Someone is killing the Weryers of the Pomary and Lady Hardcastle and her assistant Florence Armstrong are called to investigate. The Weryers are an old group with mysterious rituals surrounding the apple harvest and cider making. When a young stranger arrives in town, all eyes turn to her as the suspect, but slowly Lady Hardcastle and Miss Armstrong piece together the answer to a mystery from long ago. Lady Hardcastle and Miss Armstrong are terrific characters and I enjoy this series very much,

Thus was a fun and engaging cozy mystery. This was the first Lady Hardcastle mystery I've read, and I look forward to reading more. This one certainly caught my attention from the first with the mystery of who the strange woman was in town and what she might be up to. I highly recommend this book to other cozy mystery readers.

Rotten to the Core is number eight in the Lady Hardcastle Series by T E Kinsey. Once again Lady Hardcastle and Flo must discover who is leaving the dead bodies lying around. It is always a pleasure to follow these two along on their adventures. So pull up a chair and have some apple cider at hand and enjoy. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to give my honest and voluntary opinion on #RottenToTheCore.

T.E. Kinsey does it again! Once more, this little romp with Lady Hardcastle and Flo was delightful. Their friendly and teasing banter is of course the best part of the story, but I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and little mystery of this one too. I liked to see Miss Caudle back with the ladies again as well! This is a must read for any fans of the rest of the series, and well, if people haven't gotten on the Lady H and Flo bandwagon yet, what are you waiting for?!

With their customary delight and irascible style Lady Hardcastle and Flo, (her Tiny Servant) find themselves investigating another murder mystery when a body is found in the local apple orchard.

Archaic societies, corruption and revenge abound in another fascinating adventure, that will keep you wildly entertained with every turn of the page.

I received an ARC via #NetGalley. Interesting mystery set in a charitable group that has a murky past and reputation. Apples and cider play major roles, and some of the details of cider-making were a bit overwhelming. The relationship between Lady Hardcastle and Flo is what makes the books a lot of fun to read, and this one lived up to the others with clever conversations and a lot of tea (and alcohol) shared by the heroines.

Another wonderful time with Lady Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong. This time our heroines are out and about solving mysteries around cider and an ancient order of cider protectors (it makes sense later) and the corruption that attends this secret society. There's a bit of a wink and a nod regarding the number of murders in this little part of England and how much our heroines have missed travelling about tracking down criminals in a satisfying way because DAMN, there are bodies lining the streets at this point. My one sort of "hmmm..." take is that I'm not sure if we are supposed to laugh at Emily and Flo putting some of the clues together so quickly and correctly, like it really read like the conspiracy scene in Undercover Brother, or if we are supposed to just move along with them? It's a small quibble. This novel does read as kind of a transitional space - the mystery serves to bring more characters and allies into the entourage while hinting at the roles that Lady Hardcastle and Flo may play before and during WWI. I kind of want them to get there sooner rather than later but that does speak to how great these characters would be on an international stage. A strong recommend.

To solve a series of gruesome murders, Lady Hardcastle and her more-than-a lady’s maid, Flo, must examine the history of Littleton Cotterell's "secret" society known as the Weryers of Pomary. Suspense builds as they uncover its past and current doings that reveal the clues! I love this series because it features highly unusual detectives who add fun and wit to their crime-solving skills.

I would never normally go into a series without starting at the beginning but the description of this book really interested me so I jumped in. This is set in the early 1900’s. lady Hardcastle and her Lady’s Maid, Flo, live in a village filled with brilliant characters and they have both gained much respect in helping the police solve murders. It is clear that something gruesome is happening close to home when the body of a local man is found in an apple orchard. Lady Hardcastle and flo are called apron to help crack the case.
The whole plot was very well thought out and kept me guessing throughout but the real joy of this book for me are the wonderful characters of Lady Hardcastle and Flo. I loved their relationship and their humorous banter . Although they annoy each other they clearly have a special bond. Throughout the story we also cross paths with the locals and I enjoyed all of them!
This is a great cosy mystery with even better characters and I have immediately bought the first book in the series . I can’t wait to really get to know these to women.

Highly enjoyed this mystery! Cozy mysteries are such a smooth read and this was no exception.

Characters were great, well written and rounded. There was great arcing as well throughout the plot.

5 Stars. Would recommend.

Another great outing with Lady Emily and her friend/business partner/fellow sort of spy Flo. This series, set in pre World War I England, is great fun and doesn't take itself too seriously. Flo and Emily are servant and Lady, but also compatriots who have been through many adventures together. There is a lot of droll humor amidst the detecting.

