Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Death Around the Bend by T.E. Kinsey


First Line: "What do you think, Flo: the red scarf or the green?"

It's September 1909, and Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence, are staying at Lord Riddlethorpe's country estate for a week of motor racing and parties. The week of fun and frolic takes a wrong turn when one of the drivers dies in a crash during the very first race.

The local constabulary is quick to rule it an accident, but close inspection reveals that the dead man's car was sabotaged. Since Lady Hardcastle and Florence are getting a name for themselves when it comes to solving mysteries, Lord Riddlethorpe asks them to do a little investigating, but once they begin asking questions above stairs and below, there's more to this case than meets the eye.

This series is so much fun! If you're in the mood for a light-hearted, Downton Abbey-esque series that always has a good whodunit to solve, I recommend T.E. Kinsey's Lady Hardcastle mysteries. I was really looking forward to Death Around the Bend because I'd get to read about country house parties and the early days of auto racing. The added bonus is the presence of Lady Hardcastle's maid, Florence Armstrong, who lets readers meet the people downstairs as well as those who above who get to swan about in fancy clothes all day.

The mystery is a good one, although the misdirection was not completely successful. I knew Lady Hardcastle was barking up the wrong tree, and I was right, but the identity of the killer did surprise me. As the two intrepid sleuths worked through their long list of suspects, someone else dies, and they fear their investigation may turn into "detection by attrition."

As good as the mystery may be, it's the characters and the humor that I can't get enough of. The banter between Lady Hardcastle and Flo is brilliant, and I lost it when "a pas de deux through the servants' hall with a bewigged badger" was mentioned. Kinsey is also helpful for those of us who are not familiar with the correct pronunciation of the surname "Featherstonehaugh." Give up? You should pronounce it "Fanshaw." Those crazy Brits...

In the mood for a good puzzle to solve and some light-hearted fun? You can't go wrong with T.E. Kinsey's Lady Hardcastle mysteries. The first one is A Quiet Life in the Country, and each book in the series is a gem.

Death Around the Bend by T.E. Kinsey
eISBN: 9781503940109
Thomas & Mercer © 2017
eBook, 318 pages

Historical Mystery, #3 Lady Hardcastle mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased from Amazon. 


6 comments:

  1. OH, this does sound like fun, Cathy. And I like the way you describe it as Downton Abbey-esque. There's just something about the Edwardian Era, isn't there?

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    1. There certainly is! It's probably my favorite period of history to read about.

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  2. A 'bewigged badger'? Seriously? And thanks for the pronunciation guide. Can you imagine teaching a 5-year-old how to spell their last name? Ha!

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    1. There was actually no badger harmed in the writing of this book. Flo was merely using it to illustrate the point she was trying to make.

      The British have many instances of strange pronunciations to throw us colonials off the scent. Featherstonehaugh is one of the best, in my opinion.

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  3. I read this series when I first got my Kindle and absolutely loved it!

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  4. I just finished 3.5, as they call it - the Christmas short story/novella. I am so loving these books. Pure delight! I did a search to see if you had written about them, and see you like them as well.

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