What to Read This Fall

​What to Read This Fall

Murder at the Royal Palace 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.

A month after her marriage to Scotland Yard's finest detective, Ellie is thrilled her new husband will finally get the recognition he deserves from the Crown. She can hardly contain her excitement while she waits for Hugh to be knighted! Before Hugh can receive the honors, a man nearly collapses in Ellie's lap. Her natural compassion and nurse's training jump in to help but she's roughly dismissed and on the verge of breaking protocol. After Hugh's big honor, they attend the garden party at Buckingham Palace where the man who seemed ill previously collapses again. He's carted off to the hospital still alive but doesn't survive. Ellie and Hugh, about to start their own detective agency, invite the head of the Royal Police, Sir Leonard Dalrymple to dine with them in hopes of making a useful contact for their new agency but he turns the tables on them and imperiously asks them to investigate the ill man's death- unofficially. Hugh is uninterested but Ellie's compassion is roused. It turns out the dead man, Dillon "Dilly" Dalrymple, was Sir Leonard's brother. This case has Ellie posing as a journalist and Clifford as a photographer to infiltrate the secret community within the Tower of London where something suspicious is going on and people are seeing ghosts. Will they be able to solve the case in one week's time and see the murderer brought to justice? With the help of The Ladies, the might just do it but Sir Leonard is not an easy client and the investigation doesn't go as planned. Will this first case also be the last for the new detective agency?

First, I want to say, this book is dedicated to Laura, who was the heart and soul of Verity Bright. Laura's heart and soul is what makes this series special. I keep coming back for the characters BECAUSE they have so much heart. It has been delightful to watch Ellie go from insecure, immature, terrified young woman to mature, confident and caring adult. Her heart is what sets her apart from other sleuths of this time. She may have lost her parents when she was young but her heart has room for more love and she finally has the family she always wanted. I'm happy the Ladies are included as an official part of the sleuthing team now and sweet young Polly has really grown and found her voice. Hugh is a little grumpy but he's still officially working for Scotland Yard and has a huge load of case files to go through. He's walking a fine line doing double duty as both an official copper and a PI. He's frustrated because Sir Leonard is playing his wife and not being honest. Hugh is also grumpy because he's a newlywed separated from his wife. Clifford as a riot! He may be a prim and proper butler but incognito as a Cockney photographer, he can really let his fondness for his mentor's niece show. His banter with Ellie is always delightful but here he lets his hair down a bit (so to speak). He really seems to enjoy acting more than he would admit. He's still some sort of super spy secret agent who can pick locks and a proper butler who keeps Ellie in line. Kofi is away at school and not present in this novel but the Terrible Two are along for the ride but not involved in the investigation. Gladstone is there to provide comfort to his humans when needed - or is he merely begging for more sausages? How is this dog still ALIVE? LOL! 

The plot of this book was excellent too. It did seem to bear a resemblance to an episode of Murder She Wrote that I watched the DAY I started reading this novel so I wasn't surprised by WHY but WHO was a shock. I didn't think it was that person at all. I did figure out HOW it was done right away when the clue was revealed, long before Ellie and Clifford got it. Even though I've been to the Tower of London, I had no idea about the secret community within for the staff. That was fascinating! (My dad, who is not a big reader, recommends [book:The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise|7745326] to learn all about the Yeoman Warders). The information is presented as part of the story as told to Ellie and Clifford so it works naturally and isn't just dumped in there for the sake of relaying information to the reader. I really hate it when authors do that. Here it could have been too much but it was all part of the investigation and Ellie and Clifford learning what they needed to know that it worked. This one also lacked the repetitive going over the suspect list too many times. There were a couple of phrases and words that sounded too modern American and kind of took me out of the story momentarily. I think the term should be "stepped out with" and not "gone out with" but I'm not an expert in early 20th century slang. Also "brass knuckles" is American slang. Other than that, I felt like I was there with Ellie and Clifford. 

