Lively characters, an interesting environment, and neat mysteries keep me looking forward to the next book. ( )

This was just a fun read. I really liked the characters dynamics was very fun and i loved the theater elments in this read!! It was a super quick read and just fun time def a new favorite of the whole series!! ( )

A jolly cosy crime read. Flo is lady's maid and companion to Lady Hardcastle, and her partner in solving crimes. This is volume 9 in the series so a backstory is well established and hinted at throughout: it seems they work for the civil service in some capacity, possibly investigating political crimes. Anyway, in this, a birthday visit to the theatre by Lady H and her friends is spoiled when one of the cast is murdered, his body found on stage when the curtain rises for Act 2 after the interval. The investigation proceeds, with a clueless policeman in charge instead of their friend, Inspector Sutherland, and they have to head off the worst mistakes of said detective, assisted by Flo's twin sister who is on a visit.

I found some things a little anachronistic: a lady's maid sitting in the dining room with her employer and also welcomed in for tea by her employer's aristocratic friend. In reality, she'd be below stairs with the other servants. But maybe that was explained/established in earlier volumes. But it was a page turning, wryly comic read, the author (a man, I discovered at the end) excellent at portraying female characters, and overall I would rate it at 4 stars. ( )

I adore this series. The verbal banter is exquisite. There are these little barbs or zingers interspersed with the dialogue that make me want these people for my friends. The mystery is as always, well crafted and the solving of it is a delightful tale. ( )

An Act of Foul Play takes one of my favorite investigative duos into the world of the theater, and although the pacing of the story dragged a bit from time to time, it was still a treat to watch Lady Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong work their usual magic. This time, readers also make the acquaintance of Flo's twin sister, Gwenith, and she made an entertaining addition to the witty repartee.

Hardcastle and Armstrong make short work of the bumblings of Inspector Wyatt while Gwenith proves to be an important part of the solution to the mystery of who's stealing booze from the local pub, the Dog and Duck.

As this series has progressed, author T.E. Kinsey has not only charmed me with his characters and their wonderful dialogue, he's given me glimpses into various aspects of English life in the 1910s. This is a series that never fails to put a smile on my face, and I've even added a word to my vocabulary after reading An Act of Foul Play. I would imagine that most of us titivate ourselves before leaving the house to go to work or shopping. I just didn't know that that was what I was doing.

Anyone who enjoys light-hearted historical mysteries really needs to make the acquaintance of Lady Hardcastle and her "lady's maid, part-time spy and full-time nosy parker," Florence Armstrong. I wouldn't dream of missing any of their adventures.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) ( )