T. E. Kinsey

My wife had already read 'A Quiet Life In The Country' by T E Kinsey and immediately moved on to 'In The Market For Murder', the second Lady Hardcastle book, so I knew I was in for a good time with this period-piece cosy mystery.

Set in 1908, the book centres around the unique relationship between the redoubtable Lady Hardcastle, an eccentric widow with a mysterious past and Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidant, who is an expert in martial arts.

The two are seeking a quiet life in the show more country which, thankfully two events quickly thwart this ambition; they discover a dead body in the woods and one of the local gentry asks for their help in recovering a lost valuable. .

For me, it was the perfect light read. It made me smile almost constantly and occasionally laugh out loud. As my wife had already read it, I kept finding myself turning to her and saying, 'I've just reached the part where Florence...' and we'd laugh about it because it was simply too good not to share.

Told from the point of view of Florence Armstrong, ladies maid to Lady Hardcastle it is full of nuanced wit, much of it around the rules governing the relationship between gentry and the rest of us. The relationship between Florence and Lady Armstrong is unconventional and based on several years of depending on each other as circumstances lead them to travel through various hostile environment from China, through Burma to India.

The mystery is just twisty enough to be interesting and a cast of characters that includes local gentry, the village cricket team, bigwigs in the local shipping industry and bohemian musicians playing 'American Music'. None of it is particularly challenging but it shows off the people well, It is so cosy in tone that, despite the deaths, it barely causes a ripple of emotion.

There is some playful use of creative anachronism which allows that Lady Hardcastle, drawing on her education in science at Cambridge, creates two now-taken-for-granted-but-then unknown concepts to help her investigations: the Murder Board (a large blackboard with hand-drawn portraits) and a visual timeline.

I also liked that Lady Hardcastle is the sort of woman who has written to Conan Doyle, asking him to stop Holmes from referring to his technique as 'deduction' when it is clearly 'abduction'. I had to look that one up and having done so, all I can say is that Holmes should have known better.

What made the book so enjoyable for me was the relationship between Florence Armstrong and Emily Hardcastle (aren't those names to conjure with?). I love the joy they take not only in confounding people's expectations of how women should behave but also in using those expectations to their own advantage. I'd read the book just for the banter between them. It's clever, playful and affectionate. These are strong women who care for each other and who have found a way to live together that satisfies them and holds society at bay.

Elizabeth Knowelden's narration is a perfect fit for this book. She gets all the voices perfectly. Click on the SoundCloud link below to hear a sample.


https://soundcloud.com/brilliance-audio/a-quiet-life-in-the-country-by-t-e-kinse... show less

After reading some very serious and depressing fiction and non-fiction, I was in dire need of something light and fun. The Beast of Littleton Woods was just what the doctor ordered! It's my favorite book in the series so far.

For one thing, there is a marvelous cast, and I'm not just talking about the primary characters. The secondary characters, all the way down to individual villagers, add so much to the story. I grew up in a village, and T.E. Kinsey's characters remind me so much of some show more of the people I grew up with. He also firmly roots his stories at the turn of the twentieth century with Lady Hardcastle and Flo wondering if they should bring electricity to their house. In this twelfth book in the series, readers make the acquaintance of Sir Hector's older sister, Joyce Adaway and her little dog, Lady Araminta Fluffikins. (I know...) Lady Hardcastle and her maid Flo know all these people so well that they remind me of another sleuth-- Bruno Courrèges in Martin Walker's excellent series.

I loved the plot. Is there really a beast on the loose? If there is a beast, where did it come from? And who keeps resorting the mail in the post office? I had so much fun putting the clues together as I turned the pages.

One of the best ingredients in the Lady Hardcastle recipe is the wordplay. The banter between Lady Hardcastle and Flo is top-notch, and there are other elements. A butcher named Spratt. Lady Hardcastle's penchant for purposely mangling the names of people and objects (a law firm she refers to as Messrs Philtrum, Hallux, and Uvula). And then there's the threat of a bit of rhinobattery. If I wasn't smiling, I was laughing my way through the entire book.

If you're in the mood for some light-hearted fun and a good mystery to solve, look no further than The Beast of Littleton Woods. I can't wait to see what happens next.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

In 1908, Lady Emily Hardcastle and her lady’s maid Flo Armstrong moved from London to a new country home in Littleton Cotterell, Gloucestershire. On their first walk exploring the countryside, they make a discovery that requires contacting the local police. Accepting the formal invitation for an engagement celebration, neither woman anticipated the morning after would bring the police to their door following another tragic discovery. There’s a lot to investigate as the police are not yet show more aware of a missing emerald.

I loved the friendship between Lady EH and her lady’s maid for the past 14 years. Their camaraderie, repartee, mutual respect, and loyalty are a few of the qualities of their priceless relationship, with no delineation between upstairs and downstairs. They bring out the best in each other, from their pleasure in dining together with comfortable conversations to their individual sleuthing methods that meld efficiently and effectively. I wish I could have slipped into the drawing room when Lady EH played piano with Armstrong on banjo or the dining room at The Grange when the two women sat in on the interviews with Inspector Sunderland.

There were so many fun interactions not only between Lady EH and Armstrong but also between Lady EH and other individuals and Armstrong and others. One favorite was when a drummer nicknamed Skins engaged with Armstrong about her name. As for Lady EH, one never knows what expression or tidbit of knowledge will be forthcoming as her next comment. Terrific!

I highly recommend spending time with this effervescent duo! show less

In 1910, in England, as in the United States, the eponymous burning issue is votes for women. Former spy Emily, Lady Hardcastle, and her sassy, diminutive sidekick Florence Armstrong are drawn into a case in which a suffragette is accused of arson and inadvertent murder. As always, the mystery was well crafted, and the novel was a quick, funny five-star read.

That said, author T.E. Kinsey also taught me a great deal about suffrage organizations in England and the lengths that opponents took show more to deny women the vote. Kinsey includes actual quotes from male chauvinists of the day who felt that women were too emotional — and stupid — for politics. An amusing and eye-opening book. Who could ask for more? I can’t wait for the sixth entry in this fabulous series.

If you have Kindle Unlimited, you’re in for an additional treat: The Kindle and Audible versions are free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. As always, narrator Elizabeth Knowelden makes this book! show less