This is the inaugural book in the series, and it captivated me from start to finish. The setting in 1920s Britain is intriguing. Unfortunately, it also reminds me of the impact of wars on young men, both in the past and future. Nevertheless, the plot includes a country estate party, stolen diamonds, and a murder that keeps Cressida and her pug, Ruby, actively searching for clues. I highly recommend it and am excited to see what comes next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

It’s completely fine. I really liked it! I did! It was a very cozy mystery and Ruby (the pug sidekick) made me smile every time she was mentioned.
Would I read the next one? Yeah should I definitely re read this one when I’m more in the mood for this genre? YES. I’m giving this book 4.5 stars because it truly was good, I just wasn’t in the mood for it!!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really cozy, easy read for me. I'm a huge fan and consumer of historical mysteries - although I prefer ancient history to the Victorian age. I loved that there were twists and turns and red herrings and confusion with an ending that I didn't see coming! Although, I don't feel like I got to know the main character (Cress) very well, I do realize that this is the first book in a planned series and there is room left for character development. And, true to form, my favorite character in the book is the pug.

A first in the series and one that kept my attention throughout. Like the timeline of 1920s Britain. Sadly though, it also makes me think of how the wars have and will devastate the young men. Still though, a party at a country estate, stolen diamonds and murder help Cressida and her pug Ruby on their toes looking for clues. Would highly recommend and look forward to more in the series.

Th start of a brand new cosy mystery, and now a series I am looking forward to reading more of. Very entertaining

The 1920s roar to life in Death Among the Diamonds with the brazenly independent Cressida that fits among the array of classic female sleuths. If you enjoy whodunnits then look no further than this as Chester is a brilliant writing that knows how to craft a delightful mystery.

Death Among the Diamonds is the first Cressida Fawcett historical cozy by Fliss Chester. Released 21st Sept 2022, it's 300 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The second book in the series is also currently available on KU, and a third book is due out in late second quarter 2023.

This is a beautifully rendered historical cozy featuring flapper Cressy Fawcett and her sidekick (a pug) named Ruby. It's set in interwar (1920's) England and protagonist Cressida is a lot more enamored of her independence and her motorcar than in finding a husband and settling down (egads!). She's drawn into mayhem and danger when she agrees to help her friend Dorothy investigate her mother's stolen diamonds. Country house murder, civilized repartee, missing diamonds, genteel cast of characters, secrets and skullduggery.

It's sure to appeal to fans of the original Golden Age authors (Christie, Marsh, Sayers, Allingham, and the others sadly departed). It's not an absolute dead ringer for their work (how could it be?), but it's satisfying and diverting nevertheless.

Four stars. The language is squeaky clean and the violence is off page. It's civilized and fun (and Ruby is the absolute bees' knees).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Thoroughly entertaining read. I found the story and the style captivating. A fabulously cosy read! The era is portrayed completely spot on, with engaging characters, who wouldn’t love Ruby?! Can’t wait to read the next one.

Thank you Netgalley

Fliss Chester introduces her readers to the fabulously stylish Cressida Fawcett in Death Among the Diamonds, the first installment of a terrific new historical cozy crime series perfect for fans of Kerry Greenwood’s Phyrne Fisher and Verity Bright’s Lady Eleanor Swift.

Cressida is heading to the countryside for a weekend of cocktails, gossip and partying in her friend’s majestic mansion, the location of a recent diamond heist. Cressida has barely got herself comfortable when, hours after her arrival, she is woken up by an ear-shattering scream: a maid has found the body of chandelier cleaner, Harry!

Everybody thinks that this is a tragic accident, but Cressida is not so sure. What was Harry doing cleaning a chandelier in the middle of the night? Who did overhear Harry’s boast about his coming into some unexpected wealth? And what of the torn piece of silk found next to the victim’s body? Could there be some connection to the guests gathered at her friend’s mansion? Convinced that something sinister is afoot, Cressida vows to got to the bottom of this mystery – even if it means incurring the wrath of the local constabulary!

Cressida cannot resist doing her own investigating – which is just as well as she makes a shocking discovery: the stolen diamonds were hidden in the chandelier! Convinced more than ever that there is a connection between the heist and Harry’s murder, Cressida is positive that she is close to catching a killer. But when another body is found, she realises that she needs to work fast – or there might be another death among the diamonds!

A fun cozy mystery that beautifully captures the glamour and decadence of the roaring twenties, readers will struggle to put down Fliss Chester’s exceptional new mystery Death Among the Diamonds! With a rollicking pace, nail-biting tension, high society hi-jinks and plenty of mischief and mayhem among the aristocracy, Death Among the Diamonds is a terrific crime caper featuring a wonderful new amateur sleuth who is bound to become a huge favourite with fans of the genre.

Delightful, entertaining and hugely enjoyable, Death Among the Diamonds is a first-class cozy crime novel by Fliss Chester!

Cressida Fawcett attends a house party at her friend Dotty’s family estate but encounters a series of mysteries events that culminate in murder. A fun, if a little overpacked, start to a new series.

Bookouture is one of my favorite imprints and the publisher of my favorite historical mystery series (Verity Bright), so I was really excited to see this new series show up.

Fliss Chester’s Cressida Fawcett series is a little different than Verity Bright’s Lady Eleanor books, but it’s certainly of the same spirit, and the first offering of the series was a delight.

The book is a good mix of historical tidbits, amusing characters, and a really solid mystery. I don’t necessarily need a flawlessly structured plot in a historical mystery if the atmosphere and characters are excellent, but I got one here anyway.

I did guess the Who and Why pretty early on, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book or my opinion that it’s a well-structured, clever mystery with a good solve and loads of clever elements that play on the heroine’s hobbies and interests.

