“Death Beside the Seaside” by T E Kinsey – A Matter of International Security

T E Kinsey has taken us on many adventures re-exploring the quaint and murder-prone British countryside in his Lady Hardcastle Mystery series, and in the latest novel, Death Beside the Seaside, he tries to give his characters a break they were long overdue for.

Needless to say, wherever Lady Hardcastle and her trusty maid Flo go, death seems to follow, and this time around they have to investigate the disappearance of their fellow hotel guests, topped off by a grisly murder, marking only the start of the ghastly affair.

T E Kinsey Unearths Top Secret Science

Matters of national security can take on all shapes and sizes, and the truth is many of them end up passing right under our noses thanks to the efforts of various parties, which could be seen as a good thing since the only thing most of us will be capable of doing about it, is panic.

Lady Hardcastle, however, certainly doesn't fall into the category of “most people”, and in Death Beside the Seaside she returns with her trusty maid Flo for a sixth time, investigating a matter of national, and perhaps even international security.

Beginning rather innocently in July 1910, the story opens with the Lady and her maid looking to take a break by the seaside from their endless murder investigations, something they both deserve without question.

It goes without saying the beautiful plan was never meant to be, and soon murder finds its way into the seaside resort. More precisely, international guests are starting to go missing in the blink of an eye at the renowned hotel the Lady is staying at herself.

To begin with, a scientist doing something top secret for the government has gone missing, as well as his equally-mysterious strongbox. Before Lady Hardcastle can even get properly settled into the investigation, her number one suspect bites the dust in a most suspect manner.

What's more, other guests are beginning to vanish as well, and as matters are becoming increasingly serious, the Lady turns to her brother who works in the secret service. Neither the people in the hotel, nor the nation itself are safe anymore, not until Lady Hardcastle drives ahead like the investigative spear she is and finds the profound discoveries awaiting her.

The Hotel of the Absurd in Death Beside the Seaside

Every book series is marked by certain recurring elements, and I'm not even necessarily talking about the characters or locales themselves. I'm more referring to overarching elements which make up the general atmosphere and overall impression a book leaves on us.

In the case of the Lady Hardcastle Mystery series, if there was one particular element I had to single about above the rest, it would be the generally-classy and clever humour present in a wide number of scenes.

The interactions between Lady Hardcastle and her maid Flo remain, once again, one of the highlights of the book, and it seems to me T E Kinsey is even becoming better and better at writing them. They have no shortage of witty and snarky remarks to make, and to my great delight they never devolve into the vulgar or tasteless “humour” we can easily find in troves nowadays.

While their interactions with other people are quite understandably more restrained, they do more often than not contain in them more subtle bits of comedy, the type to put a warm smile on your face.

The hotel itself, despite being the setting for murder, is rife with a large number of interesting and colorful characters who add an element of absurd comedy to the whole story. Due to the nature of the hotel, the guests essentially all come from different countries, and I think you can already imagine the sort of humour which can arise from this premise, with awkward and misunderstood interactions standing at the fore.

Though I was afraid Kinsey would overdo it or I would simply get tired of it, I have to commend him for his ability to pace the humour well and subdue it whenever the time came to look at more serious matters. Speaking of which...

The Most Important Case Yet

No matter how much excellent comedy a murder mystery novel might have, at the end of the day it must still provide exactly what the genre's name suggests. If you haven't read the previous novels in the series, I wouldn't be worried for the book very much works as a standalone novel, even if knowledge of the prior events in the series do make a few passages and nods a bit more enjoyable.

The actual mystery itself is self-contained, and by far and large it follows the classic whodunit formula we've come to love so much we specifically seek it out, or at least I do from time to time.

T E Kinsey does try to raise the stakes for the investigation, making it a matter of national security, top secret government research and whatnot. However, this all just feels like a few bits of additional seasoning on the meat and potatoes which have been slowly perfected over the course of six books.

At the core, we follow Lady Hardcastle and Flo as they interrogate witnesses and suspects, find clues, and try to piece together a fairly captivating puzzle. We are encouraged to follow along with the investigation and make our own conclusions at the same time as our protagonists, which to me is always a very welcome bonus in a murder mystery.

There is also one other important element which the author obviously worked very hard on, and it's the authenticity in regards to the time period. While there are of course some modern concepts and ideas depicted here and there, for the majority of the time it almost feels like a period piece, depicting detailed and specific customs and mentalities from the time.

I feel this air of authenticity actually ends up making the case and murders feel more impactful (in the world the story takes place in, of course), at least more so than they would have been if completely under the umbrella of humour.

The Final Verdict

Death Beside the Seaside by T E Kinsey is yet another home run in Lady Hardcastle Mystery series, delivering on all fronts. The mystery is captivating and very fun to try and figure out alongside the characters, who are all well developed and bring something unique to the table.

The comedy is completely on-point, and well-balanced with the help of historical accuracy and some more serious overtones from the nature of the investigation.

If you've enjoyed the previous books in the series, or are simply looking for a high-quality whodunit murder mystery, then I advise you to give this book a chance.

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T E Kinsey Personal 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.