This is the fourth book in the series.

A troupe of actors are in the village for a showing of their film The Witch's Downfall to celebrate Halloween. After a fire the actors end up staying with Lady Hardcastle and Flo. One by one the actors start turning up dead in ways that echo the film.

Lady Hardcastle and Flo are full of energy and fun and the supporting characters are likeable. Its a really enjoyable book.

I really liked this historical cozy mystery. It's fun to read and entertaining.
The cast of characters is likeable, the plot is sound and kept me guessing till the end.
It's well written and keep you hooked till the end.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley

I have been bouncing up and down for almost twelve months, waiting for the latest Lady Hardcastle book from the excellent T E Kinsey. The first three in the series (plus a Kindle short) are humourous, well researched and just effervesce with enjoyment. They are proper page-turners and I can tell that Mr Kinsey had as much fun writing them as I have reading them. If you doubt me, look at the sheer number of reviews on Amazon and see how many are positive.. Since Terry Pratchett switched off his word processor for the last time, T E LKinsey is the only contemporary novelist that I Google on a regular basis, hoping to see news of a new book.

Was it worth the wait? Yes, undoubtedly. Was it as good as the previous novels? Ummm... almost. I finished the book with a slight (and only a very slight) sense of dissatisfaction and I've been trying to work out why that was. Humour me whilst I recap... Lady Farley-Stroud (Gertie to those of us who know her) is hosting some film people (the director and some of the cast) when they come to the village to show their latest film. Sadly, Gertie's kitchen succumbs to a fire and Lady Hardcastle offers to house the exotic strangers instead. Gertie sends a couple of her staff to help - cue a most satisfying clash between Flo and the visiting maid.

The film, the Witch’s Downfall, is about a witch and shows several of her opponents coming to unfortunate ends. Equally unfortunately, the film people start dropping, one by one, in ways that echo the demise of the characters in the film. The murders are well handled and, although I had suspicions about whodunnit (yes, about three murders in – I am indeed slow on the uptake), I completely failed to guess the “howdunnit” – kudos to Kinsey.

One whole chapter is taken with Lady H and Armstrong explaining some of their back story. I think we fans pestered Mr Kinsey to do this and I can’t decide whether or not he should have listened to us. The previous books had oblique references to Flo and Emily’s past adventures but now we’ve had part of the history given in detail.

Lady H solves the mystery of the murders and some jeopardy is followed by a thoroughly enjoyable chase. The plot is excellent; the banter between Flo and Emily is possibly Kinsey’s best yet; the come-uppance is wonderful. Yet I was dissatisfied. Whilst I can believe many far-fetched aspects, e.g. the atypical mistress-servant relationship and the rough-house skills possessed by Flo, but I couldn’t believe Flo’s casual reaction to the sudden death of one victim: “Oh, for the love of… Not again.” I think that simply trampled through any suspense/atmosphere and reminded me I was reading a farce. It was just a step too far for me and so I've docked it a star. Also, the other books have been stand-alone but I think this one needed some prior knowledge of the characters and the set-up.

If you have read the other Lady Hardcastle books, you’ll buy this one anyway. If you haven’t read them yet, buy them (ALL of them); read them in order; then read this one.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of A Picture of Murder, the fourth novel set in 1909 to feature amateur sleuth Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence Armstrong.

Littleton Cotterill is gearing up for its first moving picture festival and through an unfortunate accident Lady Hardcastle is hosting the "film folk", director Nolan Cheetham and three of his cast. The film, The Witch's Downfall is mostly well received wih several notable exceptions so when a cast member is found dead in a manner echoing the film Lady Hardcastle and Flo are drafted in to help the hard pressed Inspector Sunderland.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Picture of Murder which is a light, frothy tale with a genuine mystery attached. It is narrated by Flo Armstrong so the reader sees everything through her eyes. She is a most unusual ladies maid so her tone is sardonic and amusing. I found myself caught up in both her narrative and the plot which held my interest from start to finish. I loved the period detail and the information about the fledgling movie industry is fascinating from the attitudes towards it to the mechanics of filming. I also admired Mr Kinsey's ingenuity in his plotting. It maybe requires a stretch of credulity but it fits the tone of the novel and made my jaw drop at its cleverness.

