A thoroughly delightful mystery with an Engliash village setting a qwinsome heroine/detective, and plenty of eccentric characters. The crime kept me guessing until the villain was revealed. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

A Very English Murder is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by debut author Verity Bright. Released 7th April 2020, it's 309 pages and 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 is included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is a sweet and light genteel English cozy with a young female protagonist amateur sleuth investigating the murder of one of her late uncle's acquaintances when her reporting of the incident isn't believed by the local constabulary. There's a romance subplot, but it doesn't interfere with the puzzle. The language is very clean and there is no on-page violent content. The dialogue is occasionally a bit too precious, but overall, it's a fun read and not to be taken too seriously.

Four stars, I look forward to seeing what the author has in store for the series as it develops.

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

This was a fun cozy mystery set in the 1920s. I have no strong feelings about it either way. I felt that the pacing in the first half was a bit slow, and Eleanor could be quite annoying sometimes, but overall a decent book to pass the time

3.5 / 5.0 stars

This was such a charming and witty start to a wonderful new cozy mystery series. The year is 1920; the place: somewhere in England's countryside. Young Eleanor Swift, has suddenly become Lady Swift upon the demise of her uncle, Lord Henley. She had been orphaned in her early teens after the death of her bohemian parents and became the ward of her titled uncle, who then quickly packed her off to boarding school.We are introduced to her twenty-something self as she arrives at Henley Estate, her new home, replete with servants of much character. Not the least among them is the butler, Mr. Clifford, who soon becomes the sleuthing sidekick of Lady Eleanor. Eleanor, observes what appears to be a murder. Yet upon closer scrutiny, there is no body and when the constabulary finally shows up, there's no evidence of any foul play. Eleanor is soon dismissed and warned not to put her nose where it doesn't belong, i.e., police investigations. Of course, the police do nothing which rankles the young heiress and she takes on the sleuthing duties with the assistance of her able butler (who frankly, has a lot more to him than his C.V. might lead one to believe).

So who is, "Verity Bright"? Why is there no photo of this gifted author on "her" Facebook page? Well as it turns out, "Verity" is a husband and wife writing team who have been writing together for eons, (well 25 years at least). It is rather clever how the identities of their writing team members remain a mystery while they write mysteries. None the less, the writing is charming, witty and smart. If you are a fan of the cozy genre which features British dry wit, then this is definitely a book for you.

I am grateful to Verity Bright and "her" publishing team at Bookouture for having provided a free e-copy of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Not my typical cozy mystery. First by this author and was so surprised and fell in love with Clifford! Lancelot was pretty terrific as well. Eleanor was full of surprises and the plot was very good. Can't wait for the next in this series.

I'd like to apologise for this long overdue review. I was sent this e-ARC a while before lockdown began. A busy few weeks at work pre-lockdown and the initial lockdown blues of being unable to concentrate enough to read have prevented me from reading and reviewing this book. I did manage to read this in its publication week and I'm happy to be finally sharing my thoughts.

Plot
Our protagonist, Lady Eleanor, witnesses a murder. Except the body vanishes, and the police seem to have no desire to investigate. So Ellie begins sleuthing around the village to solve the murder herself. On the surface this is my perfect book. This concept is so intriguing and I thought this would be a real brain teaser of a novel. Unfortunately not.

The plot began painfully slowly and didn't really start getting anywhere until around half way through. Honestly I thought the whole first half of the novel could have been cut and it wouldn't have impacted the story. There was one small side character introduced in the first few chapters that popped up again later in the novel to be useful in ultimately solving the crime, but otherwise there was nothing remotely useful or entertaining in the first half of the novel. Once the plot finally got a move on, everything was very predictable. I felt like there were a lot of missed opportunities for real red herrings and twists to really get the reader going. Unfortunately, I felt the plot was severely lacking in this area.

There was a lot of effort made to drip feed Eleanor's backstory into the novel. This was the main thing that kept me interested in the book. All I wanted to know was what happened to Ellie's parents and more about her global travels. *Spoiler alert* we don't find out what happened to Ellie's parents. I can only assume this is planting seeds for later books in the series however the mystery element of this mystery novel was not executed well enough for me to read another book in this series.

