Death Among the Diamonds is a new Historical Cozy Mystery series set in the 1920s. Cressida Fawcett is a well to do young lady who has no intentions of getting married. She seems to be a woman before her time and her parents indulge her. She has been invited to the home of her oldest and dearest friend, Dorothy Chatterton, for the weekend. She is eager to go, especially since there was just a robbery at the house, and she wants to help solve the crime. Dorothy wants her to get to know her fiance better, but Cressida doesn't like him and doesn't understand what Dotty sees in him. The day after arriving a young workman is found dead under the scaffolding he was using to clean the huge chandelier and things go from bad to worse. As the bodies pile up, Cressida seems to find more clues than the detectives from Scotland Yard. Will they find the murderer before someone else ends up dead?

This was a great start to a new series. Cressida Fawcett is an independent woman enjoying her single life with a fast car, her own apartment and an adorable pug called Ruby. Ruby is wonderful and actually helps Cressida in her investigations, as well as being a comfort to both Cressida and Dotty when needed. Her antics provide an entertaining and fun element to the story. The setting of the Chatterton Estate was interesting, a bit like being at Downton Abbey with all the servants, upstairs and downstairs as well as the large grounds. The lifestyle of the young people kept them partying, drinking and gambling, all while trying to find a decent match. I had no idea what Dotty saw in Basil, I thought he was a creep. The Detective Inspector was an interesting chap, seemed to be smart, but wanted Cressida to keep out of the investigation, especially because he wants her to be safe with a murderer on the loose. I'm glad she shared her evidence with him. Even thought this was a locked room type mystery, there were a lot of suspects, clues and red herrings. Fliss Chester does a good job with the mystery, doling out clues sparingly, but when needed. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the mystery. If you are looking for a fun, clean mystery, I recommend you pick up Death Among the Diamonds. I will be waiting for the next installment to see what Cressida gets up to next time.

Death Among the Diamonds is the first installment in A Cressida Fawcett Mystery Book written by Fliss Chester.

This is a historical cozy which is one of my favorite sub genres.

It also portrays a smart, sassy and wickedly fun young thing who is living it up with the help of trust fund and enjoys decorating and solving murders. It has all ingredients of a fabulous mystery.

The style is easy to ready, the story flows nicely but there are parts of it that dragged for me so I must admit that I skimmed throught some parts, ocassionally dialogue was repetitive and I also thought that main heroine inner thoughts were pretty long winded and somewhat repetitive.

I loved the setting of a British country manor and arranged weekend house party when the death happens. It doesn't get better than than.
In conclusion I liked the setting, heroine and the general idea of the story. I am looking forward to the second book to see how it will unfold.

Thank you #bookouture and #netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Splendid, what a great story, I felt myself transported away to the glamour and riches of the story. It's so Ritzy and Glitzy, chuckle funny and Dotty and Cressida are fabulously written characters. I loved the references to Sandhurst and Cambridge. The DCI getting annoyed with the sleuthing was heart-warmingly endearing to me. It made the story more engaging, Thanks for a wonderful read.

When you say it’s for fans of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey, how can you not pick this up? I don’t think I’ve ever read a historical cozy before this one, but this was the perfect mesh of genres with great characters in a great setting.

Cressida (what a fabulous name right?) is a British socialite with a keen sense of fashion and always with Ruby, her pug. She’s young and independent. When she doesn’t believe the death at a party is an accident, she starts nosing around to try and solve the mystery. It was a quick fast paced read that is the start of a new series. For being a version of a locked room mystery, there are enough party goers to cast a wide number of suspects. There were twists and turns, and I didn’t guess the ending.

I can’t wait for the next installment in this fun and entertaining series.

A fab cozy mystery staring our new soon to be fave sleuth Cressida. Attending the pre nuptials of her best friend a murder takes place and a robbery occurs, even more villainous the curtain material is just so wrong!

Great start to a new series with some fun new characters and a cute pooch. Looking forward to the next book immensely.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book because I love to read cozy mysteries especially those set in the early to mid 1900s. However, this book fell flat for me as the characters' language and sometimes actions were often not period appropriate and instead, reflect language and action one could expect from more modern characters. Also, the relationship between Cressida and the police detective felt unrealistic.

