It is August 1911, and Lady Hardcastle, her "tiny servant" Flo Armstrong are enjoying an idyllic summer in the village of Littleton Cotterell. Having tea in the garden, trips to the village pub, and planning for the village show make up their days. However, things are heating up in Europe, especially in the field of aviation. The British government feels that aviation will play a large part in any coming conflict. So when a tragic accident occurs at nearby Bristol Aviation, what could be more natural than for the two former spies to be called back to duty? Lady Hardcastle's spymaster brother, Harry, has also discovered that someone at Bristol has been selling secrets to foreign powers. Feisty Flo has always wanted to fly, so it is decided that she pose as Lady Hardcastle's maid and a prospective student pilot. By the story's end, the two intrepid ladies find more skullduggery than even they imagined.

The Lady Hardcastle mysteries are delightful, and The Fatal Flying Affair is no exception. I especially enjoy the interplay between Lady Hardcastle and Flo, who are the best of friends and perfectly complement each other. This may be an England that never really was, but it is great fun to visit.

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

When a pilot plunges to his death from testing a suddenly faulty parachute, Emily and Flo get their orders to investigate the Bristol Aeroplane plant for espionage and a murderer. I love these Edwardian Era cozy Historical Mysteries that combine fun and gig with sleuthing.

The Fatal Flying Affair is the seventh of the Lady Hardcastle mysteries that can be taken standalone or, at their best, in order.

Lady Emily Hardcastle and her ladies’ maid, Florence have enjoyed a fine summer in their country village cottage, plotting garden plans with their irascible gardener and looking forward to a village talent festival that Flo is rather reluctant to participate in. Then, Lady Cardcastle’s brother in the secret service drops in with a need for their detecting talents so off they go into the world of aviation and pre-WWI espionage.

I’ve always enjoyed the jovial, badinaging pair of Emily and Flo who are definitely over the top and eccentric. Emily comes across as quirky, even ditzy, but she is really a keen observer and the brains of the detecting duo. While Florence, who is the narrator of the books, is the even-keeled one with the martial arts and weapons knowledge. They blur the lines in mistress-servant because the pair have been together a long time and through a colorful career in far off places as British spies. Their cottage and the village was to be their peaceful retirement, but they can’t help poking into local mysteries and murders. So with their skill set, they come across as a dotty lady and her maid servant and perfect investigators.

As to the mystery, it is set in the fascinating pioneer period of aviation and I enjoy getting a good dose of what it was like in the early years without slogging into the engineering behind it all. The suffragettes from an earlier mystery are back as are several of the usual characters, but the mystery is in a Bristol factory and is being touted as an accident so Inspector Sunderland, the Farley-Strouds and others are not as prevalent. The mystery is, in fact, three mysteries that seem unrelated until they are. There were plenty of suspects and motives. It got exciting and I did get to enjoy seeing the intrepid Flo in action and Lady Hardcastle do her voila. It got slow for a bit just before the reveals and finale, but it was still a fun detecting adventure.

All in all, I had a good time as I usually do with these light, amusing historical murder mysteries that I can recommend to those who like historical cozies.

There are few things more satisfying than a great series with every book as good, if not better than the last. Throw in a splash of humour and a mystery set in 1900s England, the whole thing just gets better. The icing on the cake as always is the most appropriate narration I have stumbled on. Elizabeth Knowelden yet again makes the experience all the more fun.


The author continues to indulge his sense of humour in our leading ladies. Lady Hardcastle and Flo have now settled into a pattern. People around them have come to realise and accept them for what they are and shower them with love as well. Harry has a prominent role in this and has his own verbal sparring thrown in, both with Flo and his sister. The dialogues are the highlight of this series, although in this case, the case itself was not far behind. It begins rather innocuously with a task given to the ladies to infiltrate the local aeroplane factory. Now, as with all their cases, their investigation does not stay limited to what they think they have to uncover. All the previous characters are strewn during the narrative, but few make an actual appearance. That said, I still recommend reading it in order because only then the personalities and their eccentricities can be absorbed in the best manner.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own listening experience of an audiobook.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ensemble of characters, the banter amongst them and the setting for the story. It's just an utterly charming cozy, mystery. The relationship between Lady Hardcastle and her lady's maid is essential to their ability to go under cover and investigate on behalf of the government without drawing attention to the issues. The context of the evolution of the role of the aeroplane (and parachutes) made for a very interesting backdrop to the story.

Some of the mystery storyline just a little too far fetched for me, yet it was an enjoyable, fun read.

With thanks to Amazon Publishing UK, #Netgalley and the author for my advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Lady Emily Hardcastle and her lady's maid, Florence Armstrong are on the case again. They have been requested to find out who is leaking secrets to the enemy at an aircraft company and who deliberately sabatoged a parachute killing the man wearing it. I love this series. They are light weight -- nothing serious, but they are such fun to read. I love the bantering between the two main characters and their friendship and fondness for each other. I hope there will be more in this series because I have enjoyed the ones I read. Thank you for allowing me access to the Advanced Reading Copy.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Lady Hardcastle series by T. E. Kinsey over the last few years, and the seventh installment, “The Fatal Flying Affair,” is another jewel in the crown.

Tensions are mounting in Europe in the years preceding WWI. Lady Hardcastle and her lady’s maid-cum-burglar-cum-markswoman Flo Armstrong are sent to investigate the death of a pilot at an aviation facility. A damaged parachute, exploding plane engines, and missing money are all in a day’s (well, week’s) work for our detectives. Not only do they have to sift through clues to find possible spies and lies, but the annual village show is in peril. Can Hardcastle and Armstrong save the day and foil the plot?

Kinsey’s style is a nice blend of madcap and sensibility. Lady Hardcastle and Flo have a strong relationship that has lasted through perils and peacetime, and their very different personalities make them a strong detective team. There are some laugh-out-loud lines, and it’s always nice to see Flo put her circus skills to work.

This feel-good Edwardian cozy series is highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a reading copy in return for an honest review.

I love this series, and I LOVED this book! Lady Hardcastle and Flo are back at work for the government investigating an "accident" at an airplane factory. The story is fast paced, with enough red herrings to make it interesting. the dialog is snappy and intelligent. (I can now use "hypocoristic" in a sentence and sound really smart.). And the characters are delightful and entertaining. In addition to a great mystery, there's a wonderful sense of humor in this series that I really enjoy. I found myself laughing out loud in many parts. I also liked seeing Flo develop as more than a lady's maid/international butt-kicker and into more of a part of the community around her. All in all, I can't recommend this book or this series enough.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Not my favourite of this series, but still a fun instalment in the series. This sees the ladies investigating flying and dealing with a village show. A nice way to pass a few hours.

Along with the mystery in the story is the humor which is so much makes it so much fun to read. The year is 1911 and Lady Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong are helping Harry, Lady H's brother once again. There has been a death at the aeroplane factory near where they live. In testing a parachute with a person after a number of tests with dummies the man dies. There seems to be a leak of information going out too. The ladies are in looking to purchase a plane gets them in and the opportunity to look around and see what they can find out.

The Fatal Flying Affair is a fun semi-historical mystery. The Protagonists, Lady Hardcastle and her ladies maid Florence Armstrong are "retired" from service to the Crown. But when Lady Harcastle's brother, Harry, asks them to help with a case, they jump right in.
Airplanes are still a bit of a novelty for the average person. Research and testing on parachute construction is underway when tragedy - or is it murder?- strikes. Someone is leaking top secret documents from the very facility where the tragedy has occurred. Our heroines go to work to sort it all out, or will they?

The story was fun and easy to dive into. I was interested enough to look up some of the history of parachutes before I finished the story. There is a nice explanation and some historical clarification by the author after the story comes to an end.

T.E. Kinsey continues his excellent historical Lady Hardcastle cozies. Emily Hardcastle and her maid and sidekick in the spy business Florence Armstrong are taken away from a sleepy village summer by Emily's brother Harry who is a bureaucrat in the Secret Service Bureau in Whitehall Harry is concerned by that a failed parachute killed an aviator working with a new airplane that is of interest to the government. The spy duo infiltrate the aviation company with the excuse of interest in buying a plane. They uncover lots of criminal activity and keep digging. On the side they are preparing for the village summer fete. Lots of local colour and highjinks. Great read.

If you're a fan of cozy mysteries, or you think you might be, T E Kinsey's series about Lady Hardcastle and her multi-talented ladies maid Armstrong is a great place to land. This, the seventh book, could be read without reading any of the earlier books, and will surely be loved by series completists. In this installment, I loved learning about early airplane and parachute development--the industrial setting of the mystery made for a nice contrast with the bucolic country town where Lady Hardcastle and Armstrong live. Thank you to the publisher and NetGallery for an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
This is a pretty big statement but I think this is one of my most favourite cozy mystery series. I absolutely love the characterisation and they get better developed with each further book. These books have me chuckling and intrigued at the same time, and each new plot is unique and engaging. I found this plot line involving the emerging aviation industry in 1911 particularly interesting. I will definitely be carrying on with the series and highly recommended it.

The Fatal Flying Affair is the seventh book in The Lady Hardcastle Series by T. E. Kinsey. In this installment we find Lady Hardcastle and her right hand woman Armstrong being called to duty by King and Country, or better known as Harry, Lady Hardcastle's brother. There is the possibility that shenanigans are going on at Bristol's aeronautics company. Fearing impending war due to Germany's posturing in Morocco, Harry is quite worried about the new parachutes and other plans being leaked. Who better than Lady Emily and faithful Flo to check out the company.

These tales are always a fun read. If you are looking for a way to escape from your everyday life, no better way to do it than to spend time with the banter and fun in the Lady Hardcastle books. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to give my honest review on #TheFatalFlyingAffair. It was most enjoyable!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I love Lady Hardcastle and Flo, and was excited to receive this book. However, after having read six of their other books, and the short story (#1.5), I guess I have wearied of their schtick. I could not get into this book. One thing that annoys me is that the characters always allude to the very exciting pasts of Lady H and F, who were/are spies for the British government. Previously, they traveled abroad and had to escape, under cover, across China, where F picked up her martial arts and meditating skills. It seems to me that there should be at least one book covering this story.

In this book, Lady H and F have been enlisted by her brother to look into the leaking of research materials and the mysterious death of a test pilot. They manage to uncover even more! Unfortunately, there was nothing particularly charming or funny or interesting about this story for me to really comment on. It was not totally boring, but not un-put-downable either

I read over half of the book and I it just seemed to be missing something. I truly believe that others will enjoy this book but I need a little more pizazz. The storyline itself is great, I just wasn’t enjoying the execution. Again, I truly believe others will enjoy the book, it’s just not my cup of tea.
DNF
Thank you to #TheFatalFlyingAffair and #NetGalley for the book

I’ve been noticing the Lady Hardcastle series, by TE Kinsey, for quite a while, both because I like historical mysteries, and because I like the covers. Sorry, I do know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but…there it is!

I’ve been afraid, though, that they might be a little too cozy for me, and I’ve never gotten around to reading any. So I was quite happy to be offered an advance reading copy of The Fatal Flying Affair to review. And I surprised myself by loving it.

Although starting with the seventh book in a series might not usually be the greatest choice, for me, this book in this series was the probably the right one. I’ve worked in the aviation industry most of my life, and have read a fair amount about the early days of flying, so I loved all the little tidbits about flying. Imagine going 50 mph! Or having to talk through a tube to your co-pilot behind you!! Or having the front and back controls linked on the same set of control wires!!! I was lucky enough when young to get a ride in an early WWI observation plane, quite similar to the planes in the book, so I had a lot of fun recognizing its various features. And when author Kinsey had Lady Hardcastle give a pretty good layman’s explanation of why airplanes take off into the wind (see page 68), I was hooked. It was also a lot of fun to think about the development of parachutes as safety equipment (not a spoiler – it’s quite near the beginning), and to think about the new aviation business opportunity opened up at the end of the book (would be a spoiler, since it’s near the end, so you’ll have to read it for yourself).

As it turns out, when I wasn’t busy oohing and aahing over the aviation trivia in the book, I also really enjoyed the plot, which had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. I liked the characters, and the ways they interacted with each other, and the dry wit many of them exhibited. And, once I had spent half the night reading the book, there was a nice long historical note at the end. My only (minor) beef with the story was the solution of the original death that kicked off the case, which made me kind of sad, but wasn’t enough to spoil the book for me.

Let’s see: story – check! characters – check! background – check! historical note – check! So, although I don’t give many books a five-star review, The Fatal Flying Affair gets one. And my thanks to NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer for the review copy. Now, I’m going to go back and start at the beginning of the series, and read them all.