Characters
Ellie is a confusing character. She spends the first 20 chapters doing absolutely nothing except despising other characters in the book for not taking her seriously because she's a woman. Bright uses Ellie's every line of thought or dialogue to express that the police in the little village Ellie now lives in is backwards as there are no female officers. She constantly provides social commentary that the men around her are underestimating her before she even opens her mouth based on the fact she's a woman. She even goes as far as to suspect characters of murder based on how they treated her as a woman and not a shred of motive or anything remotely relevant. The first couple of times it's brought up, fine, that's setting the scene. But after that? Honestly, Jesus Christ I get it. The novel is set in 1920s England. We know the social position of women in this time. I felt it was irrelevant to the plot or the character development, especially considering no semblance of a plot was taking place. The second the plot began heading somewhere, the ridiculous commentary stopped clearly showing it served no purpose.

So Ellie was set up as being very pro-women's rights and very forward thinking for her era, so I thought 'great'! Surely this means Bright is going to use her protagonist to shut down irritating tropes of women in the 1920s right? HAHAHAHA WRONG. Every time an attractive man enters her field of view she suddenly can't function and goes weak at the knees. It's all blushing and feeling faint when an attractive man strays too close. Very cliché.

So which is it? Fainting flapper girl and a hopeless romantic, or trailblazing modern roaring 20s woman (who FYI could have romance without the stereotypical weak, woozy, fainting cr*p).

Clifford, the butler, is a pain in the rear. One of his personality quirks is he is very pedantic. Fine, that's established early on. But sometimes it feels like this gets in the way of meaningful dialogue and it SERVES NO PURPOSE. Honestly so infuriating.

I did however love the rest of the cast of household staff who each had distinct personalities, really contributed to Ellie's character development and felt like tangible people.

Final Thoughts
Unfortunately this book just left me feeling kind of meh. For the most part it felt like I was reading FanFiction of something, and I'd like to point out I've read novel-quality FanFic, but this is more an inexperienced author who hasn't found a voice. The voice is confused, the third person narrative doesn't work when Eleanor spends so much time inside her own head and voices dialogue to the dog instead of having the novel written in first person...but maybe that's just me?

I'm really upset that I didn't enjoy this book as the blurb sounds like everything I adore in a novel. I really expected so much more from this book...

I'd like to thank NetGalley again for sending this e-Arc to me in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in the series and whilst it had a slow start by the end I was fully invested in the characters!

Lady Swift and the butler made great companions and I got Miss Fisher vibes throughout which was great. I really enjoyed the servant scenes and felt the characters really added to the whole book. However it wasn't groundbreaking or different from a lot of similar books which was a shame as the murder story was very obvious. And the ending was a bit fantastical!

Overall I would give the book 3 stars and would read the series.

Thank you for providing me with an arc

In Which We Meet Eleanor, A Very Reluctant Lady....
Meet Eleanor Swift, intrepid adventurer, amateur detective, reluctant Lady. Enjoyable first in a new series of cosy mysteries with a likeable (although somewhat irritating at times!) protagonist in Eleanor and a colourful cast of supporting characters. Entertaining, lighthearted and engaging providing some much needed escapism. An enjoyable read.

As a lover of the cosy crime genre I was particularly excited about this new series. However, I found Lady Eleanor grating at the best of times and unbearably obnoxious at the worst.

I suppose I should have been prepared for sexism given the novel is set in 1920, but it wasn't the type I expected. Lady Eleanor's constant comments about the inferiority of men was one thing, but her derogatory comments about women and her "not like the other girls" attitude made it really difficult for me to like her at all. Further, I quickly grew tired of the constant references to her amazing past and intrepid travels, they hardly seemed relevant and did little to build her character as they were little more than a bragging reference. Don't tell me she's amazing and adventurous; show me.

