Death Down the Aisle by Verity Bright
The society wedding of the decade has everything: the blushing bride, beautiful flowers… and the groom arrested before he can walk down the aisle? Thank goodness Lady Swift is on the guest list!
Lady Eleanor Swift isn’t normally one for grand social occasions, but who can resist a wedding? Especially when it’s her old friend, Constance Grainger, marrying the most eligible bachelor in town, Lord Peregrine Davencourt. Eleanor is taking Gladstone the bulldog as her plus one, with a smart new bowtie to match her bridesmaid’s dress.
But the big day is ruined when the groom is arrested for murder before he makes it to the altar. In a baffling twist, it turns out he was already engaged to the lovely Daisy Balforth, who has been found dead at the local inn with Lord Davencourt kneeling over her. The gossip pages will have a field day!
The distraught bride-to-be asks Eleanor to clear her fiancé’s name, as she’s certain he wouldn’t hurt a fly. With help from handsome Detective Seldon, Eleanor examines the evidence. But she’s barely had time to write down her suspect list before Constance’s father is set upon by a bearded stranger on the golf course. Clearly there is more to this story than Eleanor first thought, but can she catch the real killer before the wedding turns into her wake?
A delightfully gripping historical cozy whodunnit full of intrigue and wit. Fans of T E Kinsey, Agatha Christie and Lee Strauss will be totally charmed.
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.
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Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0B218W5P8social
Review
‘Death Down the Aisle’ was a marvellous return to the world of Lady Swift! This is the 11th book in the series and I always look forward to reading them as I know I am going to utterly enjoy it. This time we see Eleanor more involved in the local community which highlighted the wealth divide after the first world war. This was a compelling story which draws you in and I read it in one sitting.
Lady Eleanor Swift is looking forward to her friend Constance Grainger marrying Lord Peregrine Davencour! Eleanor is a bridesmaid and Gladstone, her bulldog is her plus one. But when Peregrine is accused of a broken engagement and then the ex-fiance, Daisy, is found murdered and Peregrine is arrested, Eleanor is asked to solve the case. Detective Seldon has his doubts that Peregrine is the killer but his hands are tied so he asks Eleanor to make some discrete enquiries. With Clifford to help what could go wrong…
Eleanor is such a unique character, a titled lady, but with an independent and free spirit, a novel approach to her staff, a rather brilliant relationship with Clifford her butler and a horrible hand on her love life! You can't help but love her! As much as I love a slow burn of a romance I am now shouting, albeit silently in my head, get with it guys, you clearly love one another!
I loved the plot of this book as it went into quite a bit of historical detail with the ‘broken engagement’ situation, the attempt for women to rejoin the police and showing the lives of the poor after the first world war. As a social historian, I enjoyed reading all these fascinating titbits. However, the detail which I will always remember from this book had me actually laughing out loud, which is rare for me, and it of course involves Gladstone!
Once again this was a joy of a book to read and roll on the next chapter of Lady Swift’s adventures!
