It was 1911 and Lady Emily Hardcastle was at the theatre with friends, celebrating her birthday. Her maid and friend, Flo Armstrong, was there also, and by the beginning of act two, they were involved in murder once again. As the curtain lifted for the start of act two, a body was on the stage - but it wasn't part of the play as the scream from a cast member indicated. With Inspector Sunderland part of Lady Hardcastle's group, he was soon on the stage and with an aside to Emily and Flo, he requested their help in keeping an eye on things...

Back home after the eventful evening, they were surprised by a visitor whom they hadn't expected. Gwenith, Flo's twin sister, had arrived for a visit, and it wasn't long before she was helping the sleuths in the investigation. There were plenty of suspects, and motives for them all - would they find the culprit before the cast and players moved on to their next destination?

An Act of Foul Play is the 9th in the Lady Hardcastle mysteries by T.E. Kinsey and once again I loved it. Fun, entertaining and clever, it was also great to meet Gwenith and see how close the sisters are. I'm looking forward to the next installment very much. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I first read T E Kinsey in 2017 and am now an avid fan, keenly (but impatiently) waiting for each new release, then reading it immediately. I've been delighted to get hold of this a little earlier on this occasion, except that I've now realised the next wait will be a little longer.

'An Act of Foul Play' (AAFP) is the latest and ninth book in the Lady Hardcastle series, and it is an absolute joy. As a Welsh woman living in Gloucestershire, the characters feel like friends; their camaraderie is delightful and hilarious. The physical setting (location) feels authentic and, despite this book being set in 1911, the story never feels far away. The plot is engaging throughout with sufficient twists and foreshadowed clues that you're constantly flip-flopping between simply getting carried away in a great story, and trying to solve the case before you get to the end,

My advice - read them all and enjoy the stories for what they do so exceptionally well. Take an adventure with Flo and Lady H and lose yourself completely in their cosy adventures.

Highly recommended.

Another excellent entry to the Hardcastle and Armstrong series - this one sees them involved in solving a murder in a theatre. A lot of cosy crime struggles to create plausible reasons for the plucky protagonists to investigate, and certainly many are wafer thin at best. T. E. Kinsey steers well clear of this pitfall each time, which is no mean feat. Although this one was set predominantly in Brizzle, and very little in Littleton Coterell, we do still see a few of the village regulars thanks to a particularly sweet little subplot involving someone stealing booze from the Dog and Duck pub (I know, doesn’t sound sweet at first, but read on and you’ll see). And I loved seeing Flo’s twin sister Gwenith visit and play a sizeable role. More please! (On all counts).

An Act of Foul Play is the ninth in the warm, clever and delightful Lady Hardcastle Mysteries series. It is 1911 and Lady Emily Hardcastle and her dearest friend and personal maid Flo attend the theatre in Bristol to celebrate Lady Hardcastle's birthday. A very realistic death scene on stage occurs. Paul's acting career is over. Nefarious doings occurred during the interval but thankfully the two friends, also amateur sleuths, were at hand. To add to the heady mix is Flo's twin Gwen who is more than willing to help solve the crime as the list of suspects includes fellow actors...and others. As you can imagine the twin dynamic opens up a plethora of theatrics!

New arresting arrivals include the quirky couple Lady Bickle and Sir Benjamin who add yet another layer to the hijinks. The series is cozy and therefore there is no real tension yet there is no lack of red herrings. The story is also about the characters and their relationships.

Historical Fiction Mystery readers ought to flock to this series, especially if oodles of wit and banter are your wheelhouse.

My sincere thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this fabulously fun frolic!

What a wonderful book and one that I had not read the books before this one and yet I still enjoyed this and didn't feel I had missed anything.

This is such a fun book with humour, great characters yet still had the mystery and intrigue. There was also some history and lots of entertainment. Set in an England (Bristol) in 1911 it just oozed that period, the charm and the life.

I loved the characters, Lady Hardcastle just came to life on the page and the inspector was everything I wanted him to be and more. This book entertained me, made me laugh and made for a wonderful read.

