An Assassination on the Agenda by T. E. Kinsey

Harry Featherstonehaugh has once again pulled his sister, Lady Hardcastle, and her lady's maid, Florence, into the affairs of the British Government. A gentleman has been killed and he needs them to step in and figure out why. But that is just the beginning of a mystery that will have them racing around London, trying to stop an assassination. As they try to prevent this from happening, they will have to deal with bureaucrats as well as men who don't believe they should be doing this job. 

An okay addition to the series but I can't pinpoint why this one didn't flow as well. I think it felt like there were some storylines just talked on to bulk up the book. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out May 21, 2024

Follows A Fire at the Exhibition

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer

Opinions are my own

A Fire at the Exhibition by T. E. Kinsey

Lady Hardcastle and Emily are caught up in another mystery when the spring brings an art exhibition to the village of Littleton Cotterell. People are buzzing over the jewel-studded copy of Shakespeare's folio. This is, of course, one of the items that goes missing when a small fire is set causing everyone to panic and run out of the hall. Also missing are a bust and a painting of the local Grange.

The thefts are bad enough but then a man is murdered during the local bicycle race. Luckily Lady Hardcastle and Emily are among the first on scene having recently taken up  the art of cycling themselves. 

There are any number of suspects including an old friend of Emily's from the circus, treasure hunting twins, and even the Farley-Strouds themselves.

A nice addition to the series and I look forward to reading more. 

Four stars

This book comes out September 5, 2023

Follows An Act of Foul Play

ARC kindly provided Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

An Act of Foul Play by T E Kinsey

Of course Lady Hardcastle and Flo don't cause strange things to happen around them but somehow they are again caught up in a murder. This time, it's Lady Hardcastle's birthday (44th) and they are attending the theater with a large group and enjoying themselves quite thoroughly. But, after a long intermission, the curtain rises on the second act but one of the four actors on the stage is dead, stabbed. It seems like only the other actors would have had the chance to do the deed. 

They are joined in this adventure by Flo's twin sister who is taking a vacation while her husband is out of town for the army. It was nice to have a new face in the adventures and to see Flo and Lady Hardcastle work with someone who wasn't the Inspector. 

Four stars

This book comes out June 7, 2022

Follows Rotten to the Core

Followed by A Fire at the Exhibition

ARC kindly provided Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Rotten to the Core by T. E. Kinsey

Lady Hardcastle and Flo are back! Lady Hardcastle is still involved in filmmaking and as they leave the grocer's, they meet a mysterious (and beautiful) on the way out who is looking for the Dog and Duck. They decide to visit the local pub themselves but it's overrun by the Weryers of the Pomary (the Guardians of the Orchard), twelve men who traditionally get the bar to themselves for their meetings. But suddenly, one of the Weryers is dead. And then another. 

We get to learn more about village politics and revisit a number of characters in the village. There is some self-reflection as one of the characters comments on the number of dead bodies that the two ladies run into.

Four stars

This book comes out June 7, 2022

Follows The Fatal Flying Affair

Followed by An Act of Foul Play

ARC kindly provided Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball by T.E. Kinsey

The Dizzy Heights are playing a private party this time at a pretty swank out-in-the-country house in Oxfordshire. And though some of the family are welcoming (notably the youngest son and the music producer uncle), there are definitely undercurrents of animosity as the wealthy father has recently remarried and the new wife is only a year older than his oldest son. With a fortune built on biscuits, he has money to divide up and there is some indication that he may be changing his will and that most of his children (if not all four) seem to have a problem with that. No surprise, of course, that he ends up dead. It appears to be a suicide at first glance but Skins and Dunn quickly realize that there is more than meets the eye. 

A highly enjoyable story, as usual from Kinsey. The author capture the feel of the time and place and acknowledges things like "Oh, we couldn't possibly find ANOTHER secret passage.."

Four stars

This book came out March 1, 2021

Follows The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds

ARC kindly provided by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T E Kinsey

I've been quite enjoying the Lady Hardcastle mysteries and didn't quite realize that this is a new series with characters that we have seen before. Lady Hardcastle and Flo do make a brief appearance in this book both "in person" and through letters that Flo is exchanging with Skins' wife, Ellie.

Skins and Barty are part of a jazz ensemble who have been asked to been play for a specific group at the Aristippus club. It seems that this group is supposed to go up against another group in a dance off. But these boys will need a lot of help.

It is a routine job until an old friend, Superintendent Sunderland, asks them for a bit of help. Rumors have it that an army deserter who stole a fortune in diamonds is somehow related to the club. Skins and Barty agree to help and are eventually aided by the whole band as well as Ellie.

The mystery was very much secondary to the character development and I did not hate it. Bartholomew "Barty" Dunn is a footloose and fancy-free bachelor though he is starting to re-think his ways. He is shown to have a soft spot for his landlady who lost all three of her sons in the war. 

Skins and Ellie fell in love in an early Lady Hardcastle book and now have two children. Ellie is supposed to have an inheritance but her family didn't like Skins being a musician and are holding the money until they've been married for a set amount of time. It's all of the little touches that really start to make us care about reading more of the stories.

