Death on a Winter's Day is the 8th Lady Eleanor Swift cozy mystery by pseudonymous writing duo Verity Bright. Released 24th Nov. 2021, it's 288 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book (and the rest of the series) are currently included in the KU library to borrow and read for free.
This
is such a lightly humorous and honestly fun read. The entire series is
just perfect for lifting the spirits and a reading escape to a simpler time. The style is
reminiscent of earlier
golden age inter-war mysteries. It's irreverent, with
an appealing ensemble cast of amateur society sleuth Lady Eleanor and
her butler/dogsbody Clifford whom she inherited along with her title
from her late uncle as well as assorted society friends and servants.
Gladstone the elderly bulldog also brings his unique support efforts to bear, helping untangle this holiday mystery set in Scotland.
It's a fast and undemanding cozy; the language is clean, the crimes are not written violently or explicitly and the denouement is satisfyingly twisty and well written. For readers looking for verisimilitude in dialogue and action, be warned, this series is full of modern vernacular and sensibilities. Eleanor fraternizes with the servants and has shockingly bohemian attitudes and fraternizes with the servants.
Four
stars, a decidedly exuberant and whimsical romp. There are now 11
extant books in the series, with the 12th due out in Nov 2022. This
series is a prime candidate for binge reading. Although each of the books is
self contained, I recommend reading them in order (though it's not
absolutely necessary).
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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