Having tried to read - and abandoned - several modern takes on Golden Age crime recently, my hopes were not particularly high for Murder In The Snow. But to my surprise I found myself actually enjoying it quite a bit. It would make perfect reading for fans of Robin Stevens' Wells & Wong series: while this is aimed at adults, there's nothing in it that would particularly alarm younger readers, and Lady Eleanor - with her habit of making lists of suspects and pushing against the gender mores of 1920s society - reminded me of a delightful amalgam of Daisy and Hazel. While the period details may not always be wholly accurate, they are tackled significantly better than in other attempts at Golden Age pastiche I have read, and the festive touches make this the perfect book to curl up with by a fire this Christmas.

I am really enjoying this series and look forward to each new book as it comes out. They have such pretty covers too!

Lady Eleanor Swift is really growing into her role in society now and in Murder in the Snow she hosts a big Christmas event for the whole village. Of course someone dies in suspicious circumstances and Ellie and her faithful butler Clifford are obliged to investigate. The relationship between these two is wonderful and some of their dialogue is very funny indeed.

Great setting, interesting and fun characters and a good mystery all make this an excellent book. I was happy to see Ellie begin to sort out her love life although Detective Seldon is going to need to be a bit more proactive if their relationship is to go very far! At the moment he seems rather dull for the lively Lady Swift.

I am looking forward to the next book already!

“Everyone may not be good, but there’s always something good in everyone. Never judge anyone shortly because every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” - Oscar Wilde

One of my favorite amateurs detective duo are back! This the 4th book in the series and it can be read as standalone. This is such a cozy mystery. It's a perfect #ChristmasRead 🎄🎁.

Lady Eleanor(Ellie) is excited to celebrate her first country Christmas and to host the entire village at her home, Henley Hall for games, gifts and good old Christmas cheer. But tragedy strikes when during the fun run one of the guests drops dead.

The handsome Det. Seldon is convinced it's a heart attack. But Eleanor and her butler and partner sleuth Clifford aren't so sure. Specially since it's similar to the way her Uncle died.

Soon after the vicar is poisoned and the cases might just be connected. To top it off one of her staff is accused to be the culprit. She is running out of time. And has a village full of suspects.

Reading this put me in such a good mood. I had a lovely cheerful and mysterious journey. Loved Ellie's character development. Not to mention the killer, I did guess who the killer was but couldn't guess the motive at all. When that was revealed it was so sad. I'm very excited to see how they deal with the revelation of her Uncle's death.

There was but a hint of romance. Ellie is a bit confused between her two suitors. She seems to be leaning more towards the Detective in this one. Oh Lancelot.

Reading the description of the decorations and the food has me determined to cook something special this Christmas.
I need to get my hands on book 2 and 3 as well.

Gladstone is upto his usual antics as the only master dog of a manor should.🐶
I missed Clifford's witty and sarcastic humor & quotes. And Ellie, we see her protecting her staff like a lioness and treat them like family.

It is Eleanor Swift's first Christmas as Lady of the Manor and she is determined to continue all the traditions put in place by her late uncle. The most popular is the Christmas Eve get together for the entire village of Little Buckford. After partaking of the beautiful food and extra special festive mead, all prepared by her loyal and willing staff, the highlight of the day is the traditional Christmas fun run through the grounds of Henley Hall. 

When one of the runners collapses and dies Eleanor and her indomitable butler, Clifford, are convinced the man was murdered. Unfortunately the police disagree and as the victim was universally disliked no one else is too worried about why or how he died. After more victims are struck down and a link to Eleanor’s family and staff is discovered it becomes clear time is of the the essence if they are to prevent more deaths occurring before the new year is rung in. 

Once again Verity Bright has written a fun, atmospheric, cosy historic crime this time with a festive theme. This is a series which gets better with each new book and was a pleasure to read. Eleanor’s relationship with her staff, close neighbours, and the local constabulary is once again pivotal to the storyline with scenes involving far more of the running of the household than usual which I loved. 

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a brilliant Christmas tale of murder set in very different time which is a great read.

What a fun mystery with characters you will enjoy!  Lady Eleanor throws a Christmas party for the local villagers in the style of her uncle,  but unfortunately one of them dies during it.   Will this mar future festivities at her home? Was this a murder or natural death?  Eleanor and her butler Clifford join forces to sort out the situation and get back to normal on her estate.

This was my first Eleanor Swift mystery, but you don't need to read the rest to be able to follow along with this story. It's a quick read perfect for this time of year! 

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review!

A fun cozy read, perfect for the holidays.  This book was my introduction to the Lady Eleanor Swift mystery series. A fast paced, easy read; very entertaining. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am really enjoying this series and can't wait to recommend it to my library for purchase. The characters are interesting and I love the village setting. The mystery keeps me guessing and I really like the butler.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another great read by Verity Bright. Lady Eleanor Swift is ushering in her first Christmas and New Years at the Hall. Naturally, since  Ellie is involved, things don't go as planed and the local coal seller falls dead. Everyone in the town quickly becomes a suspect and the mans past comes back to haunt him. Unfortunately, Ellie's cook becomes a suspect so Ellie and her trusted butler must take on the case and figure out who killed the man and why. 

