A Quiet Life in the Country

A Lady Hardcastle Mystery, Book 1

By: T E Kinsey

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they’ve just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life.

But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There’s a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation...

As Lady Hardcastle and Flo delve deeper into rural rivalries and resentment, they uncover a web of intrigue that extends far beyond the village. With almost no one free from suspicion, they can be certain of only one fact: there is no such thing as a quiet life in the country.

Revised edition: This edition of A Quiet Life In The Country includes editorial revisions.

©2016 T E Kinsey (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Never Wanted It to End!

I found myself laughing out loud during parts of this book even as I tried to guess who the murderer was. The writing is so active, I was brought into the story and hated when my commute was over. It's not often that you find this perfect blend of good writing and narration. The author does explain the character's relationship built over previous books in the series, but you needn't have read them to enjoy this one.

The narration brought to life the characters dress, their movements, their faces, their lives. Without going too much into the plot, our heroines go through the countryside solving not one, but two murders! Definitely worth the credit and will look for more from these two.

Cute, just not my cup of tea

The narrator was awesome. The story was a typical English murder. If you like English movies, you will like this.

Fun, feminist and folly

Not terribly sophisticated, but a fun light read. I will definitely read more if this becomes a series.

excellent narrator

the narrator was the main thing which kept me going. that and the amusing banter between the lady and her maid. yet the story annoyed me a little, it seemed to focus more on the relationship between the two main characters than the actual crime, which was very hurriedly resolved in the last chapter as if the author suddenly realised she was reaching her word limit. and the constant reference back to their interesting lives before moving to the country, while intriguing, seemed to have been randomly inserted to garner interest in any subsequent sequels. once again excellent narration though.

typical English murder mystery

Typical English murder mystery. Only difference was the willingness of the police to accept help from the amateur sleuths. A good read but I have read better. I think I may have enjoyed it better if I had read the book instead of listening to the audio version. The narrator's voice was a little off putting and slightly annoying. I liked the story and will probably read another work by this author. Amateur sleuth and her companion/maid move to village. Out for a morning walk they find a man hanging from a tree. Further investigation reveals murder and not suicide. Later they attend a party given by an old friend. A member of the band is found murdered. They set out to help solve both murders. Friend reveals in confidence that jewels were also stolen. She asks for their help to recover them but keep it from the police.

witty and endearing

if you love cozy mysteries for the relationships between characters, then you will love this series. Lady and maid are more than just that. Their bantering makes me chuckle through the whole book.

Whimsical & Fun

Whimsical & fun British tea mystery! Colorful characters and a good narrator. Great introduction to setting & characters for what is hopefully going to be a good series.

Nice blend of period piece and detective novel

Like Austen and Sherlock Holmes rolled into one. Not action-packed, but a delightful piece of fiction. loved seeing a lady detective and her trusty lady's maid/muscle.

Fun, murder mystery - not too serious!

I like to listen to books on long solo drives and this was perfect - a murder mystery that was not too serious - kept my interest, excellent narration and plot.

a cute little book to while away an afternoon

the narration was great. It makes me want to start the next