Sir Leonard is a tough customer. He keeps his cards close to his vest. Of course he's a policeman and  that's his job but he's not a very forthcoming client. The sleuths have to keep him in the loop and he can stop the investigation at any time. This is different from what they're used to and of course Ellie's impetuosity and compassion often clash with authority figures. Sir Leonard was once close with his brother but they fought a lot and didn't speak often but when one needed the other, they'd drop everything and rush to the other's side. That's very sweet and sad. Sir Leonard must be grieving inside because he doesn't seem to be outwardly. He believes his brother's death was suspicious but officially, his brother died of natural causes. Therefore, Sir Leonard needs experienced problem solvers to investigate and let him know if there's enough evidence to bring to Scotland Yard to investigate a murder. I don't fully trust him. Is he lying? Did he do away with his brother himself and the investigation is a smokescreen? He seems a little too nice at first, too accepting to Ellie's sleuthing skills but he has the power to end Hugh's career early and probably toss Ellie in jail. He exudes power and influence. 

The victim, Dilly, sounds like a nice man and didn't deserve to die. He may have been involved in a few things he shouldn't have been doing but overall, it sounds like he was a man of good character. It looks like he was either killed for one of those things or may have stumbled across something he wasn't supposed to see/hear. The killer was truly unhinged and arrogant to think they could get away with it. 

Who else could have done it? How about Chief Yeoman Warder Rufus Irving. This man is a FUSSpot! He is a stickler for rules and regulations - no exceptions. He doesn't have a fun bone in his body. Of course he is military like all the other men. These men are all walking around with PTSD, toxic masculinity issues and empire obsession. Most of that is not addressed, this novel being set in the 1920s, but it means I try to make allowances for the characters. However, I'm certain Rufus Irving is up to something! He locks "Elaine" and "Birdie" in each night but lets other men wander around. is this for their own safety or to keep them from seeing something they shouldn't? Todd Mace is the new Ravenmaster. He's cheeky, arrogant and young. He doesn't understand the ravens the way Dilly did or seem to care for them, only the money the job brings him. Todd is upset two ravens took off and one returned to die, the other presumed dead. Old Joe was poisoned! Did someone poison the old Ravenmaster, Dilly and the bird got into it? Todd just shrugs it off as lead poisoning. Todd doesn't seem too upset about Dilly's death either. He's too busy trying to flirt with "Elaine" (Ellie) who is much too old for him! Is he really that callous, inexperienced or lying? Did he kill Dilly to get the job?

Mrs. Hilda Erskine is a lively wife of a beefeater. She is attracted to "Birdie" (Clifford) and enjoys winding him up trying to flirt. She's also a big gossip and prattles on about everything. She seems upset about Dilly's death. Hilda has a reason to be. She was either the murderer or perhaps suspects her husband! Arthur fits the profile. He's quiet, moody and antisocial. He tried to block Dilly's appointment as a Beefeater for...? no good reason? I'm sure he had a reason but he wasn't willing to say. He made no secret of his hatred for the other man and isn't happy about this article Ellie's alter ego is supposed to be writing. He's an old timer, Dilly was a newcomer who didn't know his place. But Arthur doesn't even LIKE his job! My money is on the doctor, Norman Orton. He has a medical garden with poisonous plants! He could have easily killed Dilly with something and he did seem shifty at the knighting ceremony. What is his motive though? Did Dilly know a secret about the doctor he threatened to expose? 

Another new character is Francis Caudle, current barman and the executioner. I can't imagine he has to do his regular job at all these days! Or even his job as jailer. I hope. He's forthcoming with information in a matter of fact way and seems to do his job as bartender and beef server well. Yet he's a little suspicious of "Elaine" and the jist of her article. Of course no one wants a tabloid story written about them, especially former military men. The Chaplin, Cyril Royce, can't be the murderer! He's a man of God! But does he know who is the murderer but won't say because he can't? Does he value his profession over justice? Dilly's friend, Corporal Whitgift, was hired by Sir Leonard to keep an eye on Dilly. Dilly confided something to Whitgrift but not specifics. Even so, Whitgrift ends up dead too! Does the murderer fear Whitgrift knows who he is and willing to rat him out? 

My very favorite new character is Rune, a chatty, mischievous raven. He's so funny and charming! "Bloody Murder!" He teams up with the Terrible Two to make a Terrible Threesome! The three pets are charming and adorable, especially Rune who is based on the Raven in Poe's poem, making this story a good Halloween season read. My second favorite new character is Miss "Bibby" Peach, a librarian at the British Library. She is eager to help research for both Ellie's personal mission and the case. She's a lot of fun and doesn't seem to act her age at all! Bibby is not proper and stuffy like Clifford, but she loves to read and learn the way he does. Ellie is trying to play matchmaker! Will it work? 

This was such a great story and I am thankful to the Bookouture team for making it happen!

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