When one raft fails to finish the race at the May Fair, honorary guest and amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is the only person to be suspicious. And so starts Murder at the Fair, sixth in the 1920s cosy mystery series by Verity Bright. And as is the way of these things, the murder at the fair is not the only death in Little Buckford. Warned off any further investigations by Detective Chief Inspector Seldon –  who Eleanor sometimes called Inspector, and sometimes Hugh – she believes her suspicions are correct when a spiteful obituary is published in the local newspaper. ‘For Solemn Jon’s death was not an accident, dear reader. It was murder!’ The obituary is signed Willie Green, who just happens to be assistant to ‘Solemn’ John Jon, who was the local undertaker. Green is the argumentative kind of man who exists on the fringe of the village, his brain sloshing with booze, a sharp tongue in his mouth, and so an obvious suspect. Perhaps too obvious?
When a second murder happens, another nasty obituary is published. This death looks like a horse-riding accident until Eleanor sets out to prove otherwise. Her on-off relationship with Seldon continues as they behave awkwardly around each other, not helped by the guilt Ellie feels at going behind his back to investigate the murders. These investigations are fun, supported as she is by loyal butler Clifford who has an astonishing range of suspect skills and tools, including skeleton keys and a pistol, and useful contacts amongst his fellow butlers. Things take a turn for the worse when a third obituary is published, for someone who is still alive.
The series is established now and key characters are familiar, this is the time when the narrative can run out of steam and become formulaic. But Murder at the Fair has a twisty plot with plenty of  unexpected hiccups and u-turns. The deathly events occur at a time of great upheaval at Henley Hall, the annual spring clean, when a newcomer to the hall causes early excitement followed by disaster.
Enjoyable, fun, clever and charming, a great book to sink into when relaxation is required.

Read my review of other books in the Lady Eleanor Swift series:-
A VERY ENGLISH MURDER #1LADYELEANORSWIFT
DEATH AT THE DANCE #2LADYELEANORSWIFT
A WITNESS TO MURDER #3LADYELEANORSWIFT
MURDER IN THE SNOW #4LADYELEANORSWIFT
MYSTERY BY THE SEA #5LADYELEANORSWIFT
A LESSON IN MURDER #7LADYELEANORSWIFT
DEATH ON A WINTER’S DAY #8LADYELEANORSWIFT

If you like this, try:-
‘The Killing of Polly Carter’ by Robert Thorogood #2DeathinParadise
‘The Lost Ancestor’ by Nathan Dylan Goodwin #2MortonFarrier
‘A Mansion for Murder’ by Frances Brody #13KateShackleton

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview MURDER AT THE FAIR by @BrightVerity https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7CZ via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:-