Very much looking forward to the next book in this delightful series.

A new cosy mystery series set in 1920s England? Yes please! “Death Among the Diamonds” is the first book I’ve read by Fliss Chester and I love her style!

Our leading lady, Cressida, sets off to improve the interior design of a home and finds herself in the middle of mystery…is it murder or an accident? Can she find something that the police have missed? The language is witty and there is an element of fun throughout.

I love the twists and turns in this one, a truly well-thought-out mystery with great characters! It’s a five out of five on the enJOYment scale and highly recommended! In my eager anticipation to read the next one, I have read the other books written Fliss Chester, I recommend those too!

So clever. Loved the storyline. Got a lot of it right but there were some surprises along the way, Cressida and Ruby are most endearing.

Along with the mystery, I loved the playfulness around an Interior decor issue, it added to the overall context. Yes the chandelier and the curtains matter

Looking forward to the next instalment. I do wonder what's coming next.

My thanks to #Netgalley and Bookouture for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Great cover on this one!

I love cozy mysteries that take place in the 1920s! This was a solid first book in a new series by Fliss Chester. The writing was excellent. It was well paced. The setting was grand. The plot engaging and kept me guessing. There was an adorable dog, and Cressida was a likable (mostly) lead. I am a little on the fence about Cressida. She could be a bit annoying at times. We'll see how she is in the next book! 😉

**ARC Via NetGalley**

In 1920s England, the Honourable Cressida Fawcett is looking forward to a few days of R&R with her best friend Dotty Chatterton at Dotty’s parents’ country estate, when a frantic phone call alerts her to the theft of Dotty’s inheritance—Lady Chatterton’s precious diamonds! Cressy’s friend at Liberty’s has heard no word through his fencing contacts, ergo the diamonds are still at the estate, probably nicked by family or friend. Piling a weekend bag and her sleuthing-assistant pug, Ruby, into her flashy Bugatti, Cressy heads off to solve the crime. Several country-weekend guests are in residence along with the family, so there are plenty of suspects to choose from. But the diamond theft is only the beginning, as the chandelier cleaner suffers death by wobbly scaffolding, a family friend is found dead in his bed, a guest is bonked on the head by an unknown object, and the diamonds seem to keep relocating, maddeningly out of sight. There’s lots of talk of curtains, and the effect of light on wall colour, but Cressy is an interior designer so these are the things she notices—things that don’t fit right, look right, or are otherwise in need of explanation (or a complete make-over as in the case of the ghastly curtains!). Scotland Yard’s chief inspector fortuitously turns out to have been Cressy’s father’s batman in a previous life, and once he surmounts his pique, he’s more than happy for Cressy to do the legwork.

Cressida Fawcett’s first outing is immensely enjoyable. Not only is Cressy bubbly, vivacious, quick-witted, and amusing, but her friend Dotty (aptly named) is a fun counterfoil. Ruby, the pug, is quite the character too! Fliss Chester has a firm grasp of British upper-class idiosyncratic speech and behaviour, making this a delightful beginning to a new cosy series that will doubtless catch on fast.

Fun, historical novel!

I enjoy historical mysteries and given the setting of Death Among the Diamonds is the 1920s - the Golden Age of Mystery Writers - it was perfect for me. (For reference, Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published in late 1920; Sayer's Whose Body? was published three years later.) The Honourable Cressida Fawcett - Cressy to her friends - is the only daughter of Lord Fawcett. She's wealthy, independent, and not interested in marriage at all despite pressure from her family. She's known for her fashion sense and her eye for detail.

When her BFF's mother has a valuable diamond necklace stolen, Cressy heads out to her friend's country estate to solve the crime (googling, the 4000-pound necklace in the 1920s would be worth between a quarter to half a million dollars today.) She arrives late, but meets Harry, cleaning the chandelier high atop a scaffolding. When Harry is found dead at the bottom of the scaffolding the next day, Cressy thinks it was murder.

Besides the setting there were several elements of this novel that I loved. I loved the fact that Cressy starts off investigating the missing diamonds which feels appropriate to her character but gets involved in the murder investigation. I also appreciated the unique connection between her and the detective. I also loved how she's adamant about not getting married, even though there is the potential for a love interest if Cressy every changes her mind.

Highly recommended!


I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.com and voluntarily chose to review.

Loved Frankie Drake, Miss Fisher, Agatha Raisin, Agatha Christie, and so on.
Crime entertainment is something that I enjoy a lot so of course this book called my attention. The cover doesn't do justice to the book.
This book has a fierce and independent woman as lead and the story happens in the 20s, which just makes it more exciting. The writting is light and enjoyable. The plot isn't predictable and the characters are fascinating.
The book isn't the genius masterpieces that the queen of crime wrote but it's the same non violent crime that you get with longer settings descriptions.
Overall a very enjoyable book.

I loved this book!!!! I absolutely loved the setting and the time period I could not hardly put this one down the authors writing of each character and thier quirky personalities was excellent and the mystery was fun to try and figure out!!! Loved it so much ive already pre-ordered the second book i highly recommend this great book!!!!
Much thanks to #netgalley and #bookouture for allowing me to read and review this ARC
All thoughts and opinions are my own

I really enjoyed the clever writing and storyline! I couldn’t put the book down because I had to find out who killed the chandelier cleaner and why. I loved Cressida’s sassy character and her eye for detail because they make her a perfect sleuth. There are several turns of events that keep the reader interested in the story. I never knew who to suspect or why they did it until the reveal at the end. This is the first book in the series and I am looking forward to reading the next adventure with Cressida.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I had quite a fun time reading this book, but it didn’t stand out for me. Just another mystery. I didn’t necessarily see the ending coming but it also wasn’t a major plot twist. Overall the book was just mediocre but enjoyable.