An Act of Foul Play by T.E. Kinsey

An Act of Foul Play (Lady Hardcastle #9)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Lady Hardcastle #9
Publication Date: 11/29/22
Period: 1911 – Littleton Cotterell, UK
Number of Pages: 300

As always, I loved this book by T. E. Kinsey – it is witty, intelligent, well-written, and filled with wonderful characters and a puzzling mystery. While it can be read as a stand-alone if you want a fuller, richer experience you should at least read a few of the first books in the series. Lady Emily Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong (her maid/friend) have a very colorful background and you’ll learn all about it in the earlier books – which will make their ‘poking into’ police investigations much easier to understand. They were, after all, spies and certainly have the background for it.

It is Lady Hardcastle’s birthday and she, along with several friends, is celebrating by attending a play in Bristol. The Duke’s theater is featuring a comedy written by the brother of one of Lady Hardcastle’s friends. The first act was hilariously entertaining and after the curtain came down for the intermission, they could hardly wait for the beginning of the second act. Little did they know how exciting that opening would be – for there, on the stage floor, was the body of one of the stars of the play. No, it wasn’t part of the play – it was real. Luckily Inspector Sunderland was in attendance as part of Lady Hardcastle’s celebration and he quickly took over the case. He got everything in motion only to be replaced by the totally incompetent, bumbling, lazy, Inspector Wyatt. When Wyatt quickly arrests someone, everybody knows he doesn’t have the evidence needed to make a case – and it is probably the wrong person anyway.

Lady Hardcastle, Flo, and Flo’s twin sister (who is visiting) Gwen know they need to investigate on their own, but they have to keep out of Inspector Wyatt’s way. Wyatt has an exaggerated view of his skills and would not appreciate their interference. They use a ruse to gain entry to enter the theater and the company of actors and begin the investigation. Can the murderer be one of the actors? Is it the leader of the troop? What about the director? Then – there is a second murder. Obviously, it is related to the first – but how? Did that victim know something he shouldn’t have?

This is, as always, a highly entertaining, witty read, and I loved every word of it. I can definitely recommend it and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath ~ Blog Tour

Never Rescue a Rogue

Why on earth would she want to kiss him when he vexed her so?

Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair only tolerate one another for the sake of their nearest and dearest. Everyone believes that they are meant to be together, but Diana and Giles know that it is animosity, not attraction, that fuels their barbed exchanges. Anyway, Diana loves her freedom too much to give it up for marriage, and Giles is happily wedded to his bachelor lifestyle.

After Giles’ curmudgeonly father, the Duke of Harpenden unexpectedly turns up his toes, it’s only a matter of time before the circumstances of his only son’s birth are revealed. With the threat of blackmail hanging over him, Giles must uncover the truth, or he and all those who depend on him will be ruined.

As Giles and Diana dive into his family’s past, the attraction that they insisted wasn’t there proves impossible to ignore. It seems that the future of the Sinclair estate isn’t the only thing on the line…

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Author Bio:

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace insomnia and start writing them down. Twenty-five books and three Romantic Novel of the Year Award nominations later, it still takes her forever to fall asleep.

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Tracy’s Review:

Never Rescue a Rogue (The Merriwell Sisters, #2)Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath

Tracy’s rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: The Merriwell Sisters, #2

Release Date: November 8, 2022

Miss Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair are not friends and most certainly are not infatuated with each other, but since her brother-in-law is his best friend, they must spend time in each other’s company and pretend to tolerate each other for the sake of familial harmony – yep – that’s their story and they are sticking to it.

Diana has trust issues thanks to her vile father and has no desire to marry and be “owned” by a man. She has worked hard and has earned her position at The London Tribune, a job she hopes will ultimately support her dream to live independently as a spinster. But for now, she resides with her sister and brother in law, her family knows she works at the paper, and despite her insistence that she is just a copy editor, they all think they know her secret – that she writes for the gossip column – which she does and is happy to let them believe that is her secret, but the truth is she also writes serious, investigative exposes under the nom de plume of the Sentinel.

Since the death of his mother, Giles has known the family’s “Dirty Secret”, but his father never expressed any concern about it, until recently when out of the blue he decides to remarry. But when he dies just days before his wedding, Giles learns why his father was in such a rush to wed when someone threatens to expose the secret and destroy everything Giles has worked for as the new Duke of Harpenden. He isn’t sure how to thwart the villain, that is until he figures out Diana’s secret and wonders if she would be willing to put aside their animosity and help him find out the truth, without revealing his growing regard and desire for her.

This was a well-written, nicely-paced romance story that happened to have a really great mystery. This book is supposed to be a “enemies to lovers” trope, but I don’t feel like that is accurate, I never believed that they disliked each other. Distrusted? Yes. Hated? No. I also found Diana’s constant denial of her true feelings to be a bit too much – to quote the Bard “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” and she doesn’t stop until almost the very end of the book. I understood the reason for her mistrust, but Giles proved himself time and again, and yet, she still refused to let it go, Sigh – I love strong heroines, but Diana’s refusal to even consider any future other than being alone got tiresome. For me, the best part of the story was when they began to investigate Giles’ “Dirty Secret”, it was really well done, very touching, and stuck it to the villain. This is the second book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title. Bottom line; This book was a fun read that is light on the romance, and heavy on the mystery story that ends with a HEA.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*