A Royal Murder is the 9th Lady Eleanor Swift cozy mystery by pseudonymous writing duo Verity Bright. Released 28th Feb 2022, it's 290 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 fun historical cozy series, set in the roaring 20s and featuring amateur society sleuth Lady Eleanor, her faithful manservant Clifford, and elderly (only slightly smelly) bulldog Gladstone. This time sees an untimely death at the royal regatta, lots of murky goings-on, some international espionage, and high (and low) society. The plotting is well rendered and moves along at a good clip. The dialogue is entertaining (if not really period accurate) and the characters are well written and witty.
It's
a fast and undemanding read; the language is clean, the crimes
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. However, fans of classic golden age interwar British mysteries will find a lot to appeal here.
Four
stars, a decidedly exuberant and whimsical romp. There are now 12
books in the series. This
is a prime candidate for a long weekend binge read. 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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