A Lesson In Murder by Verity Bright
When Lady Swift is invited to her old school, she walks through familiar classrooms, finds her favourite books in the library… and surely that’s not a body? Time for a lesson in murder!
Autumn, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift is invited to her old school, St Mary’s, as a guest speaker. Her favourite teacher, Mrs Wadsworth, has asked that Eleanor talk about her intrepid travels around the globe – travelling the Silk Road by bicycle, crossing the Himalayas and even befriending the Maharaja of India. But in the circumstances, perhaps it would have been a good idea to talk about her career as a daring detective…
Because no sooner has Eleanor brushed up on her times tables then she is greeted by terrible news: Mrs Wadsworth has been murdered. Eleanor is utterly devastated but she owes it to her dearest teacher to find out who killed her and why. So, alongside Gladstone the bulldog, it’s best paw forward to track down a villain.
But when the art teacher is also found dead, Eleanor is sure someone is trying to do away with the people who taught her everything. As Eleanor delves into possible motives, she discovers a clue in the most unlikely place: her mother’s old school diary. Does the route to the murderer lie within a secret passageway her mother uncovered? Can Eleanor nail the culprit in time or is the killer coming for her next?
A totally gripping and glamorous 1920s cozy! Fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Rhys Bowen are in for a treat.
About the author
Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humour, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.
Review
‘A Lesson In Murder’ is a brilliantly funny, cozy mystery that features the amazing Lady Swift! Along with her trusted butler Clifford and bulldog Gladstone. In this outing we see Eleanor return to her boarding school St. Mary’s to give an inspirational talk to the students. Unfortunately, whilst there her favourite teacher suffers from an accident in the library and dies. But is it an accident or something more sinister? Eleanor is called to use her detecting powers to find out the truth!
These books have become one of my favourite series. I studied women between the wars at university, I even did my dissertation on their leisure habits and I think Eleanor represent the best of that period for her class. She is independent, self-made, spunky, wants to break down the class barriers, promote women’s education and indeed is the very epitome of the opposite of a ‘well brought up lady! That's why I adore her!
I loved getting some more background of Eleanor’s past - namely seeing her experience of being at school straight after her parents disappeared. Imagine losing your parents and then been thrust into a new country practically and then being sent away to school. But I loved hearing about all the trouble she got into!
This series has become like a much-desired medicine to me. I suffer from chronic illnesses and knowing that books are coming up that you can read and escape for a bit is genuinely what keeps me going. Eleanor and Clifford let me do this and I devour them each time and then instantly look forward to the next. I know by saying this I'm echoing Emma who was on the tour yesterday but I don't think authors hear this enough. Sometimes their stories and words are what keep us going. There are some authors that even if I know I am overloaded with tours/reviews I will jump at and Verity Bright’s books are one of these for me. So my heartfelt gratitude to you. 💜💜
See you again in November!
