Having been invited to a country estate alongside her trusty maid Florence, Lady Hardcastle witnesses the seemingly accidental death of a race car driver... only to learn soon after he was victim of foul play.
T E Kinsey Resumes the Countryside Murders
Having already looked at the first and second books in the Lady Hardcastle Mysteries Series, I think it's become quite apparent T E Kinsey aims to bring back the charm of old British murder mysteries, a goal he pursues further with the third book, Death Around the Bend.
Once again, we are put in the pleasant company of the somewhat unlikely duo of Lady Hardcastle and her trusty maid Florence, as yet another sensational event shakes up the country.
It's the month of September 1909, and Lord Riddlethorpe has just invited the Lady and her maid to his rich country estate for a pleasant week of car racing and parties. It all sounded perfect at first, but Lady Hardcastle should have known from experience it would be anything but.
In the very first race, a driver has the misfortune of crashing and tragically dying. On the surface, it all seems like an error in judgment, but further expertise reveals some evidence of sabotage... which doesn't seem to bother the local constabulary all too much.
Armed once again with little more than their wits, the Lady and her maid decide to take this case upon themselves... and quickly discover just how tangled of a case they've landed in. It seems every square inch of the Riddlethorpe estate is hiding some kind of secret, with the web of lies and conspiracies sprawling all over it.
Between all the servants, guests and family members, the two sleuths have their work cut out for them, and the British upper crust will only tolerate their meddling for so long. Time is growing ever shorter, and the real killer might just have a chance to slip away for good.
The Light Side of Murder in Death Around the Bend
In our reality, murder is one of the most tragic, despicable and gruesome things imaginable to be inflicted on people. However, in the realm of fiction there are countless ways to colour the act. In recent years, it felt to me as if there was a rise in novels which depict murder with a visible touch of lightheartedness.
In most of those cases, I find the attempts at humour contrasting with a terrible tragedy to fall short of their mark and only end up detracting from the atmosphere. For Murder Around the Bend though, I would venture to say the attempt has been about as successful as possible.
Kinsey's depiction of the estate, the countryside and all the people we meet through the novel all resonate with a certain ease and lightness while still remaining in the realms of the realistic and believable.
Apart from a couple of scenes where Lady Hardcastle's maid, Flo, is allowed to investigate without much objection, I always felt like the setting mirrored something real and could have potentially existed at some point, unlike many other novels in the genre which end up feeling like little more than caricatures.
If you're familiar with the previous books, then you'll be prepared for the main source of amusement, which is once again the banter shared between the Lady and her trusty maid.
Contrasting rather heavily at times with the official image of a “proper lady” at the start of the 20th century, our two protagonists are never short on witty remarks, observations or retorts, some of them imbued with a sharp sarcasm. It's not the kind of humour which will have you laughing out loud, but rather put a smile on your face for the duration of the read.
Carousel of Suspects
Moving on to the main course of this murder mystery: the actual mystery itself. Be forewarned, it does take up until approximately the halfway point of the book for the plot to really pick up, and until then the progression is a little slower as the author introduces us to the setting and our list of potential suspects.
For this reason, I do think reading the books in order will make this first half more interesting as you would have already established a relation with the main characters, and thus care for them. With this being said, it is by no means a requirement and each book can be read as a standalone.
However, when the action does start to pick up it doesn't let up again. The information we learn becomes increasingly worrying, and the tension actually starts to pick up as we are made to feel the stakes of Lady Hardcastle's race against an ever-dwindling clock.
The mystery only becomes more and more intriguing until we finally reach the end of it, which in my opinion has a pretty good twist to it, one I'm sure you won't see coming.
While at first I found myself rather overwhelmed by the unusually large number of suspects we are asked to keep track of during our stay at the estate, they are all distinctive and easily recognizable which ultimately made it easy to sort them out and figure out who is who.
The Final Verdict
Death Around the Bend by T E Kinsey is an excellent third entry in the Lady Hardcastle Mystery Series, wonderfully capturing lighthearted charm and the famous piercing British wit, combining them with an engaging murder mystery full of twists and suspects.
If you like cozy murder mysteries and period pieces, or have enjoyed the previous novels in the series, then I highly recommend you give this quaint little novel a chance.
 | T E KinseyPersonal site T E Kinsey is a writer who grew up in London and had the distinction of reading history at Bristol University. Before becoming an author he worked as a magazine features writer as well as an online content editor for various entertainment websites. His published career began with A Quiet Life in the Country, the first entry in the Lady Hardcastle Mystery series. In the Market for Murder and Death Around the Bend were two of his other best-received books, also part of the series. |
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