I don't want to be negative about the book, I really wanted to love it! Hopefully she gets more tolerable in further books as I'd be thrilled to have a new, dainty but cunning sleuth in my life.

A Very English Murder finds Lady Eleanor Swift searching for a murderer at the community where her uncle had his home. Her uncle's butler Clifford assists her in her task while the police and the locals think she is mistaken that there was a murder. Country English living in the historical past. Cozy with good humour.

A huge mansion in the English countryside? A fashionable heroine and an animal sidekick?! I'M IN!

A Very English Murder is a cute and delightful cozy mystery.

Nothing exciting to write home about, but I was entertained and enjoyed this.

I'll definitely be following the series for the characters!

Following the death of her uncle, Lade Eleanor Swift returns to England to take over the family estate. But on her very first night as lady of the manor, she witnesses a murder. The police don't believe her and Eleanor decides to investigate on her own but who can she trust to help her...?
Set in the 1920s, Eleanor is an exception to the stereotype of womanhood that the male characters expect. She is brave, bold and unapologetic at her subversion of traditional class and social norms. Her main sleuthing companion is butler Clifford but she has her doubts about whether she can trust him or not.
Her intrepid behaviour leads her into confrontations with local police and othe village inhabitants. She also develops a friendship that teeters on romance with Lancelot, a man who matches her humour and unconventional behaviour.
Eleanor has unresolved issues about her parents disappearing, the death of her uncle and her husband; all of which are touched on over the course of the book. Her gradual friendship with her servants makes her a warm and likeable character to counteract her feisty side.
The murder itself is not described in any great detail and there is no forensic description. There is a classical feel to the plot and narrative style which makes it comfortable and familiar to read for lovers of Agatha Christie like myself :)
A Very English Murder is a fun and gentle mystery novel with an entertaining protagonist and I look forward to seeing what she gets up to in the future.

This is the first in a new cosy crime mystery by Verity Bright. The series follows Eleanor Swift, or rather Lady Eleanor as she now is.

After her uncles death she has inherited a title and a house to go with it, she returns to England after travelling. She has very few memories of Henley House, which she now owns.

Whilst getting to know the estate, she takes a walk where she witnesses a man being shot. When her report to the police is questioned, she is determined to find out what has happened.

This mystery is set in the 1920’s and is a really enjoyable read. I can’t wait for the next in the series.

I love a good murder mystery and A Very English Murder did not disappoint. It is the first book in a new historical 'cosy' crime series focused around Lady Eleanor Swift. Lady Eleanor has recently returned to Henley Hall following the death of her uncle. In addition to inheriting Henley Hall, Lady Eleanor also finds herself in possession of an elderly bulldog named Gladstone and her uncle's stern butler, Clifford.

When a stroll around the local area results in Lady Eleanor witnessing a murder, she is dismayed to discover that the body has gone missing and the police don't take her report seriously. Lady Eleanor is determined to prove to the police that a murder did take place by identifying the body and solving the murder herself.

The reader is then led on a merry journey as Lady Eleanor cavorts around the countryside investigating the murder, ably assisted by the long-suffering Clifford. They really are a great pairing. Lady Eleanor is clever, impulsive and not particularly subtle, traits which will undoubtedly lead her into trouble. In comparison, Clifford is steady, thoughtful and diplomatic - a perfect foil for Lady Eleanor's more outspoken character.

The story also touches briefly on the class system in the early 1900's and it is endearing to see how the servants at Henley Hall take Lady Eleanor under their wing and quickly make her feel like one of the Henley Hall family.

The characters really are very appealing and I'm looking forward to book number 2 in order to learn more about Clifford and Lady Eleanor's deceased uncle and to see how the relationship between Lady Eleanor and Lancelot develops. Will there be romance in the air...?

I found A Very English Murder to be very engaging. It's lighthearted, humorous entertaining and perfect for fans of cosy historical mysteries (which I am!).

