This title is part of a cozy, historical mystery series. In this entry, Lady Hardcastle and her maid are invited to the country for some car races and parties. It sounds like fun to Lady H so off they go…but, of course, where she goes murder often follows. It does here when a driver dies. What happened? Who did it? Read this lighthearted story to find out Along the way, enjoy the unusual for its purported time bantering relationship between Lady and maid.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

Lady Hardcastle and her maid Florence are more best friends than employer and employee. Once again they head out for a relaxing trip and end up trying to find the killer before there are more victims. Their dynamics allow them access to both downstairs and upstairs occupants.
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My favorite by far, I've already touted this series to many and it's made quite the splash at our store! A lighter mystery, "Death Around the Bend" continues the jolly camaraderie between Lady Hardcastle and her ever trustworthy and quick lady's maid.

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A fun and exciting period murder mystery.

Lady Hardcastle and her servant Flo travel to the country estate of a friend to race cars and enjoy the country air. Once there, people start dying and it’s up to them to try to find the killer.

It’s well written, amusing and an entertaining story.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys period stories. Not quite my cup of tea but a pleasant read.

Fatima

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Wanted to like this but it didn't hold my attention. Maybe one to read in one chunk rather than dipping in and out at mutliple readings.

Having read and enjoyed 'A quiet Life In The Country', last year I no doubts about choosing to read this title.

I need to be careful not to spoil the plot. So I'll ignore comment on the storyline and just comment on the writing.

T.E. Kinsey has, once again, managed to take an old tried and tested genre and bring to it a new lease of life.

The setting is a country house in Rutland.

I love the central characters of Lady Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong. I didn't like the supporting characters as much, but following the discovery of a second body, the pace of the story picked up a bit.

I said of the first book in the series that there are red herrings are there in shoals, this is true once again.

However I didn't like this book quite as much as the first, it dragged on a bit too long.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Thomas & Mercer for a copy in exchange for this honest review.

What a fun book! Lady Hardcastle and Flo (her companion/maid) are a fabulous pair of investigators! It's 1909 and they are quite the adventurous and clever pair for that time. They help the local police by the police's request and mingle with the upper classes. This series is a fun romp and I enjoyed every minute reading. I had to buy the first two books to catch up with their exploits. I can't wait to read more of their adventures!

Splendid fun! The dynamic duo are back and more hilarious and witty than ever. I do enjoy this series and look forward to more entries to come!

Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence, are staying at Lord Riddlethorpe's country estate. They've come to watch a car race and plan to participate in the race. After all, they know how to drive. Now they want to see how feels to have all that power under their feet. Unfortunately, they lose the toss of the coin and the men go first. It's a good thing because there is an accident. Or was it an accident?

Thomas & Mercer and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

It seems one of the brake lines was cut and that was what caused the accident as he powered around the turn. When he hit the tree, it was deadly for him. They tell the inspector that they don't believe it was an accident. He just declares it one and walks away.

Lady Hardcastle and Flo decide to look into it themselves. There are dozens of servants, lots of guests and lots of secrets in this household. The more they learn, the more questions they have. It's not until they find out about an incident that happened when the long-time girlfriends were in school that they get a clue about who might be the killer.

There's a budding romance, one going into full bloom and lots of skullduggery going on around the edges of the household.

Lady H and Flo manage to get to the truth, but it looks like it might kill them...

This is an interesting and fun read. I enjoyed it.

Mr. Kinsey takes our two detectives into a country home mystery, complete with mounds of servants (some more trustworthy than others), one or two romances between the guests, and a limited cast of suspects, but infuses what could be a fusty premise with a modern and humorous sensibility. It's a very good time, although I found some of the loose ends tied up a bit too neatly in the final chapters; I mean there's coincidence and planning in any murder story and then there's the stars lining up to aid in our killer's plot. But that is a small quibble in what is a very, very charming outing. Highly recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest entry in the Lady Hardcastle series. I've also read #1 (A Quiet Life in the Country) and #2 (In the Market for Murder). I loved #1 but thought #2 had lost a tiny bit of the magic, but #3 (for me, at least) was just as good as, if not better than, #1.

I love the dialogue and the witty banter. I don't really care for books that try to be funny (silly antics that end up bordering on slapstick, ridiculous dialogue, etc) - but something about TE Kinsey's writing just clicks with me and I enjoy it so much. Flo's internal monologues and observations are so dryly humorous that I actually found myself chuckling out loud or wanting to highlight clever little passages so I could go back and re-read them.

I thought the mystery and character development were also excellent. In short, I loved it. Can you tell? More please!!!

Lady Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong are invited to a house party at Codrington Hall, owned by old friend Lord Riddlethorpe. For a holiday and a week of motor car racing. Which all comes to a halt with the discovery of a dead body.
A well-written, enjoyable mystery with some lovely characters.

What a delightful series this has been [so far], and I believe that this, the third book, is by far the best of the series. The writing is crisper, the story flows better and there are enough red herrings to keep you guessing until the very end [and was I surprised at the end - WHEW!].

