Summer flowers, warm sunshine, a maypole dance, and… is that another murder? A tricky case is afoot for Lady Swift!

Summer, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, the best amateur sleuth in the country, is delighted to be in charge of the prize-giving at her village summer fair. But the traditional homemade raft race takes a tragic turn when the local undertaker, Solemn Jon, turns up dead amongst the ducks. Jon was the life of any party and loved by the entire village. Surely this was simply an awful accident?

But when a spiteful obituary is printed in the local paper, Eleanor realizes there may be more to Jon’s death than first thought. Despite handsome Detective Seldon giving her strict instructions not to interfere, Eleanor owes it to Jon’s good name to root out the truth. So with her partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog, Eleanor starts digging for clues…

When another local dies in a riding accident, the police refuse to believe he was murdered. But a second vindictive death notice convinces Eleanor of foul play. Solemn Jon’s assistant, a bullish banker, and a majestic marquess make her suspect list, but it isn’t until she finds a dusty old photograph that she knows the true culprit behind both crimes. Then another obituary appears – her own! Can Eleanor nail the killer before she too turns up dead among the ducks?

An utterly compelling and charming cozy mystery! Pure delight for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Lee Strauss.

My Rating:

 Favorite Quotes:

She wracked her brain for a more charitable description, but all she could think of was an underfed ferret. With his sharp dark eyes set in hollow sockets, protruding jaw and barely-there upper lip, his face seemed permanently set in a scowl.

We have to invite her, old friend of the family and all that. Personally, she constantly reminds me of the native Scottish thistle she is so fiercely proud of. Prickly year-round and thoroughly invasive.

Out of the blue he simply hurled the offer of marriage at me like I was a giddy, aged spinster who would bite his arm off to accept.

‘Have, er, Polly or Gladstone, met the vacuum cleaner yet?’… He sighed. ‘Polly is still terrified of the machine after Mrs Trotman told her it would suck her eyeballs out if she stared down the hose while it was on.’

Folk say she’s about as handsome as a three-legged horse born backwards, which is why she doesn’t have any young gentleman courting her.

Guilt’s a bad enough bedfellow without grief stealing in and hogging the quilt.

My Review:

I continue in my love fest with Verity Bright, as I am evermore enamored with this delightfully amusing cozy mystery series. I have enjoyed every installment, which only improves with each new entry. The books could be read as standalones although a quicker connection and deeper understanding could be had by reading the earlier publications as frequent mentions of her previous exploits were sprinkled throughout. I adore the kind and gentle Lady Eleanor (Ellie), who has a tendency to become embroiled and entangled in various schemes and becomes determined to solve the surrounding mystery and ferret out the culprits. This time, despite being admonished by her would-be suitor and police inspector to keep her nose clean, Ellie has stepped into several oddly mysterious deaths she suspects were murders, which led back to blackmail, family secrets of her own, and a few nefarious scams.

Generous helpings of wit, amusing humor, and entertaining side stories occur along the way as she and her ever-attentive butler apply their skills and attention towards unraveling the villainous schemes.   Verity Bright’s engaging writing style was refreshingly breezy and smoothly enticing in addition to being brain and rib-tickling as the cleverly plotted storylines and clues were a curious conundrum. I am already rubbing my hands together with glee contemplating her next adventure.