This time around a murderer is targeting members of a cider-related fraternity, and sending a message: each body is arranged with props in a bizarre little tableau. There are some old animosities, some adulterous bad feelings, and a decades old murder that may or may not be involved. And there is also a mysterious young woman in town which seems like more than coincidence.

An enjoyable and relaxing series, recommended. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The latest Lady Hardcastle mystery is another fun addition to the series. Our intrepid duo are investigating deaths in a secret society in a nearby village. There are some familiar faces, there is some fun Gloucestershire idioms and Emily and Florence continue to be a crack mystery solving team. An easy, fun read.

Rating : 3.75 out of 5 stars
Blurbs :

Summer 1911. A scorching heatwave engulfs the quiet town of Littleton Cotterell and brings about an unusually early harvest. The villagers are thrilled, but events quickly turn sour when one of them turns up dead in an apple orchard, stabbed through the heart.

Amateur sleuth Lady Hardcastle and her trusty lady’s maid, Flo, suddenly have a juicy case on their hands. Might the mysterious stranger they recently met in the village be to blame?

When a second cider-related murder takes place, it quickly becomes clear that there’s more to these mysterious deaths than meets the eye. The daring duo uncover whispers of an ancient order and moonlit rituals. And evidence points to a macabre secret in the village stretching back years. A secret someone will do anything—anything at all—to keep hidden.

Something is rotten, that’s for sure. With the local constabulary baffled, Lady Hardcastle and Flo must use all their powers of wit and whimsy to get to the bottom of the dastardly deed. But can they catch the killer before any more people drop dead?

Thoughts : If you like a cozy mystery, then you'll enjoy this book. Thanks, Netgalley and publisher for the ARC!

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
ARC kindly provided Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

This delightfully entertaining, witty, and well-written series just keeps getting better and better! This latest installment brings us a mysterious ‘secret’ society that does good works (or do they?); victims who are likable, but certainly have secrets; past murders to solve; and some pretty nasty villains, Our usual cast of funny and entertaining characters are out in full force as is our intrepid former spies turned investigators – Lady Hardcastle and her lady’s maid, Flo. If you are looking for a refreshingly entertaining read, this is the one for you!

With the unseasonably hot weather bringing on an early apple harvest, the villagers are tickled to have an early cider festival. Everyone is busily planning events and all of them are centered around apples and cider – from food on the square to the secretive rituals of the Weryers. Those Weryers are an ancient group with darker roots than the current participants utilize. They do good works, support charities, and generally help the areas. But, maybe those dark roots haven’t completely disappeared – because one of them is found murdered in his apple orchard. Then in a matter of days, two more Weryers are also found murdered.

Who in the world could have it in for the Weryers who do nothing except help residents of the area? Could it be another Weryer who wants to move up within the organization? Could it be the stranger who is visiting the village? Does it have anything at all to do with a murder that happened twenty years ago?

As always, the constabulary turns to Lady Hardcastle and Flo to help solve the case. Will they solve the case or become victims themselves? This villain doesn’t care how many bodies there are as long as he doesn’t get caught, so a couple of amateur sleuths wouldn’t bother him in the least.

I can highly recommend this book and this series. I love the lively banter between Lady Hardcastle and Flo as well as all of the antics they get up to. When you add the locals into the mix, you have a wonderfully entertaining read. I’m already counting the days until the next release!

The Lady Hardcastle books are cozy as having your feet tucked into thick socks under a blanket while you sip some cocoa. I love them all! Elizabeth Knowelden is perfect as the narrator and does remarkable and unique voices for all of the characters. In fact, I suspect T E Kinsey writes some of these words just to hear her say them.

Rotten to the Core is a worthy addition to an already classic (in my opinion) series. There is little to improve on so this feels like a fantastic continuation of these women's lives and I can't get enough. As always this was a great mystery and a delightful experience all around.
Well done T E Kinsey and well done Elizabeth Knowelden!

This is always such a charming series, Lady Hardcastle and her companion Flo are are delightful as ever. The cast of characters in this book are wonderful and colorful and the mystery is both fun and fascinating historically.

Just what were they up to in that not-so-secret secret society?

Rotten to the Core is the second book I’ve read in TE Kinsey’s Lady Hardcastle series, and I enjoyed it quite as much as I did the previous one. At first, I was a little worried, because I was so much in love with the early, pre-WWI, aviation background of The Fatal Flying Affair, and I was concerned that without that setting, I might not like Rotten as much. But I actually found that not being distracted by a background that I knew a lot about let me focus a bit more on the story itself. And I really liked the story in Rotten.

