This was a perfect holiday historical British cozy mystery. So much fun and such great characters. ( )

This book is a little repetious. Ellie and her perfect butler, Clifford, interview all the guests who were invited to the manor for a Christmas party where one of the locals was murdered. The victim was not well liked and everyone had a grudge with him. Two of Ellie's staff were framed and that slowed their investigation. All this during a raging snowstorm. ( )

Tedious and anachronistic. ( )

'She sighed. "Oh dash it, Clifford. It's Christmas and we're tangled in another mess."'

'Tis the season for murder. Lady Eleanor Swift is back, and her first Christmas as the lady of the manor means that she is going full festive spirit, hosting the annual Henley Hall Christmas Eve lunch for the locals, with a feast fit for royalty, drinks flowing and games for all. The only problem is, as the snow starts to fall and the men take part in the annual run, one of them only goes and drops down dead!! And, would you believe it, it looks like poisoning...

And so, once again, Ellie and her trusty butler Clifford take it upon themselves to investigate. No-one else seems particularly troubled by the demise of the much-disliked Conrad Canning, ex-merchant sailor and rumoured smuggler. His death bears a striking resemblance to the death of Ellie's uncle, and so the personal journey drives both her and Clifford on as much as anything. More poisonings occur, and soon the police make an arrest that is too close to home for our sleuths to bear. As the village is cut off by a blizzard, the race is on to unmask the culprit before it is too late.

This is just perfect Christmas reading. Lock the door, turn up the fire, grab yourself some chocolate and a stiff drink and just give in to the coziness. Look, it's not going to win the Booker, but who cares. It's a fun, breezy murder mystery that ticks all the boxes. And the added layers in this particular book in the series means that those who have followed Lady Swift from the beginning will find themselves even more emotionally involved, as she not only deals with the truth about her uncle's death, but has to face her romantic feelings for two different suitors. Throw in some social issues too and there is plenty here for everyone.

Go on, treat yourself to some escapism and a proper Christmas. I'm going to give this one 5 stars, just because it's 2020 and we all need some reason to cheer up!! Another eggnog if you please, Clifford. ( )

1920s, Christmas, England, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, cosy-mystery, family-dynamics, friendship, situational-humor, amateur-sleuth*****

What fun! The series begins as a farce: presumed orphan from South Africa comes to rural England and finds that she has inherited the title and all that from uncle who is recently deceased. She has little idea of how people are expected to behave in this milieu and is a klutz, to boot. The best part of it all is the Butler who knows everything, helps her with anything, and never treats her like a ninny. Now it is Christmastide and she works with her staff to provide the estate and the village with the kind of celebrations that her uncle had always done. Everything and everyone is quite happy until a crabby middle-aged man drops dead at the first community event. Eleanor and her butler are certain that it is murder, but the friendly law enforcement do not, and are very annoyed when she keeps on snooping as the snow gets deeper and deeper. Loved it! A nice, low key cosy for these fraught times.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )