A Witness to Murder (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #3)

 

A Witness to Murder is the third Lady Eleanor historical cozy mystery by Verity Bright. Released 14th Sept 2020, it's 289 pages and available in paperback 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 a very light & fun British cozy which is sort of an homage to earlier golden age inter-war mysteries. It's fairly 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. 

This outing sees a local businessman and politician collapsing into his dessert at a charity fundraising dinner. Lady Eleanor and Clifford are soon sallying forth to right wrongs and make the world safer for everyone. 

It's a fast and undemanding cozy read; the language is clean, the murders are not written violently or explicitly and the denouement is satisfying 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 runs a shockingly lax estate. Her sometimes beau, Lancelot, is a caricature and only makes brief appearances in this entry in the series.

Four stars, a somewhat exuberant and whimsical romp.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.