Lady Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong, along with some friends, attend a play for Lady Hardcastle's birthday. When the curtains rise for act two of the play one of the lead actors is lying dead on the stage. Inspector Sunderland is busy with another matter and the detective assigned to the case is ready to arrest the first person that comes to mind, so Sunderland asks our heroines to do the investigating. Aaand they decide to do it using fake identities. Also, Flo's twin sister stays with them for the course of the book do more shenanigans ensue.
One of my favorites in the series! There was so much humor in this one, I feel like more than usual. Lady Hardcastle and Flo have to infiltrate a group of actors and the theater to get to the bottom of things and we get to see all the interactions of the group behind the stage. Oh, and we get to see Flo in action as there is a fight scene at some point. If you haven't read the series yet I highly recommend, it is so much fun.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a new author and series for me, I love Historical Mysteries, so the setting was great, the characters were interesting to a point. I like more shock of discovery, some nuances of what was considered funny were beyond me, and considering I only watch British TV, along with Golden Hollywood, I should have laughed more? Anyway, this is for people who truly love no suspense in their books, no oh I think so and so did it, it's not that kind of book. If you like non threatening light hearted murder mysteries then this is for . Thank you #Netgalley
carolintallahassee

It's November 1911, and Lady Hardcastle is celebrating her birthday with friends at a theatre in Bristol. But before the curtain drops, she and her maid, Flo, will be pulled into solving yet another murder. The lead investigator makes more of a mess than the murderer. Can they set things ship shape and Bristol fashion before the killer kills again?

As always, it's the banter and love between Emily and Flo that make this such a fun read. The mystery maybe isn't quite as twisty as some of their cases, and the actors are peculiarly indifferent to, you know, having a murderer in their midst, but honestly, I read the books more for Emily and Flo's antics than for the actual mystery.

This time out, we get to meet Flo's twin sister, Gwen. Gwen helps out with not only this case, but a smaller case where someone is pilfering from the local pub.

While it's nice that their friend Inspector Sunderland trusts and respects them enough to ask for their help, in this book, it seemed more like he was asking them to do his work for him. It's true that Flo and Emily were investigating on their own, and would have, whether he wanted them to or not, but I thought better of the inspector before this.

As usual, our heroines solve the case and save the day. Ride along in their Rolls for a fun and funny historical cozy.

4 out of 5 stars.

I received an advance copy from Amazon Publishing UK via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

As always, I loved this book by T. E. Kinsey – it is witty, intelligent, well-written, and filled with wonderful characters and a puzzling mystery. While it can be read as a stand-alone if you want a fuller, richer experience you should at least read a few of the first books in the series. Lady Emily Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong (her maid/friend) have a very colorful background and you’ll learn all about it in the earlier books – which will make their ‘poking into’ police investigations much easier to understand. They were, after all, spies and certainly have the background for it.

It is Lady Hardcastle’s birthday and she, along with several friends, is celebrating by attending a play in Bristol. The Duke’s theater is featuring a comedy written by the brother of one of Lady Hardcastle’s friends. The first act was hilariously entertaining and after the curtain came down for the intermission, they could hardly wait for the beginning of the second act. Little did they know how exciting that opening would be – for there, on the stage floor, was the body of one of the stars of the play. No, it wasn’t part of the play – it was real. Luckily Inspector Sunderland was in attendance as part of Lady Hardcastle’s celebration and he quickly took over the case. He got everything in motion only to be replaced by the totally incompetent, bumbling, lazy, Inspector Wyatt. When Wyatt quickly arrests someone, everybody knows he doesn’t have the evidence needed to make a case - and it is probably the wrong person anyway.

Lady Hardcastle, Flo, and Flo’s twin sister (who is visiting) Gwen know they need to investigate on their own, but they have to keep out of Inspector Wyatt’s way. Wyatt has an exaggerated view of his skills and would not appreciate their interference. They use a ruse to gain entry to enter the theater and the company of actors and begin the investigation. Can the murderer be one of the actors? Is it the leader of the troop? What about the director? Then – there is a second murder. Obviously, it is related to the first – but how? Did that victim know something he shouldn’t have?

This is, as always, a highly entertaining, witty read, and I loved every word of it. I can definitely recommend it and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

The ninth episode in this five star series and I loved every minute of it.

It is 1911 and Lady Emily Hardcastle is celebrating her birthday with a trip to the theatre. Of course, with her luck, someone dies on stage, and she and Flo are caught up again investigating a murder. There even two Florences in this story when her identical twin sister joins her for a visit, and this causes some fun as well as helping to solve a secondary crime.

As usual in this series there is plenty of humour, loads of lovable characters and a tricky mystery with the inevitable red herrings to keep readers on their toes. There are also a number of interesting historical facts dotted throughout, things like the price of shoes in 1911, and the service provided by Rolls Royce. All good fun and a really entertaining read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy of An Act of Foul Play, the ninth novel to feature Lady Hardcastle and her ladies maid, Florence Armstrong, set in Gloucestershire in 1911.

Lady Hardcastle and Flo are attending a play in Bristol with friends, but when the curtain goes up for the second half one of the actors is lying dead on stage, fatally stabbed. Inspector Sunderland takes charge initially but has to pass the case on so he asks Lady Hardcastle to keep an informal eye on both the investigation and the suspects. The problem is that everyone has both a motive and an alibi.