A perfectly cozy murder mystery set in 1920s England, so obviously this is being compared to Agatha Christie. Our sleuth this time is Lady Eleanor, who has travelled all over the world until she got word her uncle had passed away and left her Henley Hall, an old manor near a quiet little town. On her first night at Henley Hall, Eleanor goes walking in the countryside during a thunderstorm and happens to stumble across a murder taking place. But the murderer manages to escape and the body vanishes, so the local police don't believe her. There's nothing else Eleanor can do, she reasons: she'll have to solve the murder herself!

This gave me major Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries vibes. The main character Eleanor is stubborn, smart and has a great sense of humour, there's a DCI running around in the background who keeps talking about police procedure whilst tolerating Eleanor's amateur investigation, and Eleanor is aided by loyal servants. The biggest difference between Miss Fisher and this book, however, is the pacing. This story moved at a snail's pace. I really struggled with this book, until about 60% of the way in, mainly because of superfluous dialogue and scenes. I really debated simply not finishing the book several times, but I soldiered through. And by the end, I was glad that I did. This wasn't a spectacularly innovative mystery novel, but it managed to tie everything together nicely by the end and leave enough room for a possible continuation of Eleanor's adventures.

A very English murder is a fast and fun cosy mystery set in the 1920s. The author manages to render the yesteryear atmosphere mixed with a very modern, strong female lead. I liked the dynamic duo formed by Eleanor and her butler. The plot was interesting, but it lost me at times, I think it lacked something to make it more riveting. Regardless, I still liked the overall ambiance, the dialogues and the protagonists’ personalities.

Lady Eleanor Swift has returned to the countryside village of her youth after her uncles abrupt passing. After being orphaned as a young girl, she never really knew her uncle and was quickly sent off to boarding school. Now she's back and has inherited not only the house but a handful of helpful servants as well. On her first night back she gets lost in a storm and witnesses a murder, but when she returns there's no body, no blood and the police force doesn't believe her. Thanks to her trusty sidekick, Gladstone the dog and her butler, she will uncover all the mysteries in this seemingly quiet country village.

This was a nice lighthearted, cozy read. As the first book in the new series, I feel like this novel sets up some fun plot points for later books. What exactly did her Uncle do? What did her uncle and butler get themselves into? There were many loose ends and unfinished stories told, but that only intrigues me and makes me want to continue the series to find out! The plot in this book was well thought out and not predictable. While there are some loose ends left open, the plot of this novel was completed and the mystery was fully solved.

😊 It is always so exciting to start at the beginning of a new cozy mystery series. A Very English Murder is set in 1920's England in a place called Chipstone, and features Lady Eleanor Swift who has spent the last few years travelling the world.

Kicking things off, Lady Swift has recently inherited Henley Hall, a musty old manor house, left to her by her uncle, Lord Henley. Many years have passed since she was last there and soon after arriving at the end of a very long and chaotic journey, she decides to take the late Lord Henley's bulldog, Gladstone for a long walk to help blow away the cobwebs. However, whilst ambling through the English countryside the weather turns into a rainstorm, and she witnesses a man being shot in a workman's hut near some trees. She goes for assistance, but on returning, finds that the body has completely vanished... Without a body the police refuse to investigate, so Lady Swift takes it upon herself to solve the crime.

As is usual in a new series, this first book sets up the characters as well as providing some useful background and a general who's who on the Swifts, Henleys, the staff at the Hall, and others. Verity Bright’s descriptions of the old manor house were impressive and the pacing was spot on. There was always plenty going on and there was certainly never a dull moment!

Verity Bright clearly knows how to write a story that is compelling, entertaining and fun, with characters that were not necessarily easy to love but fitted with the story very well. I really enjoyed Lady Swift's personality traits - particularly her spirit and astuteness, although she was inclined towards impulsiveness. Then there was the curiously ageless butler, Clifford, and the "Ladies of Henley Hall" - Mrs Butters the housekeeper; Mrs Trotman the cook; and Polly, the young maid - all of whom are deserving of a special mention. The dialogue between Lady Swift and Clifford really enhanced this stylish cozy mystery, undeniably making it a fun read, full of banter and witty sarcasm. These two made an impressive team as they joined forces to determine the culprit of foul play. The plot was brilliantly executed and I was desperate to find out what was going to happen next. Written with clarity and verve, Verity Bright demonstrated a mastery of pacing that certainly kept me guessing! There was also a intimation of romance in the form of a couple of romantic interests that may possibly develop in future instalments of the series.

