• 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
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (8,241 ratings)

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A Quiet Life in the Country  By  cover art

A Quiet Life in the Country

By: T E Kinsey
Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
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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.

Featured Article: The Best Cozy Mysteries to Keep You Warm This Holiday Season


We’ve rounded up a list of some of the best cozy mystery audiobooks to help brighten up your winter listening. Here you'll find contemporary and historical cozies, classic whodunits and ingenious heist stories. While varying in tone, plot, and setting, these picks all share an irresistible holiday atmosphere. You'll find snowstorms galore, bakeries full of tasty holiday treats, glittering get-togethers, and picturesque English villages decked out in their holiday finest.

What listeners say about A Quiet Life in the Country

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    4,160
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent!

There is no sex or swearing in this book. How refreshing! I enjoyed listening right from the beginning to the end. The main characters are delightful.

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107 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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101 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A fun cozy mystery!

In my recent cozy mystery marathon, I came upon this Lady Hardcastle jewel. Written with a great sense of humor, the main characters, Emily and Flo, break all the rules of propriety to settle in to their "Quiet Life in the Country". Since it is a mystery, a murder ensues, leading the ladies to "assist" the local constabulary. Written with funny dialog, it is read impeccably.
I'm ready for Book 2.

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91 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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A Quiet Life in the Country

Any additional comments?

The narrator and the author's dialogue rendered that nice, perky, bon-vivant English accent and voice well. Trouble is -- there were no more layers to the characters or the dialogue -- just feisty bon-vivant over and over. And there wasn't much in the way of plot. There were some good plot ideas that made me think, "This is going to be fun," but they went flat. To me, Kinsey puts words together very well and needs to work on plot. I know we're not looking for Dostoevsky or Thomas Mann here but more character depth would be good too.

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67 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The way things ought to have been.....

Suspend your historical knowledge and have a lovely romp with Flo and Emily! A very nice CID man who joyfully works with these amateur sleuths adds more fun to the mix. Very well written and I am slathering for more, dear ones. Bless you and remember you are star dust.

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40 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A great first book!

The narration in this book is simply perfect, and I really believe that is what makes this series come To life. The friendship/relationship between Flo & Lady Hardcastle make them such a perfect detective duo. It's not your typical boss/employee situation & I found myself laughing a lot.
There are a lot of characters which made it a little difficult at times to keep up, but the ending wrapped everything up nicely. I look forward to the next book!

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33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable light fun, but not fabulous.

Overall it was a light, fun listen, but I found myself easily distracted from it, and didn't mind missing bits. Not sure if I'll listen to more.

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33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A lovely cozy mystery

Wonderful characters and a great performance await when you begin this story. Set in the English countryside before the Great War, this story and its characters, who are somewhat irreverent of social distinctions and have very interesting backstories, will make you smile and eagerly anticipate more Lady Hardcastle (and Flo) stories.

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22 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • T
  • 11-27-16

Unnecessarily verbose and Characters Blend

The character voices sometimes hard to tell who's talking at Leroy too many words added in that weren't necessary and did not add to the conversation. I love the accent and the way narrator portrayed Hector. Weak story.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

More please

Would you listen to A Quiet Life in the Country again? Why?

Thoroughly enjoyable. Humorous and full of intrigue. I am looking forward to the next installment.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Quiet Life in the Country?

The whole book was enjoyable.

Which character – as performed by Elizabeth Knowelden – was your favorite?

The narrator did a lovely job on all the characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, if only I had the time ;)

Any additional comments?

More please!

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15 people found this helpful