A Very English Murder

A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery, Book 1

By: Verity Bright

Narrated by: Karen Cass

An absolutely gripping cozy murder mystery

Move over Miss Marple, there’s a new sleuth in town! Meet Eleanor Swift: distinguished adventurer, dog lover, dignified lady…daring detective?

England, 1920. Eleanor Swift has spent the last few years travelling the world: taking tea in China, tasting alligators in Peru, escaping bandits in Persia and she has just arrived in England after a chaotic 45-day flight from South Africa. Chipstone is about the sleepiest town you could have the misfortune to meet. And to add to these indignities - she’s now a Lady.

Lady Eleanor, as she would prefer not to be known, reluctantly returns to her uncle’s home, Henley Hall. Now Lord Henley is gone, she is the owner of the cold and musty manor. What’s a girl to do? Well, befriend the household dog, Gladstone, for a start, and head straight out for a walk in the English countryside, even though a storm is brewing....

But then, from the edge of a quarry, through the driving rain, Eleanor is shocked to see a man shot and killed in the distance. Before she can climb down to the spot, the villain is gone and the body has vanished. With no victim and the local police convinced she’s stirring up trouble, Eleanor vows to solve this affair by herself. And when her brakes are mysteriously cut, one thing seems sure: someone in this quiet country town has Lady Eleanor Swift in their murderous sights....

If you enjoy witty dialogue, glamorous intrigue, and the very best of Golden Age mysteries, then you will adore Verity Bright’s whodunit, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey, and Downton Abbey!

©2020 Verity Bright (P)2020 Bookouture

Needs a more scrupulous editor, but ok

This would have been much more cohesive- and enjoyable- had it had 45 mins or so lopped off. The protraction of the storyline gave too much opportunity for the protagonist to become obnoxious. What a know it all she is. With repetition, what she imagines is assertiveness on her part comes off as abrasiveness.
Another editor might have noted the several jarring. anachronisms in dialogue also. The rather proper English butler/valet says something is ‘way colder,’ the MC smarty pants uses the ‘NOT’ of modern sarcasm, and also ‘No way!’ Just as we would. As this story is set in the late 1910s, none of these terms would have been in use, of course.
The narrator is ok. Although somehow her inflections when voicing the MC serve to make her just the least bit more, well, grating.
I wanted to like this much more; I purchased 2 of the series during recent bogo; probably will not start the second.

Funny and engaging

Loved the characters and well written mystery chocked full of a dry sense of humour. Look forward to future book. Excellent narration by Karen Cass

Delightful!

Very well done. Loved the unfolding of the mystery and the surprise ending. Look forward to the sequel.

So excited that I found this series

I love the characters! If you love cozy mysteries and you like to figure who did then this series is for you.

Detestable Leasing Lady

I wanted to love this, but sadly the lead character is positively unbearable - and so sucked the air right out from under the supporting characters and even the plot.

Cute and entertaining story

A cute little murder mystery made absolutely delightful by the narrator. The likeable, good-natured characters provided a fun little escape. I look forward to listening to more.

Excellent Historical Cozy Mystery

I love cozy mysteries, so I decided to give this series a chance. It was smart, witty, and well-written. The narrator did an awesome job narrating all of the characters. I immediately bought the rest of the audiobooks available. I highly recommend this series!

You have to stick with it.

I must agree with at least one of the other reviewers on the necessity of having to pushing through the first two thirds of the listen to get to the much better last third.

Its not that the story is bad in itself. Its just that the main characters (especially the female protagonist) are generally quite unlikable until they finally work through their many issues both past and present. After they’re quite lovely people worth hanging around with.

I’m probably being a bit hard on the narrator who I’m sure is doing the best she can with what she has to work with. Its likely I’m just spoiled by the Lady H and Daisy D (the last narrator of Daisy D, not so much the first two) series and only need to get used to a new voice.

I’m just not sure book two is credit-worthy.

A Very Fun Whodunit

This light bit of British mystery writing was a fun and fine audio romp. The characters are most endearing and the excellent narration/voices held my attention the entire time. Definitely worth a listen for British mystery fans!👍

Simply delightful!

This book was so charming. I loved the character development and the plot was engaging. I loved that I could listen while cleaning or cooking and not worry if one of my kids walked in. There is nothing salacious or untoward. I was thrilled to see there was another book in the series. Well done by author and narrator!