I thoroughly enjoyed An Act of Foul Play, which is a fun read with a fiendish puzzle attached. It is told from Flo’s point of view and as she has quite a caustic approach to life her narrative is amusing, as is the interplay between her and Lady Hardcastle - they are quite the double act.

As ever they run around quizzing the suspects on their motives and opportunities, but draw a blank until Lady Hardcastle puts certain events together to work out the rather ingenious way the murder was committed and Flo steps forward to catch a murderer, literally. I don’t think many readers will guess both killer and motive because the necessary information is not available until the denouement. Still, it’s clever and fun.

I have read all the novels in this series and while it’s fun it lacks the exuberance of some of the previous novels. Perhaps it’s all the commuting to Bristol from Little Cottingham or simply that the plot doesn’t lend itself to that kind of emotion.

An Act of Foul Play is a good read that I can recommend.

This story is back on track from the previous meandering episode. It's more succinct with fewer supects. However, I missed the three interconnected mysteries from the early books and some of the intrigue of learning Lady Hardcastle's backstory. They give a tantalizing hint about something that happened off page and I hope they relate the whole story soon. This story mainly involves the theater and tourism in Bristol so if you're not into the theater, this one might seem a little boring. I happen to love the theater but some of the details were a little boring for someone who has read other mysteries set in the theater but it was super well researched. I especially liked the details about Bristol and had to stop and look up a picture of the Christmas Steps. I also discovered Lady Bickie's home is an apartment hotel now and most everything the sleuths see is still there.

The mystery is super difficult to figure out. It sounds like it would be easy. There are several actors and a couple of motives. The final clue that led Emily to figure things out also clued me in but even then I wasn't 100% sure. It could have been any of them, aside from Rosie who was wrongfully arrested. Having twin sleuths really changes the pattern of the mystery and I really liked it. I apprecited the sympathy towards mental illness in one character but suspect that another character is also mentally unwell for similar reasons and that went overlooked. I was surprised though by the compassion for the first person given the time period, just before WWI.

As always, the characters are a delight! Old and new characters shine on the page. I missed the Farley-Strouds who are once again absent but other than that, the regulars are all here. We even meet Inspector Sunderland's wife for the first time. (Emily and Flo have met her off page previously). The banter between Emily and Flo never gets old. I adore their friendship and how comfortable they are with each other after all these years. Emily acts like the dotty middle-aged widow but Flo begins to suspect it's actually an act - or is it? She's not sure but she's fond of Emily either way and looks after the older woman like her daughter. Apparently it's Flo who instigates the banter because she does it with her sister too! Gwen is a lot of fun. Her personality is more lively than her sister's. She's married and rising to middle class which leaves her bored and lonely while her military husband is away. Even though the twins haven't seen each other in years, they've written and are still close. They seem to pick up right where they left off as children with good natured teasing and double trouble! Gwen made a great addition to the sleuthing team.

Inspector Sunderland is not on the case but he pops in to help smooth the way for the ladies and listen to their observations, in case he is put on the case after the other guy mucks it up. His wife seems very nice and accepting of his job taking him away from her at all hours. Dinah Caudle is eager for a news story but is also capable of being a friend when needs be. She's not super patient but the ladies promise her a story when it is over so she accepts that.

New characters include Lady Hardcastle and Flo's new friend, Lady Bickie. She's a good and loyal friend but can't hold her liquor and can't lie convincingly. She nearly ruins the investigation. Her husband, Sir Benjamin is a dear and has a good sense of humor. They seem like a nice couple.

At the theater, we meet a lot of new people. Paul Singleton, the man who was stabbed and left on stage, was really not a very nice person. He was a ladies' man so his character really depends on who you ask. He was a rogue and a charmer but also a bit slimy. Still, he didn't do anything that would get him killed - unless someone is lying. Lady Bickie's old school friend Helena Bartlett has a brother, Hugh, who is a playwright. He writes the plays for the acting troupe- wonderfully funny comedies that bring the house down. He approached Lady Bickie without introduction which makes me suspicious. She claims she sees a family resemblance but does she really? Why has no one else ever really seen this playwright? He comes across as shy and reclusive, dedicated to his craft but what if he's hiding something? He's my chief suspect for murder. His alibi is quite shocking but not entirely susprising. I kind of suspected something of the sort early on. Yet his alibi is not airtight and he could still be the murderer. Edwin Adlam, the theater manager, is eager to sell tickets. He seems friendly but a little smarmy at the same time. Could he have been so ghastly as to commit murder to sell more tickets to a ghoulish public?