If you read me, you know I LOVE cozy mysteries, and I especially love those that take place in the past. This novel is a perfection combination of mystery, the “roaring 20’s” and fun! It is Book 1 of a 2 book series, but it can be a stand alone title. It reminded me a little bit of my favorite Rhys Bowen character, Georgie, from the Royal Spyness mysteries. Love the period – love the fashion – love the characters! I know you will love it, too!

Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!

Enjoyed the mystery and liked the characters. I am looking forward to more in the series.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a spiffing read I say!

Set in the 1920s this was a real feel good read to me!

With the detailed and descriptive writing of the plot and character development you can fully immerse yourself in the goings on at Chatterton Court and the amateur sleuthing of The Honorable Cressida (Cressy) Fawcett

It was just a real delight and I look forward to sharing more adventures with Cressy & Ruby!

I have fallen in love with historical mysteries and the early 1900's is one of my favorite times!

Charming Cressida is everything a fun girl admires, lover of fashion, a gorgeous car and of course her truest friend, Ruby, her adorable pug!

When invited to the house of a friend, it seems she steps into a mystery of some stolen diamonds and then murder. Of course that sets off her senses to investigate and if only the short tempered Detective would stay out of her way!!

Cannot wait for more of this series!!

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Death Among The Diamonds' by Fliss Chester.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Fliss Chester, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 21st September 2022.

This is the third book I have read by this author and it is also the first book in the 'Cressida Fawcett' series. I have also read 'A Dangerous Goodbye' (Book 1 in the 'Fen Churche Mystery' series) and 'The Moonlit Murders' (Book 3 in the 'Fen Churche Mystery' series) which I recommend!!

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis. I enjoyed Fliss Chester's 'A Dangerous Goodbye' and 'The Moonlit Murders' and am hoping this will be just as good. It also stated in the synopsis that this book is 'The perfect whodunnit for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Downton Abbey!', I am a fan of Agatha Christie so am looking forward to see if it loves up to this. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 45 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Berkshire, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.

This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Cressida Fawcett. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

This book is very well written with vivid descriptions. The synopsis and cover suited the storyline perfectly. Although this book is part of a series it can be read as a standalone with no problems at all, any previous cases/information is described in just the right amount of detail, enough for those reading as a standalone to work out what happened but not too much so those who have read previous books in the series get fed up of repetitions.

I love the fact that the protagonist is female, being one myself, and that she has a strong personality and will not back down no matter what is thrown at her, including 2 Murders, a theft and so much more!!! I devoured it in one sitting.

The plot is intriguing and filled with mystery, thefts, lies, betrayal, secrets, murder and more!!! It has plenty to keep the reader interested and is rammed full of red herrings. I loved the fact that it was a historical cozy crime and Fliss did an absolutely fantastic job with both the era and the beautiful settings. Chatterton Court definitely had a Downton Abbey vibe to it so fans of the series will definitely enjoy this one! I must say I was absolutely shocked when the killer and thief was revealed so a huge WELL done Fliss!! I have read many crime books, hundreds in fact, and it is getting harder and harder to surprise me but you definitely managed it!! There were so many potential suspects that I completely guessed wrong several times!! There is nothing worse than working out the killer less than half way through a book. I thoroughly enjoyed all the clues that were left behind and along with a Downton Abbey vibe I would also say it felt very similar to the came Cluedo!! It was actually quite fun trying to solve the clues and guess who the criminal was!!! Although this book is primarily a cozy mystery I enjoyed the fact that there was several humorous moments which helped to lighten up the atmosphere on occasions and definitely had me giggling away!! The vivid descriptions throughout really helped to set the scene and it really placed me next to Cressida throughout.

This is one of the few books that I also listened to on Audiobook. I read about 50% of the book on kindle and listened to the other 50% on Audiobook. I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Daphne Kouma who did a fantastic job bringing this story to life. She put alot of feeling into the reading and helped pass those emotions onto the reader with her fantastic expressions and voicing of the storyline. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Daphne did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I especially loved her portrayal of Detective Inspector Andrews. I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Fliss but also to listening to more books narrated by Daphne!

