What To Read This Winter

 

What to Read This Winter

Murder On the Cornish Cliffs by Verity Bright-- 1920s Cozy Mystery

Thank you Bookoture, Verity Bright and NetGalley for an e-ARC. All opinions in this review are my own and not affected by the giveaway.

It's Christmas and Lady Eleanor Swift is looking forward to a merry celebration with her friend/butler/bodyguard Clifford and the staff but most especially, she's excited to FINALLY spend Christmas with Detective Hugh Seldon, her fiancé. When a letter from one of Uncle Byron's old friends arrives asking Clifford to help figuring out who is trying to kill him and why, Ellie feels she has no choice but to head to Cornwall, reassure Mr. Godfrey Cunliffe all is well and back home again in time for Christmas. They're greeted by a police inspector with the shocking news someone has died! It's seems they were too late to save Mr. Cunliffe. Not so fast. Mr. Cunliffe turns up alive and well but it was his gardener, the suspected would-be murderer, who fell to his death at the bottom of the cliffs. Mr. Cunliffe is convinced Mr. St. Clair's death was a matter of mistaken identity and someone is still trying to kill him. Can Ellie and Clifford (plus Gladstone and Tompkins) figure it out before Christmas? 

This story was a little bit different from the others. The Cornish setting was fun. I love the accents (Poldark, Hagrid from Harry Potter) and could hear the characters speaking in my head. The Christmas customs are quirky and zany and it sounds like a fun celebration in the pub. There were several twists to this mystery I did not see coming and I never once suspected the murderer or the motive. The whole thing took me by surprise! I was a bit confused at first. I missed all the clues Ellie later points out. I didn't think anything of them at the time and neither did she. I was convinced it was someone else entirely. The surprise was actually kind of nice. It was a shock but a good one. I can nitpick little details like it's not a family's choice who to leave the estate to. Most families do leave it to the eldest son. Ellie has two titles from her parents because she's the last of the line not because she's the oldest child. She's the ONLY child and Uncle Byron never had children of his own. Clifford would know this but he chooses when to spar with Ellie.

Ellie and Clifford's relationship is so delightful. I think he loves her like a daughter and I don't think a Clifford's heart was ever stolen by a woman but by Uncle Byron and therefore, Ellie is the daughter of Clifford's heart. They bicker like children though, sometimes on purpose. The dynamic is cute and never goes too far for me. Clifford may be a know-it-all and oh so properly correct but he knows how to relax. He teases Ellie about her stubbornness and her love of food but it's all in good fun. She knows it and he knows she knows it so it doesn't bother her. Ellie is too kind to race off to see Mr. Cunliffe at Christmas, especially when it is supposed to be her first Christmas with Hugh when he's not working. Their relationship is special. Hugh is a good man and he loves Ellie but he knows he can't forbid her from investigating or poking around asking questions. He just wants her to be safe and if he has to help with the investigation, then he'll help, as her assistant, but not as the lead. It could cost him his job if he's found investigating a crime outside his jurisdiction. The solution to that problem is funny and charming. I love the romance between them. 

The animal companions are funny and adorable as always. I was excited to have Gladstone discover something that may be a clue, or not. Tompkins also gets involved in the sleuthing, as well as eating. Clifford's solution for taking Tompkins along on their adventures is ingenious. Poor Gladstone is just too heavy. 

Mr. Cunliffe is a weird person. He's older and therefore old-fashioned in his outlook on social issues. He feels women and servants are inferior but a male servant is preferable to contact for help than a mere female. He's proud of his family passing their estate down through the male line. His attitude offends Ellie but Clifford, being older and wiser, understands. Clifford doesn't let it bother him. Ellie is offended enough for them both. At that point if I were her, I would have walked away. He asked for her help! Then he claims someone is trying to kill him and his gardener was into the occult. Umm ok... Mr. Cunliffe spied on his gardener and even searched St. Clair's office when St. Clair was out. That's waaaayy uncalled for. This man is paranoid and delusional. Again, if I were Ellie, I would have left. Clifford blames it on Mr. Cunliffe's nervous temperament. Mr. Cunliffe is an anxious man, always worrying and only wishes he had the bravery of Uncle Byron. Uncle Byron wished he was more cautious like his old friend. It's only for Uncle Byron's sake Ellie is helping Mr. Cunliffe. 

