Book: Death at a Paris Hotel
Author: Verity Bright
Publication Day: Dec 4th 2024
Buy link(s): Amazon
Book Description:
For Lady Eleanor Swift, Paris means champagne at breakfast, romantic walks by the Eiffel Tower… and her deadliest case yet!
Newlyweds Lady Swift and Detective Hugh Seldon are honeymooning in the most romantic city on earth. Clifford, her butler,has come along for the trip to make sure everything goes to plan for the happy couple. And Gladstone, the mischievous bulldog, to make sure it doesn’t!
But the pair are shocked when, just as they are toasting their new marriage at the best table in their hotel’s opulent restaurant, a man tumbles through the glass roof and lands amid the silverware and coq au vin. Before he dies, he presses a striking pearl brooch into Eleanor’s hands. She has the strangest feeling of déjà vu. Has she met this man before? All too quickly, the local police arrive and immediately accuse the new Mr and Mrs of working with the victim – a thief who’d just robbed the museum down the block.
With her new husband by her side, Eleanor races to clear their name and discover who would kill to get their hands on the unusual brooch. Following a clue about a doomed love affair takes the gang from the famous cabarets and cobbled streets of Paris to rubbing shoulders with the aristocracy at the very top of the Eiffel Tower.
But soon Eleanor notices a mysterious man in black following their every footstep. Is he friend or foe? And can Eleanor and Hugh unravel the case before the City of Light becomes the city of death?
An utterly charming and unputdownable golden age cozy mystery set in Paris. Fans of T.E. Kinsey, Catherine Coles and Lee Strauss will adore it.
Y’all know how much I love my Lady Eleanor Swift mysteries. Each time I say the current one is the best yet. Well, guess what? I’m saying it again.
Death at a Paris Hotel sees Eleanor and Hugh finally blissfully wed, off on a romantic honeymoon to Paris (a surprise Hugh planned for his bride, with Clifford’s able assistance). Clifford and Gladstone are along on the trip, too. (I must admit, I had a hard time wrapping my brain around someone other than the happy couple coming along on the honeymoon, but Clifford’s skills and wealth of knowledge prove invaluable more than once!) But y’all know nothing ever goes as planned, and it isn’t long before a dead body falls – almost literally – at Eleanor’s feet. The man comes crashing through the hotel’s gorgeous skylight as the trio are dining at the elegant restaurant in their hotel. Eleanor tries to offer the man aid, and when he surreptitiously presses an object into her hand before he dies, she feels connected to it. But why?
What a ride, y’all! For Eleanor, local law enforcement doesn’t inspire confidence, and nothing will do but that she help find justice for this man whom she feels almost as if she knows. And this is quite possibly her most hair-raising hunt for the truth yet. Lies upon lies, greed, old secrets, and unexpected connections make this a story that kept me turning pages far past my bedtime.
There are also plenty of the shenanigans and banter for which we know and love Eleanor and Clifford. Hugh may still be a Scotland Yard bigwig, but he’s also part of the team now, and he’s a delightful addition. He’s able to trade witticisms with the best of them, and the quips and jokes that passed back and forth made me chuckle.
And the danger! I don’t want to give anything away, but Eleanor, Hugh, and Clifford find themselves in some spine-tingling situations. Is a mysterious man in black following them? For what purpose? Why do two municipal police officers keep turning up where it doesn’t seem like they should be? Who is Le Comte, and can he be trusted? I was waiting with bated breath to see how they would get themselves out of the tangle in this one.
I learned of the unexpected death of Laura Tong, one-half of the husband and wife duo that is Verity Bright, not long before I got the chance to read the book. That made this story rather bittersweet, especially since there are hints that a change of direction may be coming for at least one of our intrepid trio. It’s my understanding that Bookouture plans to continue work with her husband, Mark, on the other books that were already underway. Hopefully the remainder of the series, however long it is, will be a wonderful way to honor Laura’s memory.
If you love a good, clean mystery that also manages to pack in a lot of fun historical fact, you really do need to get to know Lady Eleanor. Start with the first and read them all!
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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Hi Lisa – Mark here. I am so glad you enjoyed this, the first book published since Laura passed. She would have been so pleased. She loved writing it as much as she loved shopping, I mean researching, in Paris itself.
Hi, Mark. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog! My condolences to you on Laura’s passing. That’s a pain that’s hard to imagine. I’ll gladly honor her memory by continuing to read about Lady Eleanor’s adventures and sharing the good word!