Murder at the Fair is the 6th Lady Eleanor Swift cozy mystery by Verity Bright. Released 15th June 2021 by Bookouture, it's 338 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 a light & fun British cozy which is an homage to earlier golden age inter-war mysteries. There are flashes of Agatha Christie and Margery Allingham to be found (although lighter and more humorously written than either). It's irreverent, with an appealing ensemble cast of oddball characters including protagonist 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, a spoiled bulldog, and a deceased undertaker.
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. This entry sees her having jettisoned her sometimes beau, Lancelot, and trying to explore a more stable relationship with DCI Seldon.
Four stars, an exuberant and whimsical romp.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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