Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #20
352 pages
Publisher:
Bookouture
Release
Date: December 4, 2024
Blurb
Homemade baubles, reindeer-shaped cookies and snowy walks across the rolling moors… but Lady Swift’s festive plans are ruined when a body turns up!
Winter 1924. When Lady Eleanor Swift unexpectedly
finds herself a guest of the reclusive Duke of Auldwyke, she’s
determined to enjoy Christmas with all the trimmings at his sprawling manor
house. And that includes kisses under the mistletoe and cozying up by the fire
with her fiancé, dashing detective Hugh Seldon.
Instead, the season of goodwill turns frosty as she finds the Duke’s studious
secretary, Mr Porritt, dead in the storeroom. Clasped in his chilly
hand is a golden pendant in the shape of a rose. The Duke denies ever having
seen the necklace before. But Eleanor can see the lies in his eyes… Did it
belong to his mysteriously absent wife?
Hugh and Eleanor must ditch relaxing with hot cocoa in favour of interviewing
the Duke’s holiday guests. Every suspect has a secret they’d kill to keep: the
socialite with the false name, the Sir with a questionable inheritance and the
husband hiding a crack in his marriage.
As the blizzard outside rages, Auldwyke Hall becomes cut off.
Trapped by the snow, Eleanor and Hugh must skate around the increasingly
secretive Duke to unwrap the identity of the killer. But does the answer to the
secretary’s murder lie with a ghost of Christmas past? And when an attempt is
made on the Duke’s life too, they realise the killer is closer than they think…
Review
May I present a delightful new instalment in the Lady Eleanor Swift series.
Despite her attempts to refuse the invitation, Lady Eleanor finds herself, accompanied by her full staff, dog, and cat, travelling to Auldwyke Hall to celebrate Christmas with a Duke she has never met and several other guests she’s never seen before either. Eleanor’s fiancé, Chief Inspector Hugh Seldon, will be joining them a day later. But what Eleanor had hoped would be a romantic and festive seasonal celebration turns dark within minutes after her arrival at the Hall when she discovers the body of the Duke’s secretary who has obviously been strangled.
What follows is an investigation conducted by Eleanor and Hugh with the help of a local constable during which it soon becomes clear that most of the guests have something to hide. At the same time, Eleanor and Hugh try to find time for romantic encounters as well and Eleanor’s staff try to create the perfect Christmas atmosphere in the gamekeeper’s cottage. As tends to be the case in the Lady Eleanor Swift mysteries, it’s all a bit mad-cap but very entertaining and a captivating read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book even if there were few clues on the page to help the reader identify the culprit. The story was a wonderful contrast between the mysterious and gloomy atmosphere in Auldwycke Hall and the wonderful Christmas mood created in the gamekeeper’s cottage by Eleanor’s loyal staff. And, as to be expected from a Christmas mystery, the ending is as merry and happy as can be.
