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.

Actually I can hardly wait to read this book! I enjoyed the first 2 books so much, I read this one in Kindle as well as audiobook and this book did not disappoint. I really like the characters of Lady Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong, the 2 of them make this book is very interesting and enjoyable. Highly recommended if you like the first 2 books.

Thank you Netgalley for this book.

Synopsis

September 1909, and Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence, have been invited to Lord Riddlethorpe’s country estate for a week of motor racing and parties. They both agree that it sounds like a perfectly charming holiday. But when one of the drivers dies in a crash during the very first race, they discover that what seemed like an uncharacteristic error in judgement, reveals that the driver’s car was sabotaged—and the driver murdered.

Book Review plus 4.7 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. This story illustrates the difference in classes among those who live above the stairs and those who live below the stairs. It is interesting to see the difference among the servants below the stairs . Florence is a ladies maid who gets the information for her lady as their investigate. It is just so thoroughly enjoyalbe story!!!

I am not much of a fan of the modern cosy mystery but I always enjoy these period ones. [book:Death around the Bend|33537259] is set in the early 1900's and has the upstairs /downstairs settings of the old English country house, horses and carts as well as the newly invented motor cars and lots of high teas and croquet on the lawn. Lovely!
I very much enjoyed the characters of Lady Hardcastle and her ladies maid, Florence Armstrong. They have a great relationship and exchange frequent, witty banter. Lady Hardcastle is quite forward thinking and treats Florence more like a friend than a servant but as they try to solve a variety of murders they find that having a 'spy' downstairs is very useful.
The mystery is cleverly constructed and I came nowhere near guessing the culprit although with hindsight it was pretty obvious. Nicely written and full of interesting vocabulary - I had to resort to the dictionary twice , once for bimble and once for jentacular. I don't think I will be using the latter but I just have to remember bimble for future use.
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a quality cosy mystery.

Another delightful Lady Hardcastle book. This series of books is most enjoyable - each mystery proceeds at a gentle pace with ample time to enjoy the nuances of the plot, the characters and the humorous exchanges between the two main characters. I particularly like the use of language in these books which really sets the scene for the period. A book to buy and read. I'm already looking forward to the next in the series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of Death Around the Bend, the third novel to feature Lady Emily Hardcastle and her maid Florence Armstrong.

It's 1908 and Lady Hardcastle has been invited to Lord Riddlethorpe's estate for a visit and to see his racing cars. She misses out on the chance to drive one when a racing driver is killed in the first race. The police call it an accident, Lady Hardcastle and Flo call it murder when they discover that the car was sabotaged.

I thoroughly enjoyed Death Around the Bend which is a fun read. In keeping with the era it is a straightforward, 1st person narrative of the events from Flo's point of view. The reader knows no more or less than Flo does so it is fun to try and work out the perpetrator and motive along with her and Lady Hardcastle. I didn't manage it ahead of them as the plotting is cleverly done and it could have been anyone.

The plot, however, is not the main thrust of the novel, that is the humour and banter between Lady Hardcastle and Flo which make for a fun read. Their relationship is unorthodox for the time in that while Flo is employed by Lady Hardcastle they are more like best friends and equals. It allows the author leeway in his humour and dialogue and makes for a fun read. I do wish that he would share some of the detail of their past adventures with us.

I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

4 stars

In 1909, Lady Hardcastle and Flo her companion are both present at the opening of this new novel by T.E. Kinsey. The Lady and Flo are packing for a week’s trip to the country to visit Lord “Fishy” Riddlethorpe who is the owner of an automobile racing track. They plan to have a great deal of fun and perhaps even drive one of the race cars!

Everyone is shocked when during the very first race an accident causes the death of one of the drivers. While the police brush off any foul play, Lady Hardcastle and Flo are sure he was murdered.

The pair are off on another adventure to discover the killer and the reason why the man was murdered. They interview the staff, including a surly footman and an outgoing driver. They surreptitiously interview the other house guests.

When another murder is committed, the police do get involved this time for it is without doubt that the person was indeed murdered. An attempted poisoning increases the tension in our story. When the killer is revealed, it comes as a surprise.

These books are well written and plotted in an easy manner. The relationship between the Lady and her companion is laid back and witty. This is one example of the best in the cozy genre of mysteries. Gently joking at times, the Lady and Flo get to the bottom of the crime. The suspense builds slowly; the reader almost doesn’t notice it. I enjoy T.E. Kinsey’s novels and will continue to read them.

I want to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for forwarding to me a copy of this nice little book to read.