1911 Littleton Cotterell. Florence Armstrong and Lady Emily Hardcastle, are asked by her brother Harry, of the Secret Service Bureau to investigate the recent events at the British Aviation company and their failed parachute jump. Which resulted in the death of Dickie Dupree. Was it a result of foreign espionage or a tragic accident.
Another entertaining and well-written historical mystery with is cast of likeable characters. Another good addition to the series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “The Fatal Flying Affair.” All opinions are my own.

Emily, Lady Hardcastle and Flo find themselves involved in the rumbles of war, in “The Fatal Flying Affair.” At a somewhat secret factory a parachute test goes awry – foreign agents are possibly involved. “Deliberate damage as well as espionage” -- perhaps. All this is coming from Harry , Lady Hardcastle’s brother, who’s with the “new” Secret Service Bureau. Flo and our Lady consider themselves retired from such activities, having done quite enough of it in earlier times, thankyouverymuch. But it's Harry asking, so our intrepid duo agree to go to the factory for a look-see. But it's Harry asking, so our intrepid duo agree to go to the factory for a look-see. So, they begin to investigate, under the guise of buying an aeroplane. And to take flying lessons. Because, why ever not?.

A side story involves the Littleton Cotterell – their village -- talent show. Flo’s place in that is practically assured; “Britain’s Got Talent” would be so proud. It would be a hoot to live somewhere like this. Well, minus the bodies, of course.

“A gentleman is someone who knows how to play the banjo, but doesn’t.” This, ladies and gentlemen, is what I love about these books, lines like this, from the likes of T.E. Kinsey. Is there any wonder why I wait impatiently for a Lady Hardcastle and Flo book? Takes me away from today’s times, that’s for sure. The banter back and forth between these two highly individualized women, a highlight of the series, is fully in evidence in this, the seventh in the series, set in 1911. And what makes this story “go” is indeed the characters. The Farley-Strouds, the help, the staff at the Dog and Duck, the vicar and his wife, even the butcher. Even single one a gem, true to time and place. And of course, no Lady Hardcastle and Flo book is complete without mention of killer cows. Can’t do without that. Perish the thought.

Back to our story. Someone, an insider, is passing along information – is it the boss, one of the engineers, the daring pilot, or maybe the beautiful secretary; ooooh, a femme fatale. Our girls figure out the parachute was deliberately rigged, so that was indeed murder – but brother Harry thinks something else is going to happen. And because this is set pre-war, we get the “what’s coming” speech. We’ve got a few years to go, though. I hope that Emily and Flo get to enjoy their idyllic village for quite a while longer.

In the end, the truth is found out, both ladies get their aeroplane rides and a German spy gets caught. All in a day’s work. And Flo saves the day at the talent show. What fun this all is. What fun Mr. Kinsey brings to us, in his books. More, please.

An Author’s Note explains the many references used throughout the book. And why he couldn’t use a certain word, not in 1911. Another reason why I love to read historical mysteries.

The Fatal Flying Affair is the seventh book in The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries series.

I love this series. Lady Emily Hardcastle and Florence are a real hoot. Seventeen years ago, Lady H. hired Flo to be her maid. But, over the years, Flo has become regarded as a companion and fellow spy. They have learned that Lady and her maid’s guise proves beneficial when engaging in spying and questioning people. The banter between the two is both humorous and witty. They remind me of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves.

Lady Hardcastle and Flo enjoy their semi-retirement and sitting outdoors when weather permits and their frequent trips into Littleton Cotterell for stop-in at the local pub. They have hired Jed to spruce up their garden and perhaps create a simple kitchen garden for their cook. One day, Harry, Lady H’s brother Harry, who works for the newly formed Secret Service Bureau, arrives and asks for their help. The bureau feels that someone at Bristol Aviation and Aeronautics Company that someone there is passing on secret information to a foreign power about its work on a parachute that pilots would wear. Recently a pilot was testing the parachute when it came apart, and he was killed. Harry suggests that Emily and Flo visit the Bristol plant saying that they are interested in purchasing an aeroplane ask if they might have a tour and talk with staff. After talking with the team and some “nighttime” investigations, they considering the managing director, an engineer, and the beautiful managing director secretary. Lady H does get to go up in the plane, but Flo cannot as the engine explodes just before she is about to go up. But at the ending of the book, she does get to go up for a very harrowing ride.

The story is well-written and plotted, and with enough twists and turns, I was kept guessing who the murderer turned out to be until the exciting end.

The author provides in his Author Notes the liberties he has taken and the history of flight covered in this story.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book in this exciting and informative series.