Four stars

This book came out March 1, 2021

Followed by A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball

ARC kindly provided by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Fatal Flying Affair by T. E. Kinsey

 Flo and Lady Hardcastle are once more pretending to be relaxing in the country but then they get the chance to learn to fly. Well, regular readers will know that Lady Hardcastle will foot the bill for the plane while Flo will become the pilot (which, by the way, she is very excited to do.) Except is the chance to fly the only reason they're checking out the Bristol Aviation and and Aeronautics Company? Of course not. Lady Hardcastle's brother has called on them to come to the aid of their nation once again. It seems that someone is leaking information about the Top Secret Project to the Germans. And, while no one is currently at war, it seems that Germany might be gearing up for it so they need to figure out what is going on and fast. All this while figuring out what they are going to do for the Littleton Village Show.
A wonderful addition to the series. You don't HAVE to have read the other books in the series but I highly recommend it. There were three words I had to look up in this book which meant that, not only was it entertaining, I was learning things as well.

Four stars
This book comes out December 3, 2020
Follows Death Beside the Seaside

Followed by Rotten to the Core
ARC kindly provided by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Death Beside the Seaside by T E Kinsey

Flo and Lady Hardcastle are on the road again. This time they are heading to the seaside to enjoy time away from the country. But the country isn't all it's cracked up to be. Though they found a quaint little hotel by the seashore, they seem to be the only English people staying there. Except for Dr. Goddard. He's a scientist with loose lips since he seems to be telling all and sundry that he is working on a top secret project and he has brought it with him. 

Well, not surprisingly, Dr. Goddard disappears somewhat abruptly and so does his strongbox. But then dead bodies start cropping up and Flo and Lady Hardcastle are dragged back into the world of spy vs. spy.
This book probably could have been cut by 100 pages and still had the same story. There was so much exposition it got rather boring. There were touches of humor here and there (Mr. Righty and Mr. Lefty) but I wish the pacing had been more along the lines of previous books.

Three stars
This book came out October 22nd
Follows The Burning Issue of the Day

Followed by The Fatal Flying Affair
ARC kindly provided by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Burning Issue of the Day by T E Kinsey

Flo and Lady Hardcastle are asked to look into an arson/murder case. A local reporter has been killed and the suffragettes have bee blamed for the crime. Yes, there was a signed note from one of them admitting her guilt but it was pretty flimsy evidence with nothing otherwise proving wrongdoing. The local leader believes it may be someone trying to make the suffragettes look bad.
During the course of the case, Flo and Lady Hardcastle are beset numerous times and come out ahead, though not always unscathed.
A lovely story that was pretty easy to figure out who the baddies were but if you don't mind that, you will not have any problems with.

Four stars
This book comes out May 15th
Followed by Death Beside the Seaside
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Death Around the Bend by T E Kinsey

Lady Hardcastle and her trusty sidekick/maid Florence "Flo" Armstrong are leaving home and heading to the country estate of Lord Riddlethorpe, also known as "Fishy." He is a racing man and the two ladies are sure they can talk him into letting them drive his cars. It turns into even more fun when he sets up a ladies' race and Flo gets to take the place of one of the lady guests who doesn't want to participate. But neither lady gets a turn behind the wheel because the male guests end up racing first and one of them dies. 
The man wasn't inoffensive but he certainly didn't deserve to have his brake lines cut. Lord Riddlethorpe asks Lady Hardcastle (and his butler asks Flo) to investigate. One more person will die before the culprit is found but Flo and Lady Hardcastle prevail.
Even though the feint was obvious, I still enjoyed this book. The ending was a bit... meh.. but overall a fun, fast, and easy read.

Four stars
This book comes out June 8
Follows In the Market for Murder
Followed by A Picture of Murder

In The Market For Murder by T E Kinsey

The book opens with Lady Hardcastle and Florence, "Flo," going slowly as Lady Hardcastle recovers from the gunshot wound she sustained at the end of the last book. Then they're attend a local market where they  meet a man who is later to die under suspicious circumstances. But that's not the only suspicious thing happening in town. There's a ghost, a medium who may or may not be a fake, and the theft of a trophy from the local rugby club.
All of the mysteries are woven together pretty nicely... until the end. Then it feels a little choppy. But overall a fast and enjoyable read.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out December 20
Follows A Quiet Life in the Country
Followed by Death Around the Bend

A Quiet Life In The Country by T E Kinsey

Flo Armstrong (our narrator) is a long-time ladies made to Lady Hardcastle. Their previous occupation is hinted at during the stories but it seems that Lady Hardcastle (and thus Flo) must have been a spy during the recent war. It brought them close together, as close to chums as one can get being in different social strata. They've moved from London to the country because Lady Hardcastle was looking for a bit of peace and quiet and a house has become available.
It's unfortunate that soon after they arrive, they find a man hanging in the woods. One who most certainly could not have committed suicide. A man is quickly put in jail for the murder but both Armstrong and Lady Hardcastle are skeptical it is the right man. Then another man is murdered (a trumpet player) and an emerald stolen.
Though this the first book in the series, there are hints of grand adventures that Armstrong and Lady Hardcastle have gone through before. It was an interesting book. The ending was a bit strong but otherwise It was an okay cozy.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out October 4
Followed by In the Market for Murder