A Quiet Life in the Country
“Tiny servant” and “ageing employer” are how Lady Emily Hardcastle and her maid Florence Armstrong address each other in the first few pages of this delightful mystery, quickly establishing that their relationship is more affectionate equals than servant and employer. Lady Hardcastle and Flo have just moved to the country from London. Allusions to escapades abroad, including the murder of Lady Hardcastle’s husband, make it clear that the two are looking for a quieter life. Alas, there is to be no peace in Chipping Bevington in 1908, when they find a body in the woods. It looks like suicide, but Lady Hardcastle deduces that it’s murder, and she and Flo seek to uncover the perpetrator when the local inspector detains a suspect whom they deem innocent. An additional mystery is brought to them when a family friend begs Lady Hardcastle to recover a valuable jewel stolen at a party.
Flo and Lady Hardcastle handle the multiple mysteries with aplomb and the help of a blackboard on which they sketch out clues. They’re a formidable team as Flo snoops behind the scenes while Lady Hardcastle ferrets out information from the guests. And in a twist, the local inspector proves to appreciate their contributions rather than scorning them.
The charm of the book is in the give and take between Flo and Lady Hardcastle. The reader gets hints of their past—Flo’s family was in the circus before she went into service, and Lady Hardcastle studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge before women were allowed to get degrees. Although Flo is an employee, she is treated more like family, and it’s clear the author has fun upending the servant-employer relationship in front of others. There’s at least one more book in this series, and I eagerly await it.