All things considered, I loved this fun whodunit and I highly recommend this humorous, easy to read cozy. I am already looking forward to reading what Verity Bright has in store for Lady Swift next. A well-deserved five stars! My thanks must go to Verity Bright for writing such an awesome book! 😊

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

Yet another potential-filled historical cozy mystery series. This book can be divided into two distinct halves for me. The first involved the introduction of an intrepid explorer who has come back 'home' to take over a house and title that she has not thought about in a while. Ellie talks to herself and is described in a vapid fashion even though she has a trailblazer supposedly through the world. She annoyingly describes anyone she meets in words which are varying degrees of chubby/rotund. It gets annoying after a while.

The second part, however, surprised me. After all the introductions were done, and the story moved on to the plot, I started to get invested and feel for the story. On her first night home, Ellie sees a shooting but almost immediately after, there is no body and the following day, no blood either! The local constabulary refuses to take her seriously, which I did not blame them for considering that there was no evidence, and all Elenor was doing was pulling rank with her title. Once the details come into play; however, I appreciated the time and effort our heroine was putting into digging into the case. She and her trusty (?) butler go through a planned set of details to eliminate their suspects. The first have to conclude what the crime was, only then can they narrow down their field of suspects. Although I was not too caught up in the plot in this one, I was intrigued by the hints of the history of Elenor's parents and uncle's backstories. I will pick up the next book only see the possibilities hidden in what we have been told.

I know I may not have sounded very positive in what I talked about previously, but it is a sold book, with a believable mystery and pretty good writing. It just took me longer than usual to enjoy what I was reading. I still think the next might be even better!

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Phyrne Fisher fans, there is a new glamorous sleuth in town you are just going to love: Lady Eleanor Swift, the witty, intelligent and glamorous new detective in Verity Bright’s enjoyable mystery, A Very English Murder.

The last time Eleanor Swift had been in England, she had been a young girl with a thirst for adventure and a burning desire to see what the world has to offer. In the last sixteen years, she has been to places she had only ever dreamed about as a girl and she has certainly had her fair share of excitement and daredevil exploits, but when she found out that her uncle had left her Henley Hall, the family home, Eleanor finds herself returning to England where she not only finds herself the chatelaine of a stately home, but also a Lady. Inheriting a title and settling in a dreary sleepy English town was certainly not part of Eleanor’s plan. However, she soon realizes that there is more to Chipstone than meets the eye when on a stroll with her uncle’s friendly and portly bulldog Gladstone, she witnesses a man being shot. Who said that life was quiet in the countryside?

Eleanor is shocked to her very core at having witnessed a murder, however, things take an even more peculiar turn when she goes to investigate and discovers that the villain has gone and the body has vanished. What on earth is going on in Chipstone? When she calls the police to report this heinous crime, Eleanor is treated no better than a timewaster and sent away with a flea in her ear making her even more determined to get to the bottom of this baffling mystery and solve the case herself. However, this proves to be far easier said than done as she discovers when her brakes end up mysteriously cut…

It is clear that somebody wants to keep Eleanor from finding out the truth and they will go to any lengths to ensure that their secrets are not discovered – but then again, they’ve never met tenacious Lady Eleanor Swift, who is determined to leave no stone unturned to find out whodunnit.

A delightful romp packed with red herrings, twists and turns and shocking secrets and revelations aplenty to keep you guessing from start to finish, A Very English Murder is a cracking mystery that is full of charm, hi-jinks and shenanigans that will delight fans of cozy historical mysteries everywhere.

Lady Eleanor is a terrific heroine. A modern, unconventional and daring sleuth you are going to love, she is sassy, stylish and absolutely fabulous.

Verity Bright has penned a fantastic historical mystery with A Very English Murder and I simply cannot wait for more!