The friendship and comradary between Lady Hardcastle and Miss Armstrong is still as strong as ever in this one, but you do get to see more of how the "downstairs" people fair in that world as they are visiting friends of Lady Hardcastle's [who don't all abide with the idea of the gentry and servants mixing, E V E R]. Most of them change their mind about that and about Miss Armstrong by the end of the book, but it is an interesting look at the servant life and just what was endured by people who entered service in that time period.

This was a most excellent read. I am hoping that the author writes a fourth book and will be first in line to read it should he decide to do so.

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

Every once in a while you want to read a British cozy and this certainly hits the spot. Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence Armstrong are invited to spend the weekend at a country manor. We quickly learn that Florence is much more than a lady's maid, she is Emily Hardcastle's sleuthing partner and their amusing banter is the reason I finished the book. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for me to guess the outcome but I didn't mind slogging through the more than obvious clues as I enjoyed the characters and dialogue.

THIS IS THE BEST ONE SO FAR!

Lady Emily Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong, her maid, companion and partner in adventure, are traveling to a house party at the estate of Lord Riddlethorpe. One of the main attractions will be the opportunity for both women to drive in an automobile race. Among the others present will be Lady Hardcastle's brother Harry. There are also 3 women who have been friends since their school days, a Hungarian racing figure, and several other people involved in racing. And of course there is an estate full of servants.
During the first auto race, there is a terrible accident and a man is dead. When it is determined the accident was no accident, it is requested that Lady Hardcastle and Flo try to get to the bottom of this mystery.
This book is the third in a series. I have read the first two books and I believe this is the best so far. There is no difficulty in following the action in this story and it works well as a stand alone read. If you have not read the other books in the series, I suggest you read them for the pure enjoyment.
The time is shortly after the beginning of the twentieth century and there are obvious class distinctions. On one level there are the people who are the well served and there are those people who are the ones doing the serving. There are also obvious limitations to what women in early twentieth century England had limitations as well. If a woman had skills or knowledge that is not what is expected, she drew attention.
Because she is seen as a servant to everyone other than Lady Hardcastle, Flo is able to get to know the people below stairs and learn the news and gossip which runs rampant. At the same time, Lady Hardcastle is listening to information from the “upper” classes. Both women are very capable at gathering facts and putting that information to good use.
The mysterious death appears to involve the race car business. It is early in the development of racing automobiles and there is money to be made. Competition can be dangerous, or so it seems.
Mr Kinsey has developed a good mystery. At the same time, personal relationships, sibling rivalries and childhood histories are all portrayed in a humorous and informative manner. He has created a wonderful story which moves along at a good pace and holds the reader's attention.
This is a very human story. The character development is very well done. Not only do we become familiar with Lady Hardcastle and Flo, but we also get good pictures of everyone. The secondary characters are each important to the depth of the story. These are human beings with flaws. People who have known one another for quite some time know the inside jokes and buried secrets. And each joke or secret seem to be interesting.
I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

Lady Hardcastle and her maid/companion, Flo, are excited to be invited to the estate of Lord Riddlethorpe for a house party and racing week. Having recently acquired one of the new autos, Lady Hardcastle and Flo are determined to be included, not just as spectators, but as racers themselves. But at the first race, an experienced driver is killed in a crash. The crash appears to be a misjudgment on his part but later is discovered to be sabotage. Lady Hardcastle has developed a reputation for sleuthing, so it is natural that Lord Riddlethorpe asks her to investigate. It is a motley crew of guests, from business associates to old friends, but who among them would have sabotaged the race? Old secrets and associations are revealed before Lady Hardcastle finds the answers.

A visit with Lady Hardcastle and Flo in the halcyon days before WWI is a welcome respite from our turbulent world. The banter, coupled with the respect and love that the two have for each other shines in the Lady Hardcastle novels. More is revealed about their earlier, adventurous life in the far-east. Lady Hardcastle was actually a spy for the Foreign Office, aided and abetted by the tiny, but fierce Flo. I highly recommend Death Around the Bend, as well as the two previous novels in the series, A Quiet Life in the Country and In the Market for Murder.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an advance digital copy. The opinions above are my own.

RATING- 4 Stars

Thank you Net Galley. Cozy mysteries set in old England are fun and relaxing to read. This one is another excellent adventure from T.E. Kinsey. The story is well plotted and well written. The author uses some interesting and obscure vocabulary which I enjoyed very much. The book keeps you hooked to the end. I enjoy the Lady Hardcastle adventures a great deal and look forward to reading future installments.

This was a charming story about a wealthy widow and her maid. When they arrive for a week's vacation at their host's house, their intent is to be immersed in the new world of racing cars (this is the early 1900s) and to try a race themselves on the host's track. But when a driver is killed in the first race, the racing is abandoned.. The police dismiss the death as a terrible accident, but the chauffeur discovers the brake line had been cut, causing the car to crash into a tree. A few days later, another guest is found murdered in the garage, this time by a spanner to the head. Now the police begin to investigate, but the widow and her maid are better and faster.

The ending was a surprise. I enjoyed this cozy mystery and would read more by this author.