The Burning Issue of the Day by T.E. Kinsey

First Line: "Be a dear and pass the pepper, would you?" said Lady Hardcastle.

January 1910. A journalist has been killed in a suspicious fire. All the evidence found at the scene points to a suffragette who insists that she is innocent. It's not long before Lady Hardcastle and her trusty maid Florence Armstrong are enlisted to prove the woman's innocence. The evidence is damning but also easily planted, and with the police treating it as an open-and-shut case of arson, the two women must fight through stubborn resistance to get at the truth.

Reading a Lady Hardcastle mystery never fails to brighten my day. And if you think reading a mystery-- and a humorous mystery to boot-- is a waste of time, think again. In The Burning Issue of the Day, I learned quite a bit about the fight for women's suffrage in Bristol, England, as well as the settings for several scenes in the book. (The author's notes at the end of the book are well worth reading.)

For once, a pair of (not-so-amateur) sleuths have a good working relationship with the local detective inspector, and that's something I greatly appreciate. Lady Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong are marvelous characters, and I love their lively banter. Well, to be honest, I love all the humor in the entire series. In this fifth book, we get the added bonus of learning a bit more about these two women's escapades before they settled down in a small English village.

Whodunit was rather easy to deduce, but I didn't care because I enjoy the characters, the setting, and the humor too much. If you like historical crime fiction and need to read something that can put a smile on your face, pick up one of T.E. Kinsey's Lady Hardcastle mysteries. You can pick this one up and not feel lost, but don't be surprised if, once you've read this book, you go back to read all the others. They're little gems, and perfect for learning things and for a badly needed pick-me-up.

The Burning Issue of the Day by T.E. Kinsey

eISBN: 9781542041157

Thomas & Mercer © 2019

eBook, 312 pages

Historical/Humorous Mystery, #5 Lady Hardcastle mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.