The annual Christmas murder mystery for Lady Eleanor and co is always a welcome instalment to the series and whilst this one kicked off a little more slowly than I expected it ramped up well and overall is a welcome addition.

This time Ellie and Hugh have been invited to attend the home of the reclusive and mysterious Duke of Auldwyke to partake in Christmas fun and a shooting competition. Instead of the season of goodwill though, the atmosphere turns frosty as she finds the Duke’s secretary, Mr Porritt, dead in the storeroom and forsaking frivolity and fun for notebooks and interviews it's up to our dedicated duo to solve the mystery and hopefully save Christmas.

What I most enjoyed about this instalment was the focus on Eleanor and Hugh's relationship. It finally feels like they have reached a proper understanding of what their future together looks like. It needed to take that jump even though I fear it means we may be reaching the end of this series (I hope not)!

Having Clifford and the Henley Hall team around provided for wonderfully cosy scenes and a lighthearted respite from what was a slightly darker and tenser murder mystery. It was never entirely clear about the who or why in this story until the final reveal, although with plenty of red herrings along the way it was fun to make up potential theories (I was working on a 'Mousetrap' style theory for a good long while, though thankfully was proven wrong).

As always, the antics were entertaining, the characters are lovable and I keenly await the next in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital review copy of "A Midwinter Murder" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.