The Lady Eleanor Swift books always catch my eye, but this is the first I’ve actually picked up. It worked fine as a stand alone for me. All of the characters were introduced well and I had a good understanding of the relationships. The mystery itself was self-contained with no threads lingering from previous books.

Lady Eleanor has to give up her plans for a holiday at home and has to attend the Duke of Auldwyke’s shooting party instead. At least everyone is invited, including her fiancé/detective chief inspector, Hugh, and her staff has use of a cottage on the estate. Of course, a body is found not long after Lady Eleanor arrives – the duke’s secretary, clearly murdered. A local policeman and Hugh end up investigating, but the duke, and the guests for that matter, are less than helpful.

I do love a good Christmas manor house party murder. Here we’ve all the decorations and food and sledding I could ask for. We’ve also got plenty of secrets, motives, suspects. The mystery itself was put together well. The plot moved along at a good pace and kept me guessing.

The narrator is easy to listen to and captures the tone of the book well. She gives each of the character’s their own voice and personality.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was a good December read.