The characters were all very intriguing with their own personalities, strengths and flaws. I wasn't sure what I thought of Cressida at first but I wasn't a massive fan and thought her to be a bit too posh for my liking. However I quickly warmed to her independence, love of sporty cars and her headstrong boldness. I became completely invested in her and am looking forward to seeing what she gets up to next. When it comes to DI Andrews I was again not an. Immediate fan but grew to like him when I discovered his link to Cressida and seen the other side of him. It will be interesting to see if anything happens between them in the future!! I am certainly looking forward to seeing what they get up to, we'll hopefully he will be in the next book too but if not I'm sure Cressida will keep us on our toes on her own!! I wont say how I felt about any of the other characters as now that I know who the culprit was I don't want to give anything away by accident. However, I will say that they all worked perfectly well together to make this an action packed cozy murder mystery! I'm looking forward to the next novel in this series and finding out what Cressida will get wrapped up in next and where she will be when she does.

Overall an action packed cozy murder mystery that will keep you turning the pages and guessing right up until the end!!

Genres covered in this novel include Mystery, Cozy Crafts & Hobbies Mystery, Cozy Animal Mystery, Cozy Culinary Mystery, Historical Mystery, Cozy Murder Mystery amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, Jacqueline Winspear, 'Downton Abbey' and anyone who enjoys a page turning who dunnit.


310 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) and £7.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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A terrifically good start to a new cosy crime series, Death Among the Diamonds features a jewellery theft, suspicious deaths, a huge country mansion - Chatterton Court, dubious characters including a strong lead and a pug dog called Ruby.

The Honorable Cressida (Cressy) Fawcett, an interior design dab hand, bright red Bugatti driver and martini drinker, is not a typical lady. She has her own flat in Chelsea, although her parents live on a sprawling estate - Mydenhyrst Place, and despite having a title, Cressida is down-to-earth with a knack for solving mysteries. When Harry Smith dies at her good friend, Lady Dorothy (Dotty) Chatterton's weekend get-together, found on a marble floor in a pool of blood, Cressy can't help becoming involved.

Set in the 1920s and written in a highly amusing style, I really enjoyed this historical mystery and I am eagerly anticipating Cressy and Ruby's next adventure.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This is a cozy mystery with a shocking revelation of who the murderer/thief was.

When Cressida is invited to stay at her friend Dotty’s house after learning her mother’s heirlooms have been stolen she wastes no time in starting up her own little investigation. However things turn a little complicated when burglary turns to murder.

I loved how independent the main character Cressida was sticking with her trusted pug and her little motor car above taking a husband.

This book is perfect for all those Agatha Christie finds or those who love a cosy read with a bit of crime and mystery built in.

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Death Among the Diamonds’ by Fliss Chester. I was also invited to take part in the publication week blog tour.

This marks the launch of a new series of historical cosy mysteries set in Britain during the mid-1920s. It features the Hon. Cressida Fawcett, an independently minded young woman who is enjoying a privileged life of leisure. She has a keen interest in interior design and is often called upon to advise her friends’ mothers on aesthetic room schemes. So how will the glamorous Cressida end up becoming an amateur sleuth?

She receives a call from her chum, Lady Dorothy (Dottie) Chatterton, who begs her to come to the country for a weekend house party. Cressida is concerned that the senior Lady Chatterton might not want a houseful of bright young things descending on her given that only two nights previously there had been a burglary and her heirloom diamonds were stolen. Plus, the stately pile is having its annual spring clean and what Dottie describes as the ‘bucket and mop brigade’ are still in residence.

Yet Dottie clearly wants a house party no matter what level of chaos her parents may currently be dealing with. She is also keen for Cressida to become better acquainted with her fiancé Basil Bartleby. Cressida is supportive of her friend though it “baffled her how anyone could let a man ruin what was a perfectly wonderful solo existence.” (Dangerous thoughts Cressida when you are the protagonist of a series of cosies).

