Winter, 1920. Amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is feeling festive. She is playing host to the entire village at Henley Hall for gifts, games and gingerbread. She's also purchased perfect presents for each of her household - not forgetting the biggest bone in the butcher's shop for her partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog - and is looking forward to celebrating her first English country Christmas.
As snowflakes fall, Eleanor is cheering on contestants in the traditional Christmas fun run in the grounds of the Hall. But tragedy strikes when one of the runners drops dead at the finish line. Dashing Detective Seldon is convinced it's just a heart attack, but Eleanor isn't so sure. When she finds a rather distinctive key where the man fell, Eleanor knows she'll never rest until she finds out the truth about what happened in her own home.
Next the vicar is taken ill with what looks like poison and Eleanor starts to wonder if the two cases are linked. When someone tries to frame her by planting poisoned berries in her own kitchen, she knows speed is of the essence. But the entire village was at Henley Hall for the festivities and Eleanor has enough suspects to stuff a town full of turkeys. Can she nail the true killer and clear her name in time for Christmas?
Christmas won't be complete without it! A festive treat for fans of Agatha Christie, TE Kinsey and Lee Strauss.***
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(@bookouture, 19 November 2020, 257 pages, ebook, #ARC from the publisher via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 24 November)
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This is my first exposure to the series. I don't often read books I'd class as cosy mystery but this sounded like a good read and it was. There's something very endearing about Lady Swift and Henley Hall. I enjoyed the time spent in their company. The book is well written and engaging and held my attention from start to finish. I loved the fact the book is set at Christmas without being overly sentimental or cheesy. Who doesn't love a good murder mystery? Lady Swift feels responsible when a man dies practically on her doorstep during the Christmas lunch and race which the whole village have been invited to and is determined to find out exactly what happened. I might check out other books in the series because I really enjoyed this.
