A new Knight of the Realm, Detective Chief Inspector Seldon, is now Sir Hugh, and Lady Eleanor Swift couldn't be more delighted. Her new husband is also finishing up all his paperwork before retiring from Scotland Yard so he, Eleanor and Clifford, their indispensable butler, can set up a new detective agency! First, however, there is the small matter of finding out why another honour recipient collapsed and subsequently died at Buckingham Palace! The dead man lived and worked at the Tower of London and Eleanor and Clifford find themselves there, undercover as a journalist and photographer with Seldon working in the background in order to solve the agency's first semi-official case. Danger follows them, as always, but can they deliver an elusive killer before the Bloody Tower gains three more victims?

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bookouture, but the opinions expressed are my own. Once again, Verity Bright has delivered a fascinating, historically inspired, cosy crime, which is both fun and informative. Early on, there did seem to be a lot of information to digest, but as the story continued, it was all relevant and necessary. I loved Clifford as the photographer and the input of 'the aprons' in the agency meetings. Sadly, Laura Tong, Verity Bright, with her husband Mark, recently passed away, so I'm not sure how many more Lady Eleanor Swift mysteries there will be. If this is one of the final visits to Henley Hall and it's inhabitants it is definitely one of the best. I had no idea whodunnit as every suspect had a motive and could have very satisfactorily been responsible.

This is a wonderful series, one which I will, once it does finish, happily reread with the benefit of hindsight!

3.5/5 rounded up to 4 stars

This series is Bridgerton meets Miss Marple.

Lady Eleanor Swift, a wild, well-traveled, not-so-ladylike woman with spot-on instincts, witnesses a man stumble at an award ceremony at the Royal Palace and something about the incident catches her attention. Later on in the evening, she learns the man has died, and the first (unofficial) case of her newly minted detective agency is to determine if the incident was just an illness or actually murder. We work the mystery alongside Lady Eleanor and her ragtag bunch of husband, butler, household helpers, and a menagerie of loveable animals.

Overall an easy read, laden with historical facts about the Tower of London.

For those who love cozy mysteries and the regency era, this book is perfect for you. And if you love this book, it's the 23rd in a series so there will be plenty to keep you occupied for a month or two.

Link to my goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7856377372
Link to my instagram review: https://www.instagram.com/stories/anjsbookhangover/3706065875743706100?igsh=OTljbDZtMmNnYnE2

I've come to love this series for the characters and story but must admit, the historical bits the duo of writers that form Verity Bright are a bonus. With half the duo now gone, see the dedication, I hope this series will continue. I've grown to enjoy the time I spend hanging out with Lady Eleanor Swift and her seemingly all-knowing butler Clifford, not to mention her husband, Detective Chief Inspector Hugh Seldon, and her ladies. And, oh, let's not forget Gladstone, the bulldog. Gladstone didn't get to tag along initially as it's on royal palace grounds. Hugh is being knighted! He's honored but seems to be a mix of embarrassed at the fuss and worried about getting out of there so he can attend to police work. Then, a fellow honoree passes out in front of King George. They discover he's been ill for some time but, well, Eleanor being Eleanor, she's suspicious and urges Hugh to take the case after his death that is offered by his brother. She sells it to Hugh as sort of a trial run for their almost-there investigative agency with Clifford.

Things escalate from there and in the process you'll learn a great deal about the palace history, particularly the infamous Tower of London. I think in my mind I've always perceived it as pretty much a museum that now houses the royal jewels but not much else. As you'll discover, it's a residence for palace guards and workers of all sorts. If you've ever heard the term Beefeaters, for instance, you'll learn what that actually entails as well as the history of the name. The victim was actually the Raven Master, charged with, well, the well being of royal ravens. You'll learn their story as you read, don't worry, and why they were considered so important. Rune, one of them, is an intriguing, fun character in the story, in fact. I had to chuckle when I read that Clifford was reading Poe's collected works and immediately thought raven, so was delighted to see I'd picked up on at least one clue. All this and more, much more, while you're trying to solve a mystery but keep getting distracted by all the palace and royal mentions. Grin.

I won't detail the plot further, it's a fun one that ultimately includes family drama, danger, royalty, old legends, ghosts--maybe, maybe not, and hidden....well, let's just say stuff for now. You'll have to much fun sorting it all out and I don't want to ruin that fun. The characters are likable and, of course, taking place in the Tower of London adds a certain aura to it all. It was fun to see Eleanor's loyal ladies arrive and jump right into the investigation, not to mention noting the growth and maturity of the younger ones. I'd be giving away a delightful surprise at the end to say much more so, well, read the book and enjoy traveling back in time to the era of King George. Oh, at a time when the now familiar red booths holding phones first appeared, too. See, more fun history. Thanks #Bookouture and #NetGalley for introducing me to this delightful cast and sharing the wealth of info usually included within. I always find myself peeking at the historical notes at the end throughout, I must admit. I guess I'm not much more patient to find out the read story than Eleanor. Grin.

Another highly enjoyable Eleanor Swift mystery!

All is changing as Hugh receives a knighthood and is getting closer to his retirement. From official policing at least. Even something as special as a visit to the palace and a garden party can't stop Eleanor stumbling into another crime. This one is centred around the Tower of London and the Beefeaters who serve there. I loved all the little historical references, the very literal past that they have to dig into as they solve this murder. And the ravens. I love ravens, so it was great to see them featured here and to play a part in both the crime and solving the mystery.

The suspects and supporting characters are great as always, the author has the knack of creating characters you want to learn more about and are invested in, in only a few lines.

One slight thing about the blurb, Gladstone isn't at the knighting ceremony. As much as I would have loved that, I think they did the right thing in keeping him away, our boy couldn't handle that much excitement.

I love Rune. Not sure how I feel about them basically taking him, but Rune owns my heart and I'm so glad he's going to have this happy ending and that we will see more of him going forward. And that's not the only new character we are going to see more of, I like the little suggestion of someone else too.

As always, the book comes with another few breadcrumbs of the mystery surrounding Eleanor's parents. We are one slow step forward, but I am starting to wonder if we are ever going to find anything real about it.

Very entertaining, already itching to read the next as the new agency goes full steam ahead.

A rompy, fast-paced mystery, where Elli’s undercover identity provides a merited diversion and drives the narrative in a way that we haven’t often see before in this series. We also get a lot of interesting facts about the historical setting. Thus, next trip to London is guaranteed to be even more fun and informative.
There are glimpses at “the ladies” and some small roles for the pets. Which I find more agreeable. As always and always welcome, the description of the food is mouth-watering and appetite-inducing.

Let’s hope, that with the new development, Hugh will get a bigger role in the crime solving in the following installments and we can see more of his interactions with the characters. Also, he might also grow more into his role of the "Lord of the manor"- he still acts far too distant when at home or when interacting with Elli`s staff/freinds.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc. Opinions are my own.