So Cressida packs her bags, jumps in her sporty Bugatti accompanied by her sweet pug, Ruby, and sets off for the wilds of Berkshire. The house party is well attended by Dottie’s chums including Basil. Cressida isn’t too keen on him, especially his enthusiasm for shooting at squirrels from a window of the house with his shotgun. I was completely with her on that score.

Then there is a suspicious death (no spoilers) and Scotland Yard sends the stoic DCI Andrews to investigate as well as see if there are links to the recent diamond theft. Cressida’s natural curiosity has her snooping about and DCI Andrews doesn’t take kindly to this, threatening her with impeding a lawful investigation. Of course, Cressida pays no attention and in the tradition of Golden Age amateur detectives, it’s not long before she is running rings around the police.

Cressida does come across as rather ‘jolly hockey stick’ and there were times when she verged on being a send-up of a posh 1920s amateur detective. Still, it’s early days for the series and plenty of time for character development. Plus, she clearly isn’t quite in synch with others of her set and doesn’t look down her nose at the working class. This is made clear by her interactions with her friend, Maurice Sauvage, who works for Liberty of London.

Overall, this was a fun cosy mystery and a promising start for this new series. I certainly intend to read the next in the series due early next year.

What a charming start to a new series! I absolutely loved diving into a 1920s London-based mystery and the writing here really transported me firmly into the time frame. Series-starting books have the daunting task of introducing a completely new setting and cast of characters to its audience without being overwhelming and Death Among the Diamonds never felt like an information overload. I really enjoyed meeting all the characters (there was a lot!), including Cressida’s friend Lady Dorothy, and Scotland Yard DCI Andrews.

But the main star of the show/book is definitely Cressida. She is independent and loyal, persistent and smart. She walks that fine line of being a “modern woman” in a society that is still very much influenced by strict moral rules and class-hierarchy. It’s an interesting balance and she does it admirably.

The mystery surrounding the robbery and murder(s) was really enjoyable to read. There were lots of twists and turns, plenty of suspects, and all the red herrings you could dream of. It was incredibly fun to try and work out - I gave up after awhile and just enjoyed the ride. I did not want this book to end and I can't wait for more adventures with Cressida!

*** Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture, for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Honourable Cressida Fawcett is an independent woman in the 1920s. She enjoys a good time and saving family friends from interior design disasters. She also sees herself as something of an amateur sleuth. But when she travels to her friend's house party for fun, to salvage the drawing room curtains, and hopefully discover the missing diamonds, she's not counting on having to solve a murder, let alone two!

Death Among the Diamonds is the first book in a new 1920s historical cozy mystery series featuring the Honourable Cressida Fawcett. If you are like me and read a lot of cozy mysteries, you may find yourself feeling a little deja vu. I don't expect completely unique stories in this genre which is primarily comprised of cookie-cutter stories. But there were aspects of this book that were more than just familiar vibes.

If you read Rhys Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series, you may find yourself comparing Cressida to Belinda, the fun-loving best friend of that series' main character. Cressida is a bit of a party girl if the unfinished stories of her friends are anything to go by.

Cressida is also adamant that she is going to remain unmarried. She is of independent means, has her own flat, a sporty car, and a little dog. Yet when DCI Andrews of the Scotland Yard shows up to investigate the murder she gets a little funny-feeling - could it be the stirrings of attraction?

And that brings us to the second instance of familiarity to another series I read. Lady Eleanor Swift is in love with a police inspector and though I haven't read book one in that series but I wonder if she had a similar first encounter with DCI Seldon.

Despite these similarities, I enjoyed the book. The mystery is a good one and while I'm not usually a fan of the trope where the sleuth brings all the characters together at the end for the big reveal, it seemed to work for this book.

Cressida did get on my nerves somewhat with her whining about how Andrews had to let her help with the investigation. She also takes evidence, withholds it, and seems to think that makes her invaluable to the investigation. That bugged me. If I was Andrews, I would have arrested her for obstruction.

