Category: Edwardian Age (1901-1910)

The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history covers the brief reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910, and is sometimes extended in both directions to capture long-term trends from the 1890s to the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victorian era.
Preceded by: Victorian era
Followed by: First World War
Monarch: Edward VII, George V

In the Market for Murder by T.E. Kinsey

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Edwardian Age (1901-1910), Historical Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

In the Market for Murder (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #2)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 4 Stars
Series: Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #2
Publication Date: 12/20/2016
Period: Edwardian – 1909 – Littleton Cotterell, Gloucestershire
Number of Pages: 270

In this delightfully delivered mystery, we find Lady Emily Hardcastle almost recovered from the bullet wound she received at the end of the first book. She’s getting up and about and is itching for something interesting to do when, lo and behold, Inspector Sunderland presents Lady Hardcastle and Florence with a murder investigation. Not only is it a murder, but they met the victim only a week before his death. Goodness, there is a lot of nefarious goings-on in rural England because they also end up investigating a theft and a fraud at the same time.

The murder victim, Spencer Caradine, is spiteful, hateful, vengeful, and just downright mean, so there is definitely no shortage of suspects. But was he really murdered? The police coroner is sure he has been poisoned, but he has no idea what the poison would be. Did a neighbor do it? Did the wife, who is in love with another man, do it? Did the other man do it? Was it his maltreated son who did it? With so many suspects and no motives, Emily and Florence have their work cut out for them.

With the murder investigation stalled, Lady Emily and Florence work on their other cases. Who could have broken into the rugby club to ONLY steal a trophy and some worthless memorabilia? Leave it to Lady Emily to figure it all out. Then, when an apparition at a séance accuses one of the attendees of murder, Florence is on the case. With a childhood spent among circus performers and showmen, Florence is uniquely qualified to ferret out the tricks used by the medium. Or, are they really tricks? Maybe this medium is truly gifted and the spirit was actually murdered by the accused.

I ‘read’ the Whispersync version of the book, and thoroughly enjoyed the narration. The narrator, Elizabeth Knowelden, did an excellent job with all of the characters, but I particularly liked her interpretation of Lady Emily and Florence.

This is a highly entertaining addition to the series and I can definitely recommend it. The characters are intelligent, likable, and very witty and you will absolutely love spending time with them.

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Murder At Keyhaven Castle by Clara McKenna

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Murder at Keyhaven Castle (A Stella and Lyndy Mystery, #3)Murder at Keyhaven Castle by Clara McKenna
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: A Stella and Lyndy Mystery #3
Publication Date: 6/29/21
Period: Edwardian – 1905 Hampshire, England
Number of Pages: 304
** 4.5-Stars **

I came to absolutely adore Stella and Lyndy over the last two books. She’s the filthy rich American heiress and he’s the pockets-to-let English heir to an earl. I know you are thinking – so what – that is the theme of a lot of historical romances. True, but these two are really special and they both do a lot of growing and changing over the course of these three books. Of course, they also find dead bodies and solve murders while they are at it.

Only a couple of days left until the wedding and Lyndy and Stella are so excited. They can hardly wait to begin their new lives together. Stella’s father is still just as awful, overbearing, hateful, manipulative, demanding, and downright mean as ever, but he’ll be headed back to Kentucky once the wedding is over. Happy sighs will be heard by all.

Stella’s father demands she travel with him to Southampton to meet his friends from America who are coming in for the wedding. While waiting, they witness a horrendous accident that results in a man being trampled to death by horses. Definitely not a very auspicious welcome for her father’s friends.

To relieve some of the mounting tensions between family members, unwelcome guests, invited guests, and hosts, Stella plans an outing to nearby Keyhaven Castle. While the guests are exploring the castle another tragedy occurs. This one turns Stella’s world upside down.

Can Lyndy and Stella find the murderer? Are all of the murders related? After an attempt is made on Stella’s life, they know they have to solve the murder – and quickly – or they may never have their wedding.

This is a wonderfully well-written, well-plotted mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page. There are lots of suspects and lots of motives – Stella and Lyndy just have to find the right one. I rated this book at 4.5 stars because I wanted to learn a bit more about Jedidiah Kendrick. Perhaps we’ll learn more in the next book, but this one just sort of left the fate of his two children unknown. I’m sure Stella and Lyndy would see them cared for, but we didn’t actually learn that. I just wanted a bit of closure there.

I highly recommend this book – and this series – and I hope you’ll love it as much as I did.

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

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