Murder on the Nile by Verity Bright: Book Review

My review of Murder on the Nile appeared previously in the February 2025 issue of Historical Novels Review. This is a lighthearted mystery good for escape. It spoofs many old tropes and stereotypes without asking too much of the reader’s weary brain.

The Lady Who Isn’t Quite a Lady

Murder on the Nile is 19th in the Lady Eleanor Swift cozy mystery series set in the 1920s. The book’s two amateur sleuths are Eleanor—or Ellie as she refers to herself in frequent italicized exhortations—and her butler Clifford. Eleanor has inherited her uncle’s fortune, including Henley Hall, but acting like the proper lady of the manor is the last thing she wants to do. She’d much prefer bicycling across the world or some other adventure.

In this book, she’s off to cruise the Nile. Clifford takes his duties as butler to heart, reminding her to behave demurely like the Lady Eleanor she is. They tease each other lightheartedly. When she notes that her uncle didn’t tell her how to survive the “unparalleled sniffiness of his longstanding butler and confidant,” Clifford responds, “Neither did his late lordship… [tell the staff] how to survive the lack of social etiquette and sensibility of their new mistress.”

Murder on the Nile, a Humorous Whodunit

Fortunately, Clifford is also adept at picking locks and other shady skills, so when the duo come across yet another murder victim, as they do on the S.S. Cleopatra, they are both eager to track down the culprit. However, the policeman in charge takes the apparent suicide at face value. He’ll let Eleanor poke around for a few days, but time is running out and a devious murderer may be allowed to slip away. This is a lightly humorous whodunit that offers an escape into a predictable 1920s Egypt with plenty of crocodiles and mysterious tombs, and entertains with spoofs of British upper-class customs, uncomplicated villains, and naughty pets (both dog and cat).

For Further Reading

You can find more information about the husband and wife team behind the pen name Verity Bright on their website. You can also find there a list of the myriad books in this long-running series.

To learn about another mystery novel taking place on the Nile, you may enjoy reading my review of Secrets of the Nile by Tasha Alexander.