As the book opens, Claud Cridland has been found dead in the apple orchard. He’s a member of a (semi) secret society, the Weryers of the Pomary, which appears to have some hazy and dark origins - not least of which is their name! But the group is now generally seen more as a chance for some worthy locals (and, possibly, some not-so-worthy ones as well) to hang out and drink a bit more cider than they should, while ostensibly providing support for charities in the region. And to be fair to the Weryers, it seems they really do do some good works, but readers can decide for themselves which is likely to be the true motivating factor…

Like many service organizations, however, the Weryers have some fissures and cracks, and it becomes the job of Lady Hardcastle and Flo to figure out what really is going on amongst the various members, and whether this had anything to do with Claud’s demise. And with the help of some continuing series characters (Inspector Sunderland, Dr. Gosling, Daisy, Edna, Miss Jones), they are up to the task: putting their lives in peril with Lady Hardcastle’s driving as they chase around the county in the Silver Ghost, reading old newspapers in the Chipping Bevington library, witnessing a midnight meeting of the Weryers in the orchard, finding a few more dead bodies, filling out Lady Hardcastle’s “crime board”, and figuring out who the pretty new stranger in town is too.

Rotten is a classic historical cozy, but still manages to riff on some common human themes we can all relate to. At the same time, though, Kinsey’s writing is peppered with amusing moments. I especially liked Flo’s suggestion near the end that the Weryers should start admitting women (heavens !!!) to help make up their numbers, which were sadly depleted before the events in Rotten finally concluded. If I have any complaint at all, it’s a minor one, which is that I’m still having a bit of trouble with some of Lady Hardcastle’s and Flo’s backstory. But really, that’s more on me, since I’ve chosen to read the two most recent books first, and I need (and want) to go back and read at least some of the earlier ones, just to get a better feel for the characters. This isn’t a huge deal, though, because Kinsey provides just enough background to keep newbies like myself “in the story”. Finally, I’d like to note that Kinsey has again provided a nice historical summary at the end, and I always appreciate it when authors of historical novels share a bit of the research they’ve done, letting us know what is genuine background, and what is the author’s imagination.

So, five stars for Rotten to the Core, and, last, but not least, my thanks to Thomas & Mercer UK and to NetGalley for the review copy!

Lady Hardcastle and her assistant Florence have an interesting history. They work for the British government every now and then. They have traveled the world together. Actually, they were escaping danger at the time. And surprisingly, they also investigate for the police department every now and then.

The ladies live in a village populated by wonderful characters. And they all add a great deal to the fabric of each story.

A dead body is found. The man was a member of an ancient society. He was also considered to be a very good man. No one would want to murder him, would they?

When there is another body, the investigation gets even more intense.

But, there is no rhyme or reason to the case. The list of suspects seems to grow with every question asked and answered.

This is a wonderful story. There is humor and mystery. The reader is given all the information as the story moves along. The journey to the solution is filled with fully formed characters and exciting events..
The villagers all admire Lady Hardcastle and Florence. They easily provide answers to any questions.

This book is part of a series. I believe complete enjoyment requires reading every book. But, each book can be read as a stand alone read.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.

Lady Hardcastle and Flo are walking home and meet a beautiful young woman who asks them if the pub still has rooms. They wonder what she is doing in Little Cotterell. After dinner they go to the pub, and everyone seems to be outside. Inside there is a group of 12 men who don't want others around. It is a meeting of the Weryers of the Pomary, known as the Guardians of the Orchard. The next morning, Edna tells Lady Hardcastle and Flo that Cridland, a local farmer and Weryer had been murdered in his orchard. Soon Sergeant Dobbins arrives to ask for their help.

Lady Hardcastle and Flo work with Inspector Sunderland to try to find out who killed Cridland and why. However, it is a difficult case because there are several other Weryers who might have killed him, a few who were turned down for membership by the Weryers, as well as the woman stranger who is still in town. They have seen the woman near the homes of several Weryers, and she is very noncommunicative. I enjoy the clever repartee between Lady Hardcastle and Flo. Before long, one of their suspects is also killed and they begin to think it has something to do with the murder of a Weryer 20 years previously. After the third murder, Lady Hardcastle and Flo soon find out that they are next in line to be murdered.

This is a fun, clever cozy mystery with humor and suspense. I thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for allowing me to read the ARC in return for an honest review.