What To Read This Winter

 What to Read This Winter

A Midwinter Murder  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.

Ellie is eager to spend Christmas at home at Henley Hall with the ladies, Clifford, the pets - and HUGH, who will be taking a much-needed vacation. Yet here she is in the wilds of Scotland at the Duke of Auldwyk's estate attending a house party she never RSVPd yes to! She'll just bring the party with her, after all, her fiancé was included in the invitation as well. Shortly after her arrival, Ellie and Gladstone stumble across the dead body of the Duke's secretary, Mr. Porritt, in the study. Oh no! Not again! With only one police constable available and the reclusive Duke's insistence on not bringing in Scotland Yard, it will be up to Hugh- with help from Ellie and Clifford (and maybe Gladstone) to solve the murder. Ellie soon discovers this house party is a shooting party (glass pigeons) with a bunch of strangers. At least they claim to be strangers but Ellie soon discovers a connection between them all that dates back 10 years to when the Duke's wife was killed and he became a recluse. Are the events connected? The more they dig, the more Hugh and Ellie are convinced there's a killer among them and no one is telling the truth. Can they solve the mystery before someone else is killed?

Ooh! This is a twisty mystery! It was a little dark for a holiday story but also very charming. I never guessed who but in hindsight I DID pick up on the clue Ellie missed! This story also has much more romance than any of the previous stories! Ellie and Hugh manage to carve out time to spend alone together and discuss their future plans - or not. It's all very sweet and innocent even though they've both been married before. My big quibble is with the author's note where they refer to the 1920s as Edwardian when the Edwardian era ended before World War I/with WWI depending on who you ask. My minor quibble is some of the language sounds too modern. According to the internet, "Faffing" became common around the 1940s and 50s. Errors like that take me out of the story. My big pet peeve is that no one knows how to spell all right. All right. Two words, not one. Two ls not one. Please? Thank you.

As always, Ellie's warmth and heart make her an appealing heroine. The way she treats her staff as if they were family is very unusual for the time. She's not "to the manor born" and still, after all this time, not comfortable living that lifestyle. The ladies and Clifford are like family. She's like a proud mom to young Polly who is growing up and more self-aware. Lizzie is growing up too and there's a male friend in her life who makes her blush. Trotters and Butters are a hoot as they usually are but they tone it down a bit because there's a man staying in their cottage.

 Ellie and Clifford's easy banter and their close relationship is so touching. They've come a long way since she suspected him of trying to kill her! Clifford stands in for Uncle Byron but he seems to be getting younger and has more tricks up his sleeve in each passing book. Also growing younger and more spry is Gladstone. If memory serves, initially he was elderly and spent his time sleeping on the sofa and drooling on slippers. Now he's playing with Hugh and his feline buddy and acting like a puppy again. Maybe he just needed more stimulation. 

Hugh is sweet and romantic-finally. He's thawing out and has learned to trust Ellie's "intuition" (intelligence?) and trying not to freak out about her investigations. He knows they need to discuss their future but SHE is the one putting it off. Hugh finally has the courage to speak his dreams out loud. I wasn't crazy about him at first but he's grown and adapted to Ellie's way of life. This cast of characters is one of my favorites. There isn't a one I don't love and at this point they feel like MY family too!

The new characters, aside from two, are not at all likable. Mr. Pruitt, the Duke's secretary, is young. He's very kind and charming but he may not be the most efficient secretary because he swears Lady Eleanor Swift RSPVD to the invitation. I find it weird that he's the only one who ever sees the Duke. Mr. Pruitt may have had secrets - secrets he could have been killed for. Did he have a lady friend? Was she from a higher social class? A secret wife? An affair? How else to explain the jewelry he was clutching when he died? I think our young secretary had some hidden depths and dark secrets in the closet. I don't know why else anyone would kill him - unless ... maybe he saw something... Knew something... Learned something, that got him killed?

The Duke of Auldwyke is very weird. He's reportedly reclusive, no one sees him except his secretary and his orders are to be obeyed. Does this guy even exist? I'm thinking he doesn't. I think he died long ago and the staff are running the house according to his wishes. I think this guy doesn't exist in the first place. The whole situation is weird. The Duke - if he exists- is cranky, autocratic, demanding and rude. Who is he- Blackbeard? The Beast? I don't like the sound of him and if they weren't snowed in, if I were Ellie, I would turn around and go home! Clifford would find a way. What happened to Lancelot and his plane? SOS Lance! Get us out of here!

Mr. Lofthouse takes over secretarial duties when Mr. Pruitt is killed. He also has his regular duties as first (only) footman and chauffeur. He's lower class, less educated than Mr. Pruitt and seems kind of lazy too. He doesn't like doing the secretary's job, he seems gloomy and creepy too. I don't trust him. I hope Mr. Bowes, the gardener, didn't do it. He seems humble and proud but clues do point to him. What about the Duke's former secretary, Derek Taylor, turned off after an argument? Could he have returned for revenge?

The guests include Mr. Wilfred Willoughby Taylor "soon to be Sir". ick. Is this guy for real? Who introduces themself like that? He's sleazy and probably a womanizer. Julius Huish is an artist with a large, scary, untrained dog who terrorizes poor Gladstone. Barnabus Musgrave, ESQ. is a blowhard businessman. He's the type that always has to be right and always portrays himself as larger than life. His wife Viola is along for the shooting contest too. These two don't seem to have a happy, loving relationship. They seem to be hiding something including the cracks in their relationship. Maybe this party is making things worse but I think the richer this guy gets, the worse he's going to be. She's not so nice herself and they both want something. Pearl Whitwell, the only other single woman, is super competitive. She's the man eating type and the type who sees all other women as competition. She comes across as catty and witchy. Ellie doesn't seem to like Pearl very much either. None of these people are sincere, they're all lying and they all want something. Which one killed Mr. Pruitt? Maybe they all did it?

Constable Danby is young and untried but he's up for the challenge of assisting in the murder investigation. He has no qualms about Scotland Yard OR a woman doing the bulk of the investigating. In fact, he seems to be excited to be in the presence of real detectives. He's a lovely young man.

I really enjoying spending the holidays (early) with Ellie and the gang. I hope to visit with them again soon! This series has gotten better and better as it has gone along.

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