Harris Bridges, the leading man, is handsome and thinks he's clever. He's one of those pomopus bores who speaks for everyone and speaks to everyone. He thinks he knows it all. I hate that type. He's an experienced actor who has been with the company since the beginning so why would he wait until now to kill his fellow actor? He was once engaged to Rosalie Harding, a sweet young woman, who fell in love with Paul. That does give Bridges a motive for murder! Rosie seems sweet at first but apparently she has a temper and can hold her own. Did she kill Paul in anger? Paul's role is taken by his understudy, Patrick Cowlin, a man who has been waiting in the wings for a long time for an opportunity to take a leading role. That would certainly give him a motive for murder. He comes across as cold and standoffish at first but the ladies soon learn to appreciate his better qualities. It doesn't let him off the suspect list though.

Sarah Griffin is the oldest lady in the cast. She's more cynical and not so friendly than some of the others. She's accepting of the ladies poking around and happy to show them around. Should they take her into their confidence? What if she turns out to be the murderer? Does she have a motive? As it turns out, she does and a decent one, unless you believe what she says is true. Nancy Beaufort is the female understudy. She's young and insecure. I think she could easily have been swayed by someone else to murder Paul. Emrys Thornell, the director, could have had the opportunity for murder but what is his motive? A late twist with another murder, the murder of a stagehand, throws everyone's motives into question! Was Dickie Bickell in the wrong place at the wrong time? Did he witness the murder and had to be silenced?

Detective Dick Wyatt is on the case. He's lazy and incompetant and a wannabe ladies' man. He's an ineffective detective and if he manages to solve this case, it will be a miracle. I'm not even sure Lady Hardcastle and Florence can solve this one easily!

This is the ninth outing for Lady Emily Hardcastle and her maid Flo and this time the murder occurs while they are at the theatre. As the curtain rises for the second act of a comedy, one of the actors is discovered on stage having been stabbed to death.
I have enjoyed the previous books in this series and this one felt like discovering old friends. The dialogue between Lady Hardcastle and Flo is still as sharp as ever and they are joined this time by Flo’s identical twin sister which adds to the fun.
The plot was an interesting one and I loved the theatrical theme. As usual, a lot of time is spent on the details of their normal lives but I felt that the murder mystery was almost secondary this time.
It’s a fun read for lovers of this series but I don’t think that it is one of the author’s best.
Thank you to Net Galley and Amazon Publishing for my ARC.

laugh-out-loud, laugh-riot, situational-humor, verbal-humor, England, historical-novel, historical-research, historical-setting, cosy-mystery, theatre, actors, twins, punny, women-sleuths, light-hearted, 1910s, murder, murder-investigation*****

This CANNOT be an unbiased review because i LOVE the Lady Hardcastle series!
This time Lady Hardcastle and lady's maid Florence bring Florence's twin sister into the sleuthing. An actor was murdered onstage and the detective on the case is unusually slipshod, so the women get involved to do the REAL sleuthing and see justice served. Good sleuthing and a cast of zany characters!
Of course I loved it!
I requested and received a free EARC from Amazon Publishing UK/Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley. Thank you!

A quick, easy and enjoyable cosy murder mystery. It was well written with a well developed cast of characters that were funny and easy to like and a storyline that i liked and kept me engaged. I will definitely check out some more from this series.

A very welcome return for Lady Emily Hardcastle and Flo. A night at the theatre turns decidedly dastardly and with Inspector Sunderland required elsewhere a hapless detective is assigned to the case. Proving the innocence of some whilst pursuing motive and method of the killer becomes a real “who dunnit’ that will keep you captivated. And who exactly, is the cellar thief pocketing a bottle of booze down at their local, the Dog and Duck? Good job Flo’s twin sister is visiting and on hand to assist.

Lady Emily and Florence are once again pulled into solving a murder when an actor is found dead on stage in their presence. It must be one of his fellow Astor's - right? There are plenty of secrets and alibis to wade through. Luckily for them, Flo's twin sister arrives to help. As always the book is full of fun dialogue and great characters.

It's Nov 1911 Lady Hardcastle is back along with her made Flo for their ninth adventure.
The group are off to the theatre to celebrate a birthday. When the second half of the play brings an unexpected and unpleasant surprise. It's up to Inspector Sunderland to jump in and take charge. I feel although it can be read as a standalone it would be a benefit to read the other books in the series. This is a good cosy English murder mystery, fun characters and wonderful word usage. With a definite flare for the world of the amateur dramatics.

I absolutely love this series of books and am so pleased that once again the author has produced another wonderful story about Lady Hardcastle and Flo. The usual friends are there to help them solve the murder, but this time Flo's twin sister is also along for the ride. I really enjoyed that this murder was based in the theatre and loved the descriptions of the backstage elements, as they are never as well maintained as the public spaces. I cannot wait until the next installment in this most wonderful series.

An Act of Foul Play was a lot of fun to read. A great cozy mystery light on gory details and full of humor. There is a great dynamic among the characters that often made me laugh out loud.