Mr. Cunliffe's estate, Gwen an Mor, is kind of a weird place too. Inside it's a time capsule of Victorian hideousness, complete with dotty aunts. Outside the gardens are overgrown and wild, with the grounds in the process of being redesigned. The estate is along the cliffs of Cornwall and there's a lighthouse just barely within view. The estate is a character in and of itself. 

Mr. St. Clair was engaged as a landscape architect. His job was to redesign the old gardens and make them modern and new. He seems to have been quite talented and passionate about landscape design. I don't see evidence he was a Satanist or whatever Mr. Cunliffe assumes. That's weird and there has to be a plausible explanation for the symbols in his notebook. I can't think of a good reason anyone would want to murder St. Clair. Could be it be possible his slight build was mistaken for Mr. Cunliffe who has a similar build? It wasn't suicide. The young man had a lot to live for. 

There are few servants on the estate now. The maid is away nursing a sick family member. There's just the housekeeper/cook, Mrs. Liddicoat, her husband and two under gardeners. Mrs. Liddicoat is creepy. She is superstitious, suspicious, cranky and lazy. She and her husband came with the house and can't be evicted. If anyone is trying to poison Mr. Cunliffe, it is Mrs. Liddicoat. She's creepy. Her husband is even creepier. He's more suspicious and has a nasty temper. He's abusive to his wife and verbally abusive towards strangers, even Ellie, who is supposed to be his "better." I think he's mixed up in the murder somehow. 

Mr. St. Clair had two under gardeners working for him. Tristan Brae and Dewi Odgers. They seem suspicious to me. They have a story ready about how Mr. St. Clair was "disturbing the spirits of the garden." Sounds fishy to me. What spirits? Cornish pixies? It could be Cornish superstition so they may not be lying. There's also a suspicious story about Mr. St. Clair and Mrs. Liddicoat. Ew! Creepy! Brae seems to be the smarter of the pair. He's the leader while Odgers is the follower. They seem suspicious to me. I think they're probably smuggling and possibly killed Mr. St. Clair because he was poking about and came across their illegal activities. 

Mr. Cunliffe's elderly aunts, Aunt Flora and Aunt Clara live there too, also coming with the house. They're delightfully eccentric. Perhaps in their dotage, playing nursery games with each other. Only Clifford understands them and can keep up. I adore them and their quirky literary game. I didn't catch on but that's my kind of game. I like the way they speak and trying to make sense of what they're saying. I think they know more that they're admitting especially given their prejudices against the police and their "nasty" dirty boots. I also think everyone dismisses them because they're elderly and believed to be senile. Their youngest nephew, a great-nephew, Edwin Marsh, lives there too. He's a piece of work. A lazy, no good young man, he seems to be happy to mooch off his uncle. If his uncle were suddenly to fall off a cliff, Edwin would inherit. He already has his uncle's snootiness and sexist nature. Edwin is a toad and probably up to no good. 

Inspector Tevilick is a decent policeman. He hasn't investigated many (any?) murders before but he doesn't seem too in over his head. He's suspicious of newcomers and especially newcomers who turn up whenever there's a dead body. Inspector T is just doing his job. However, he does need Ellie to point him in the right direction sometimes and he's quick to make assumptions and accuse someone without hard evidence. Hugh would never do that! Inspector Tevilick is also quick to share with Ellie once he learns to trust her. I think he's decent and not the usual arrogant or buffonish policeman usually seen in cozy mysteries. 

Ellie's friend, Lord Wickhamshaw, is so much fun. He is mad for sport and believes everyone should be, even women. He's all for women competing with men. It makes things more interesting. Would that everyone felt the same way! He provides a key character for reference for Mr. St. Clair, having employed the chap previously. Mr. Penrose, the fisherman, is a delightful minor character. He's old Cornish for sure, a man of the sea and full of old tales and old traditions. I think Ellie would enjoy his company even if she weren't investigating. Woon, a lighthouse keeper, is rather mysterious and sullen. He seems a bit superstitious and hesitant to talk to strangers. Woon, just Woon, is another eccentric Cornishman. I love these bit players who give the story local color.

I enjoyed this mystery very much but it's not my favorite. I missed the ladies and I prefer the stories set at home the best.

This has been part of the Murder on the Cornish Cliffs book tour. Check out the other reviews for more opinions. You don't have to take my word for it!