I liked DCI Andrews. He isn't a bumbling idiot. He did seem to be down on his luck and says he hasn't been doing so well in solving crime lately. If anything he might be a bit depressed and he probably would have figured out the case if Cressida hadn't withheld key pieces of evidence and if he had a little more imagination.

If you a cozy mystery fan and don't mind a series feeling like others you've read, then this is definitely a series to give a try. I enjoyed it enough that I'll give another book in the series a try before deciding if it will make my must read list or not.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Saturday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2022/09/death-among-diamonds-by-fliss-chester.html

Step back into the 1920s period of history
In this brilliant cosy murder mystery!
Along with so many secrets to discover -
And the family diamonds to recover!

The Honourable Cressida Fawcett is off to for the weekend
With her best friend her time to spend.
There are plans for a cocktail party and visitors galore
Along with the chance to explore ideas for new decor!

However, with disappearing diamonds and new folks, too,
There's plenty to keep Cressida enthralled - as well as you!
A young chandelier cleaner to his death fell,
Was it an accident or murder - who can tell?

With relationships to explore
Bad feelings best not to ignore
Betrayal, secret plans and murder, too,
All will come to light as you read through.

I enjoyed how Cressida doesn't fit into the norm
For she's independent, feisty, determined and stubborn.
She clashes with the Detective investigating the case
But Ruby, her pug, helps her find how the clues fit in place.

Such a fascinating read, I'm now looking forward to
Having the opportunity to reading book two!
For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
I throughly enjoyed reading it and this is my honest review.

Rounded up from 3.5

This is the first in the Cressida Fawcett historical mysteries set back in the 1920s. I always love a mystery set around the interwar era, so I was excited to see what this book had to offer.

Cressida is a thoroughly modern woman, for the times. She doesn't want to be tied down to a husband, much to her mother's annoyance, and would rather spend her time out socialising or zipping around in her car.

When she's invited by her best friend Dotty, invites her to her family's mansion to meet her fiance, she finds herself mixed up in a murder investigation. With her nosy nature and determination, she wants to get to the bottom of it, even the protests from her friend and the detective in charge.

What a fun first outing Death Among The Diamonds was! There was plenty of murder, mayhem, and peril for Cressida along the way.

I loved Cressida as a character. Bold, headstrong, with an eye for interior design and snooping out clues. It was so entertaining to watch her get herself in and out of scrapes.

I felt that it could have done with being a little shorter. It dragged a little for me in the middle, but of course that's just my opinion.

An enjoyable start to the series. I wonder what predicament Cressida will get herself into next!

Cressida Fawcett is heading to the English countryside for a weekend of cocktails and partying at her friend Dorothy’s glamorous mansion, the location of a recent diamond heist. But just hours after her arrival, Cressida is woken by an almighty scream. Rushing to the landing, she looks down into the great hall to find a trembling maid standing next to the body of Harry, the friendly young chandelier cleaner. Everyone believes Harry’s death was an accident. Buy why clean a chandelier in the early hours of the morning? The short-tempered Detective Inspector Andrews insists that Cressida keeps her curious nose out of the investigation, but it’s Cressida who realises the stolen diamonds were hidden in the sparkling chandelier. Convinced there is a connection between the theft and the murder, the case takes a sinister turn when a guest is killed in his sleep after a brandy-fuelled night of cards.
The first in a new cosy mystery series set in the 1920’s & I found it to be a well written entertaining read. I really liked Cressida & of course loved her pug Ruby. I also loved the insight as to how the other half live. There are red herrings as well as twists & turns in this delightful light read. I look forward to more in the series
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I do so enjoy these ‘Golden Age’ 1920s murder/mysteries, and the format of this particular story is so very Agatha Christie-esque in style, that I was doubly excited, as for me, the aforementioned lady is definitely the Queen of Crime. A carefully garnered group of characters are gathered together in a single location, all of them are suspects and each of them have a motive for the crime(s) which have been committed. An amateur sleuth is added to the guest list, who manages to outsmart the hapless detectives sent to investigate. Despite all the red herrings and attempts to thwart the fledgling crime buster, even down to trying to silence them permanently, they prevail in unmasking the real villain with a flourish, drawing gasps of disbelief and admiration.

