An Assassination on the Agenda

A Lady Hardcastle Mystery, Book 11

By: T E Kinsey

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

They’re hoping this visit is a return journey—but it might be a one-way ticket to murder.

July 1912. Lady Hardcastle and her tenacious lady’s maid, Florence Armstrong, are enjoying a convivial gathering at the home of their dear friends, the Farley-Strouds. The only fly in the idyllic ointment seems to be the lack of musical entertainment for the forthcoming summer party—until, that is, Lady Hardcastle’s brother Harry calls with news of a murder.

Harry dispatches them to Bristol on behalf of the Secret Service Bureau, with instructions to prevent the local police from uncovering too much about the victim. It seems an intriguing mystery—all the more so when they find a connection between the killer and an impending visit from an Austrian trade delegation, set to feature a very important guest…

Summoned to London to help with some very important security arrangements, the intrepid duo will have to navigate sceptical bureaucrats, Cockney gangsters and shadowy men in distinctive hats in their attempts to foil an explosive—and internationally significant—threat.

©2024 T E Kinsey. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Longtime series narrator Elizabeth Knowelden's performance brings two occasional government agents to life: Lady Hardcastle, a genteel widow with a less-than-genteel past, and Florence Armstrong, her companion and confidante, who is also a martial arts expert.… Knowelden's Lady Hardcastle is gentility itself—until she's faced with blatant misogyny. Then the quick-witted lady becomes charming steel. Florence gets just the right mix of toughness and savvy, while Knowelden's secondary characters have genuine personalities. Fun listening.” —AudioFile Magazine

Love this series but this book wasnt his best...

First and foremost im a HUGE Lady Hardcastle fan and have loved all the previous books in the series. Gave them all well deserved full stars. But this book just wasnt up to the usual Hardcastle standards imo. First off it read more like a spy type mystery than a murder mystery. I would be completely fine with it if he was just switching up the style but one of the best things about these books is lady hardcastle and flo always come at their problems intelligently and think of all possible solutions and deduce which ones cant be possible and investigate the remaining possibilities to find the truth. But this book theres this GLARINGLY obvious possibility that was poking me in the eye the entire book and its almost like they were tip toeing around it and purposefully not even mentioning that it COULD be a possibility no matter how unlikely (which in this case it couldnt possibly be more likely but regardless). So i was very disappointed in the lack of an actual real mystery or suspense or even a murder the book is based around. There was a murder but it was more a footnote, a little blip in the book that started a bunch of political intrigue and spy stuff which like i said would be fine if our dynamic duo would've still used their usual top notch investigative skills instead of bumbling around and falling for obvious bluffs (like why would they wear trademark Serbian hats if their trying to be undercover? They even asked that then glossed over it without even bringing up the most obvious conclusion. That their trying to make people THINK that their somwthing their not.) Just stuff like that throughout the entire book. The author also leaned into the female prejudice more in this book than he ever has before. I know that in those times that was a real problem with alot of ignorant people and it has to come up in books set in this time period but i felt it was a bit excessive. Besides that i still did enjoy getting to spend time with lady hardcastle and flo voiced by the amazing Elizabeth Knowelden and i always look forward to that. This is the most complaints ive ever had for any of T. E Kinseys books. I hope he isnt losing it or anything. Cant get perfect marks all the time i suppose. I have been looking forward to this coming out for a while so maybe im a bit more let down than i might have been if i came in with no expectations but it still wasnt up to the usual standards... heres hoping the next will be better.....

I love these stories

I hope there will be more audio books. These are the best. I listened to this til 4:00pm last night.

Another good one!

Well written. London setting. Included old characters too. Good progression of series. More espionage story than usual.

Fun series!

Another great one in the series, looking forward to the next! The narrator is very enjoyable.

Excellent as always

Another excellent adventure with Flo and Lady H, can't wait for the next installment!

Worth the wait!

I anxiously awaited the release of the latest Lady Hardcastle mystery, and it was well worth the wait. The intricate plot is captivating and well-written. And Elizabeth Knowelden’s narration is superb.

Clever to the Core

This series is the best! Women ignored in the Man's business of espionage and murder in pre-WW1 England. Everyone who meets them quickly learn to not assume anything when it comes to these two. From different social classes a stellar team is made that smash barriers of the social norm. Both are wonderfully clever and not to be ignored, or you'll find yourself at the business end of regret. They have become fictional friends that I'd love to have in real life. Highest of high recommendation.

Most suspenseful Lady Hardcastle mystery yet

I love this series and the characters in these historical mysteries. Lady Hardcastle and Flo are bada$$ boss babes of their day. This time they are equipping their way through saving the world, Highly recommend. Read or listen in order. (the audible narrator is so good with accents that I always know who is speaking). Highly recommend

Creeping up to war

The only thing missing to me would be a section on historical notes. Sometimes a world civ refresher is not a bad inclusion - I remember what started WW1, but that did not lessen the tension here!

Another great one

Loved it, I’m on my second listen to pick up things I may have missed.