Eccentric Lady Hardcastle and her maid settle in small village only to discover a body in the woods, followed by another after an engagement party, a missing emerald, and multiple suspects. Author is trying a little too hard.

This is a review of the audiobook, read by Elizabeth Knowelden.

A Quiet Life in the Country is the first in a cosy murder mystery series, featuring Lady Emily Hardcastle and her maid Flo, who is more of a friend and sidekick than a maid.

When Emily and Flo leave London to live a quiet life in the country in rural Gloucestershire, the last thing they expect is to find a young man murdered, with at least two possible suspects. As they don't trust the swift conclusion of the investigating police officer, they decide to conduct their own investigation which leads them into murky waters...

As a book to pass away the time while out running or driving to work, this was perfectly passable. However, it doesn't bear up to examination; while it's clearly not meant to be taken seriously, the allowances made for Lady Hardcastle and Flo especially by the police, are just ridiculous. The murder plot itself - which then takes in a second murder and a smuggling operation - gets quite convoluted, and the ending tangles itself up slightly.

However, I really liked the character of Flo (Lady Hardcastle was a bit more annoying, and far too much of a busybody - also the voice given to her character grated on me after a while) and would really like it if she became the main character in later books in this series.

As far as introducing the characters to the reader, this book did a fairly good job and hinted at exciting adventures and escapades in the two protagonists' pasts which I would hope are further explored in subsequent books (if I ever get round to them), but I feel this one was a bit let down by the plot.

Elizabeth Knowelden did a good job narrating, with distinctive voices for the characters, although as mentioned earlier I found the voice of Lady Hardcastle annoying. That could have been because the character herself was a bit annoying!

If you're a fan of cosy crime, you might like this story but my own entirely unimportant opinion is that there are better books in this genre out there. ( )

I thought this was a cute mystery. I loved that it also read a bit like historcal romnance but with no romance. I also thought it gave massive veronica speedwell vibes!! I also like the mytery team was lead by two women and that was awsome twist. I thought it was a cute quick read and will def read more in this series!! ( )

I thought this was a cute mystery. I loved that it also read a bit like historcal romnance but with no romance. I also thought it gave massive veronica speedwell vibes!! I also like the mytery team was lead by two women and that was awsome twist. I thought it was a cute quick read and will def read more in this series!! ( )

I thought that the mystery was pretty good but the main characters, Lady Hardcastle and her maid Florence Armstrong, while a pleasure to read about, didn't strike me as being very realistic for 1908. ( )