A Quiet Life in the Country

Try as I might, I can’t get into Marple. But T.E. Kinsey’s Lady Hardcastle series, beginning with the debut A Quiet Life in The Country turns the cozy genre on its head. In this case, the dithering, older busybody is Lady Emily Hardcastle, with her trusty ladies’ maid, Florence Armstrong. As the book and series progress, we find that neither woman is quite the helpless Edwardian female the neighbors believe. Come for the murder mystery and stay for the… knife throwing? 

An Edwardian lady with a mysterious past… a Welsh maidservant with attitude… plus a body in the woods and a whole host of suspects—what more could you want from a cosy crime? I love this first book in T E Kinsey’s Lady Hardcastle series as the eponymous Emily, as seen through the eyes of her devoted maid Flo, is not your average high society lady. With a murky and secret past that gives her all the skills she needs to solve murders, Lady Hardcastle is not only clever but downright hilarious, too. Definitely one for those who like a bit… show more.

This series is a little lighter, a lot funnier, than the ones recommended above. As usual, it’s the characters who latched hold of me. Lady Hardcastle is a widow in 1920s England with an amazing maid who has all sorts of talents. The two of them decide to find a house in the country where they can live in peace and quiet. But you guessed it—murders start coming their way to solve. The Lady Hardcastle series is not too grim, not too silly. Just plain fun!