As I said Flo Armstrong is a very unusual ladies maid being more of a friend and confederate to Lady Hardcastle than a servant. I was interested to see Mr Kinsey expanding on some of their adventurous past which he has hinted at in previous novels. It adds to the fun of the read.

A Picture of Murder is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you net Galley. I enjoyed this delightful historical cozy mystery very much. The characters are quirky and the story well paced. Strongly recommended.

Lady Hardcastle and Florence are back!

I usually dislike first person storylines however T E Kinsey is a really good writer and this proved to be another great murder mystery. I love this quick paced murder mystery series and would highly recommend them. I would recommend reading them in order as various characters reoccur. I was a bit disheartened that the Farley-Strouds didn't feature that much however it was still a good read.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you so much to Amazon UK for the eARC of the latest Lady Hardcastle mystery! I fell in love with Lady H and Armstrong when I listened to the first book last summer - I flew through the first three, and I was delighted to be back with the inhabitants of Chipping Bevington. Such a fun series for lovers of historical, cozy mysteries with spunky heroines.

4 stars

It is late in 1909 and the moving pictures are coming to Littleton Cotterell! It’s Halloween and the choice of films to be shown is timely. Mr. Nolan Cheatham is the director/producer and with him he has brought the three stars of his latest production, The Witches’ Downfall. After a fire in Lady Farley-Stroud’s kitchen, the four movie people are staying with Lady Emily Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong’s home. In spite of the Hughes’ protestors outside the church hall, there is a crowd for the viewing and it is a great success, as is Lady Hardcastle’s own Town Mouse and Country Mouse production.

On the morning following the entertainment, Sergeant Dobson shows up at the door of Emily and Florence’s home. He has bad news. Mr. Basil Newhouse, one of the actors staying at their home, was found murdered in the churchyard. The murder was staged to look like the murder of his character in the short film viewed the night before. The list of potential suspects is rather long. Inspector Suderland has come from Bristol to investigate the case. Emily and Flo know him from cases past and he appreciates their help.

Then actress Euphemia Selwood is found dead in the kitchen at Emily and Flo’s home. In her hand is a partially eaten apple, just like the character in the moving picture. Could it have been poisoned like in the film?

More deaths occur and the puzzling aspects of the case grow.

In a thoroughly surprising ending, the case is resolved by Emily and Flo.

I was excited to read more about Emily and Flo’s past adventures. This time it was how Emily was recruited and her and Roddy (her husband), adventuring in Shanghai and environs – with Flo’s assistance, of course. I find the characters of Emily and Flo entertaining with their banter and gently kidding one another. The book is well written with a few misspellings and minor typos. It is linearly plotted. The characters are interesting and engaging. I look forward to the next Lady Hardcastle and Flo adventure.

I want to thank NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for forwarding to me a copy of this delightful novel for me to read, enjoy and review.

Really enjoyed this book - a lot of fun to read and a unique puzzle and ending.
I generally dislike reading books written in the first person, but this book was a lot of fun and I just got to the stage that I couldn't put it down. The narrative style kept me interested throughout - I will certainly search out a lot more of these books to read.
Loved the period setting and enjoyed T E Kinsey bit of historical facts and fiction and the end of the book, this really makes the book come alive

Kinsey is a contemporary male author writing in the style of golden age village cosies, and there are places where this is so arch that it feels more like twee pastiche than emulation - super camp! It's a fun, light read as a group of visiting moving pictures actors get murdered in bizarre ways, and our two eccentric women detect with aplomb. Don't expect social realism as this is an extremely hygienic view of early 20th century social relations, best to switch off your critical faculties and just enjoy.