An Act of Foul Play by T.E. Kinsey

An Act of Foul Play is the ninth book in T.E. Kinsey’s Lady Hardcastle Mysteries.

Lady Emily Hardcastle is celebrating her birthday by seeing a play at the Duke’s Theatre in Bristol with her friends (Lady Bickle, Benjamin Bickle, Mr and Mrs Sunderland, Dinah Claudle, Dr Simeon, and Florence Armstrong.) Act One is a triumph. Act Two begins with a body on stage – a real one. One of the cast has been brutally murdered during the intermission.

The case, though initially handled by Inspector Sunderland, goes to Inspector Wyatt of Bristol Police division. Wyatt is hasty to catch the killer and ends up arresting the wrong suspect. Meanwhile, the play was written by Lady Bickle’s friend’s brother so she wants Lady Hardcastle and Flo to investigate. Since Inspector Sunderland is not handling the case, they might run into hurdles. But then, when has a hurdle or two stopped the two ladies from investigating?

Another fantastic, totally enjoyable and engrossing installment to my favorite series. I suppose it is time for me to stop saying favorite series, favorite author, favorite characters… because each installment of this series is a masterpiece! No matter how much I sing praises of this series, it still won’t be enough to show how much I really adore Lady Hardcastle Mysteries.

Speaking of which, since this series is published by Amazon Pub, I wonder when it will be picked up for a TV adaptation.

There are lots of surprising developments in this story. Flo has a surprise waiting for her when she and Lady Hardcastle return to Littleton Cotterrel a day after the murder. It was quite exciting to see two Flos… Um, well my vision is quite okay and I don’t see twos of a thing unless there are two… Not making sense, am I? Flo has a twin sister named Gwen. Identical twins, double the fun and double the pranks.

Seems like Lady Hardcastle and Gwen do not miss an opportunity to tease Flo. I found this very amusing because so far, we had just Emily Hardcastle purposely saying the wrong thing to rile Flo up. And now, we have two people to irritate Flo. 😉 Flo tells them she can kill a person with just a flick of her wrists. As if that would stop them…

Coming to the mystery behind the murder, the suspects are actors. So, who’s to say they are not acting while giving out alibis? Our Emily Hardcastle and Flo too can act all right. They put up quite a show… mistresses of disguises and all that. How far did it help them? Well, you need to read the book to find out.

The reason for murder seemed a bit farfetched. But that’s at the very end – after all the drama, the fun, disguises, and whole lotta sleuthing. So, I didn’t mind the ending not being up to my liking. The best part about this book is Flo and Gwen’s role – double trouble. *wink*

Overall, An Act of Foul Play was an fantabulous read. I loved and enjoyed every bit of this story and I am looking to knowing what’s next for the sleuthing duo. By the bye, why have the ladies stopped saying “Who Ho!”??? I miss Emily and Flo saying their signature greeting.

---

Follow The Book Decoder on:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads