though it is book 3. Weird because I almost always like to read a series in order, but I just was more interested in this story line. I'm borrowing it from the Libby app and if I like it I might buy the first one. Hopefully it's a good one.

In keeping with my desire to read more straight history this year, I bought this biography on one of my favorite subjects...Eleanor of Aquitaine. I just can't seem to tire of her and have read several takes on her life including Jean Plaidy's The Courts of Love and Sharon Penman's excellent novel, Devil's Brood. But I haven't read a strictly biographical account before. Alison Weir is the best at this and so I'm going to give it a try. It is a very long, thorough book as hers always are so it might be awhile before it's read!

This is the Read Christie 2023 September choice. I wasn't too interested in last month's book but this one looks pretty good. And it's a Hercule Poirot mystery which are my favorite of hers. I'll go ahead and admit that while I prefer reading this I might borrow and download the audiobook to listen to when I'm short on time. Yes, I wrote a whole post on how I don't care for audiobooks but occasionally I cave and listen. David Suchet, who played Poirot for many years on the television series narrates too which is a lot of fun! Maybe I need to revise my original thoughts on audios :) 

Murder On the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (A Hercule Poirot Mystery)

 

Publication Date: January 1, 1934

Length: 256 pages

This is an exciting review for me. I have wanted to read this book for a very long time and the August choice for Read Christie just didn't interest me. I had originally wanted to read and review this in August but just didn't quite finish it in time. I consider this story to be the quintessential Agatha Christie mystery and I can hardly say I've "read Christie" without it. So it's a personal achievement and has taken way too long to accomplish. 

Detective Hercule Poirot has had to return to London from Instanbul and books passage on the Orient Express. His friend, Monsieur Bouc finds him a second class car but good friend that he is, decides to give Poirot his first class cabin instead. Traveling with them are several passengers who all appear to have different backgrounds and reasons for travel, as any train would contain. There is the English woman Mary Debenham, American businessman Samuel Ratchett, Princess Dragonmiroff, Count Andrenyi and his wife and many others. 

Early the next morning, Poirot hears noise from the compartment next door where Samuel Ratchett is bunking. Later, when the train becomes stranded in a snow drift, Ratchett is found dead and it is obvious the murderer must be on board. Several clues including a handkerchief with the letter "H" and a piece of paper with the words "member little Daisy Armstrong" are found which serve to ignite interest in a long ago forgotten case of child abduction and murder. Poirot has little time to investigate each passenger, each clue, and put them together before they are moving again and the suspect has a chance to get away. Along with Monsieur Bouc and one Dr. Constantine, another passenger, he sets out to solve the case. 

I don't want to reveal too much of the story as it would spoil things. I also realize the vast number of people who have read this book already or watched the movie already know everything. But just in case someone is reading this and doesn't know the story I'll stop there. I found that even though I'd seen the 2017 movie with Kenneth Branagh and knew how it ended I still enjoyed reading the book version. It is, after all, the original and a movie is just not the same. I found the ending in the book heartbreaking in a way I didn't with the onscreen version. The ending was a little more abrupt and having to picture the characters more in my mind, I think I grew more attached to them than I did in the movie. 

While this was definitely not my favorite Christie book (I actually found it got a little tedious in some parts) I know it is very popular and is a staple in the mystery genre. It's one of those books you just "have to read." And having done so, I can now call myself a real Christie connoisseur. Well, I like to think so anyway!

Stacking the Shelves #13

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week :) 

I got this book for free which is my kind of deal! I had some Kindle credits and it was on sale for $1.99 already. It's the story of Maria Theresa and her daughters. The most famous of which is Marie Antoinette. I have been really neglecting history books this year and so this one looked like one to tackle. I hope I have the time and energy. Cozy mysteries and short historical fiction have been on my radar lately due to being incredibly busy. If you've read this one did you like it?

My Mom says she read the Thomas Costain books in high school and loved them. I have heard them recommended for years and I bought all four on the Plantagenets. This one in particular I'd like to read as it is hard to find good books about the first three Edwards. So in keeping with my theme of reading some straight history books, this one was added to my shelf. At only $1 on Kindle it is a steal!

This looks like a very unique historical mystery. The title and cover made me curious and I'd never heard of this author either. This is book one of the Joe Sandilands mystery series set in Calcutta in the 1920's. It looks like an original premise and lately I've been on the hunt for good historical mysteries with male detective characters. I love the female leads in cozy mysteries but for some reason I really prefer men in the grittier more serious roles. Maybe it's my fondness for Hercule Poirot?