Murder on the Cornish Cliffs

A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery, Book 16

By: Verity Bright

Narrated by: Karen Cass

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 realizes 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.

©2023 Verity Bright (P)2023 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

This is my favorite of all of Lady Swift’s stories so far!

I love this story and I am very and extremely anxious for Lady Swift’s next story.

Amusing, clever and entertaining

Another well spun tale in this cozy murder mystery series with an endearing cast of characters. When the next book is announced to published in audible, I preorder it so I can enjoy it as soon as it’s available.

I Love These Books

I love these books. The Characters are fabulous and the stories wonderfully written. I love the history, mystery, and romance. I also appreciate that these books are clean and I could easily let my teenagers listen to them.

Verity Bright can do no wrong!

I adore these stories! There is one thing wrong… she doesn’t write faster enough!

Thanks for a great story and terrific story!

Plots and narrator for the win

This series, which I’ve completed reading AND listening to on Audible in 4 weeks (yes, read and then listened to an average of 4 books per week, and that’s after work) has been completely addictive. Eleanor is quirky, brave, bold (especially for 1920’s British aristocracy), and hilarious. Clifford seems like the sidekick everyone would want with his encyclopedic knowledge and dry humor that grabs one unaware. And Hugh…sigh…perhaps not getting quite as good a mental image as Ellie and Clifford, but be still my heart. He says just the right things and doesn’t stifle Eleanor’s talents. Well, early on he may try (only to keep her safe) but is finally learning not to clip her wings. This series has literally everything. Edge of the seat, page turning suspense (but not in a scary way), Hugh’s shot of romance, murder mystery worthy of Midsomer Murders, and moments of laugh out loud quips and humor.

Now on to the narrator. I think it is the same one throughout? Karen Cass. She’s simply amazing. The plethora of accents she’s done so remarkably well is incredible. Masculine characters sound masculine. Scottish characters sound Scottish, French characters sound French. Hugh sounds awkward as described in writing, but lovely and dashing. Eleanor sounds like her curls bounce when she speaks and you can really hear when she’s confused or stumped. Clifford positively reminds me of a Sean Connery meets MacGyver version of a butler, whose style and looks improve with age and can fix anything. You can literally hear all of that in the narration.

My husband has laughed at me walking around, cooking, or working with him in the yard with my earphones in. He’s said, “that must be a good one” referring to the series. He couldn’t be more right. Next book, #17 , is 4 weeks from today. Time to read and listen to the first 16 a second time. It’s worth it.

Great story

This cozy mystery series is delightful and never disappoints. Amazing varied voices by the presenter, great talent!!

another excellent adventure

I love this whole series and this was another wonderful story. As always, looking forward to the next!

Overall a fun installment of the series.

Too much traipsing about the garden without the story moving forward much. Not a fan of occultist references. However, was relieved that the author didn’t give too much attention to the subject.

Great story

Great plot with unexpected murderer! Was interested in the story throughout, and was a very different story from prior ones.

Good Read

I love this author. The characters she has created are likeable and very entertaining. The stories are always surprising and interesting.