Verity Bright does a wonderful job bringing the reader into the hall. Her descriptions of all the holiday decorations and food makes the reader feel like they are really there eating and dancing along with the rest of the town. I loved all the Christmas feelings and merriment this book brought out. It was a perfect winter cozy to pass the long winter days. The plot was well thought out, no gaping holes or pieces that don't quite fit. I'm looking forward to the next in the series. I only hope one of these novels might jump back to Ellie's travels. That would be a fun read too!

I loved this book! I have already read two books from this series and I was so happy to meet again with Eleanor and her butler Clifford. I love their realtionship and sassiness, I chuckled quite a few times during their dialogues. I also enjoyed the secondary characters (everyone living at Henley Hall with Eleanor) and how the relationship between Eleanor and Inspector Seldon is evolving (I couldn't understand what she found in Lancelot anyway). The story was very well written. I did have some suspicions about the murderer at some point but without guessing the motive. So far I think it's the strongest story and I cannot wait for the next book!

I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I missed the intermediate story between this one and the last I read. I seemed to have missed a significant change of heart. Eleanor is now reconsidering who her heart belongs to because of something that happens in the third adventure. Since I did not get a chance to pick it up, I can only speculate. This time we arrive at Henley Hall amidst the first Christmas Celebrations with Ellie at the helm. She is concerned about keeping up with traditions but intends to be herself and do her best. The biggest hurdle comes when one of the least liked people in town drops dead. I guessed who the culprit was ( but not the reason) halfway into the investigation, but it did not bother me as it could have.<br>The formula remains the same, a list of suspects followed by verification of alibis. There is a bit of misdirection thrown into the mix, and Eleanor is thrown right into it all. The narrative style stays snappy and kept me involved throughout. Once again, this was a single sitting read. Especially since Eleanor is the one who identifies the root cause which cracks the case, something that is not as evident in the previous instalments
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience

I received a copy of this title from the publisher for an honest review.  Murder is the Snow is a cute cozy title in the  Lady Eleanor Swift series.  I enjoyed this seasonal title that finds Lady Eleanor in the thick of a murder despite her plans to just enjoy the holiday season.  Following in her uncle's footsteps of hosting the local village at a holiday celebration that includes food and games.  During a foot race, one of the runners, Mr. Canning, collapses before finishing and dies.  Eleanor and her trusty butler Clifford determine that  Canning was murder and not just died of a bad heart.  The more they learn about Canning, the more suspects they have.  Can they figure which of the many suspects did Canning in?  

As always with this series, my favorite part is the characters.  Eleanor is charming as always, and I love Clifford and his unflappableness when it comes to Eleanor and the situations she finds herself in.  I think overall the mystery in this book is the strongest in the series with a few twists I didn't see coming.  On the romantic front, Eleanor finds herself drawn to Detective Chief Inspector Seldon, but they seem to always find themselves at some odds with all the murders she keeps investigating; what about Lancelot and her feelings for him?  Readers looking for a nice cozy will love this book and series.  I look forward to many more titles.

Enjoyed each chapter til the very end.
A cozy historical mystery set in 1920’s England, with great characters and intelligent plot. 
This is the first book I have read from this author, and definitely would not be the last. Can’t wait to read the next instalment

I did not read the first three in the series, and I wish that I had.  They seem to be fun, well plotted and the very picture of cozy murder mystery. Eleanor, and her butler Clifford and her dog Gladstone were each as charming as the next, and I am thinking that there will very likely be more to come from this team! I liked the relationship between Eleanor and her butler who is always there to help her out. 

In this instalment, our lady sleuth is ready for Christmas. As she is the “lady of the manor’ it is does to her to host the festivities with a fun run, mince pies and gingerbread men and all the other necessities for an English country Christmas.

And there is a murder too, with plenty of clues, and suspects and a a real good feel for the setting and the people.  

I did enjoy this book, but it took me a number of tries to get into it, and perhaps that is because I didn’t know who these people were, and why. I think that when I read the first one in this series, I will enjoy it much more. On the whole, this book was very long and it had too many characters. I was confused by Lancelot? I am not sure who that was, actually. 

I recommend this to anyone who loves Miss Marple and other historical mystery series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Murder in the Snow, the fourth novel set in Buckinghamshire to feature 1920s amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift.

When Conrad Canning drops dead during the fun run, part of the festivities at Lady Eleanor’s Christmas Eve party for the villagers, she isn’t so sure that it’s the heart attack both the doctor and DCI Seldon think it is and is determined to investigate. When the vicar and his housekeeper are also taken ill her suspicions are fully aroused.

I thoroughly enjoyed Murder in the Snow which is a fun read with a good mystery attached, i.e. I had no idea of the perpetrator’s identity. This is the first novel in the series that I have read but it won’t be the last. I loved that it is told entirely from Lady Eleanor’s point of view as it means that there are no distractions and the reader knows what she knows, nothing more and nothing less. There are plenty of suspects as Canning was not a nice man and plenty of motives as he’s a man with a past. The solution comes out of left field although the clues are maybe there if the reader looks hard enough. 

The real pleasure in the novel comes from Lady Eleanor’s character and her relationship with her butler, Clifford as he’s more minder and mentor than butler. It is a fun relationship with amusing dialogue and situations.

Murder in the Snow is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Put your feet up, take a sip of parsnip perry or chestnut liqueur, a slice of Christmas cake, a mince pie or a morsel of Stilton and transport yourself back to Christmas 1920 at Henley Hall, Buckinghamshire to the home of Lady Eleanor Swift. During the Christmas festivities at the Hall, Conrad Canning, the coal merchant dies .... Lady E and Clifford the butler investigate. 

Oh the sheer joy of escaping these dark, Groundhog Day times in the company of these wonderful characters (especially Eleanor) and of course Gladstone the bulldog, who frankly steals the show ... and baubles.... and slippers .....! They all feel so vibrantly alive, they’re colourful and the storytelling is lively and entertaining. The period of time is captured well in these above and below stairs times (not that Eleanor places much store in that) and the language used is spot on, what! Oh it certainly is my old fruit. This is very much in the spirit of the mysteries of the era as the great teamwork of the intuition of Lady Eleanor and the knowledge of Clifford solves a twisty mystery. 

Overall, a delightful, fun and entertaining read but try not to read when you’re hungry as I guarantee you’ll want to reach for the cake tin! If you like Christie or Dorothy Sayers then I think it’s well worth giving this novel a go. I love the cover too. 

With thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc.

An old fashioned festive whodunnit, a fabulous cosy Christmas read! 

Set in the 1920s at Henley Hall, Lady Eleanor Swift and her sidekick/ butler Clifford are hosting a Christmas eve party for the locals. Everything is going wonderfully until during the fun run, the grumpy disliked ex sailor, now coal merchant Canning drops dead. Lady Ellie suspects foul play so she contacts Detective Inspector Seldon who's too busy on another case, so he 'unofficially' gives her ladyship and Clifford permission to do a little digging.
They find a key near his body which has some significance to the investigation. As they start discretely  interviewing the villagers, they discover a vast array of suspects with motives for his murder!

I absolutely adored this book! it reminded me a of a cosy Christmas tv special. If you are a fan of such things as Piorot , Miss Marple and Downton abbey then this book is definitely for you! I loved all the characters especially the elderly, mischievous and very humorous bulldog named Gladstone. The writing and language was very apt for the time and I was impressed that the leading protagonist didn't fit the stereotype often associated with historical fiction. It kept me guessing right up to the very end.

This is the first one I've read from the Lady Eleanor Swift mystery series and although its not a stand alone book it worked really well as a solo read. I cant wait to read the rest of the books in the series now.

Another great book in the series of Lady Elenor Swift. I have had the pleasure of reading a two of the others and have enjoyed reading about Lady Ellie and her adventures with her bulldog Gladstone. This one brings us back to Hensley Hall at the most beautiful time of the year. Lady Swift is hosting the big party and festivities when it is time for the Christmas fun run. It is at the finish line that one of the contestants has a heart attack and falls out right there. As the man is being removed, Ellie finds a key that may hold the answer to something that is nagging her about the scene.  As the vicar falls prey to poison all eyes are on Ellie as the poison was found in he home. Everyone was with Lady Swift on the night in question so who could be the one poisoning others and could the two cases be connected? Lady Swift will find out and very swiftly indeed. I love this writers ability to captivate the reader and keep the characters inline for that time period. I felt as though I was right there in the book in that period. The characters were very like able and I really enjoyed the dialect of how we got to know Lady Ellie up until the end. While it may be a stand alone novel, you do learn more about certain characters in the other books that would otherwise not be privy to. It does not influence the readers ability to understand the characters though and is a great read on its own.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture for this ARC.  I love this series!  The characters are well written and the storylines are fine.  I like that in each book you find out more about the characters past - makes me want to rewad the next one.

This is the second book I read in the series and I'm just so glad I did. While I found Lady Swift an endearing and intelligent women in the previous book, it felt like she came into her own in this one. Her relationships with the aristocracy, her household and her community are maturing and the result is delightful.

The savvy Lady Swift and the butler are able to host the most amazing community Christmas party and then go onto resolve the murder mystery. It was a goodie and while I was headed in the right direction, an unexpected twist meant a surprise at the end. 

It definitely makes for a lovely Christmas read for anyone who enjoys a cozy murder mystery. I have great expectations of the next one.  Great Job Verity Bright! 

With thanks to #NetGalley, Bookouture  and the author for my free advanced reader copy to review in exchange for an honest opinion.