‘Spoilers’ are so easy to sneak their way into any premise of my reading of this book, so I’ll keep things deliberately vague…

…

The Right Honourable Cressida Fawcett, together with Ruby, her equally aloof and opinionated four-legged bundle of fur, is relaxing at her Chelsea pied-a-terre, overlooking the Thames, prior to spending the weekend as a guest at Chatterton Court, near Newbury, the country estate of her dearest friend Lady Dorothy Chatterton, where she lives with her parents and two brothers. The visit is twofold; to meet with some of Dorothy’s circle of friends, including her fiancé, Basil, in the hope that they can get better acquainted with him before their imminent wedding. Also, Cressida has something of a reputation as an interior design whizz and Dorothy’s mother Lady Honoria, has recently made a terrible purchase of some particularly unattractive curtains and badly needs Cressida’s advice.

True to form, Cressida gets side-tracked in London, although in her defence, part of that time is spent with her good friend Maurice Sauvage, in the fabric department of Liberty’s, on Lady Honoria’s behalf, and she is terribly late arriving at Chatterton Court, only to find the place in great disarray, as there has been a robbery and Lady Honoria’s heirloom diamond collection has been stolen, although they have been removed from their purpose made box, which was left in her Ladyship’s bedroom. On top of that, the new company Honoria used to carry out the annual clean of her entrance hall crystal chandelier, have over-run on the job, so the place is full of scaffolding.

Strange things begin to happen almost before Cressida has had the time to unpack her suitcase and retire for the night. The body count commences, with the at first, seemingly accidental death, of someone from outside the intimate gathering. The intended party atmosphere of the weekend is immediately overshadowed by the arrival of DCI Max Andrews and his assistant Quintin Kirby, from Scotland Yard. In that short intervening time, almost before even Cressida has begun poking her nose in where it is not wanted, following through on a few of her own theories about the loss of the diamonds and the ensuing demise of the potentially guilty party, which she now believes to be murder rather than accident; another body is discovered and death by fair play or foul, is again called into question. For Cressida, trying to convince DCI Andrews of her own innocence is of paramount importance, so that she can get stuck into working out just who is the rotten apple in their midst. She therefore can’t understand why Andrews is so cold and stand-offish towards her, until he shows his true concern when seemingly random ‘accidents’ begin to happen to Cressida herself and it is clearly obvious that someone is warning her off. Cressida has now also worked out Andrews rather gruff show of antipathy towards her, all stems back to the relationship he had with her own father, back in the days of the Boer War, and he is being very deliberately protective of her, whilst trying to maintain a professional distance.

Quite quickly though, Max realises that forbidding Cressida to put herself in any more danger, is a pointless and very painful venture, so reluctantly he agrees to them pooling resources and collaborating in a bid to solve the case and apprehend the perpetrator, before anyone else gets hurt, or winds up dead. So far, an astute Cressida has discovered all the evidence, now all she needs to do is piece the jigsaw together. It is now that she recalls one of Maurice’s favourite tailoring adages “measure twice, cut once”, so she, Dorothy, Max and Quintin, spend some valuable time retracing every event in chronological order, matching up the evidence as they progress. Finally, Cressida is happy to have Max assemble the family and guests together, where she presents her evidence and outs her suspect, all the while making it sound as though DCI Andrews had actually named the perpetrator.

Cressida not only solves the multiple murders, but also the robbery of those all-important family diamonds (although it was actually a very ‘dogged’ Ruby, who with her belly full of leftovers, really put her nose to the ground), all whilst managing to save Dorothy from a fate worse than death and keeping her reputation intact.

…

This multi-layered, highly textured, traditional murder/mystery storyline was well structured and fluently written over many concise and well signposted chapters, which kept the action fast paced and seamlessly evolving, with literally never a dull moment. The suspect list was lengthy, as it included the names of all the family and staff of the household, plus their many visiting weekend guests. The twists and turns just kept on coming right until the final scene and I simply couldn’t avoid being tripped up by the red herrings, liberally spread along the way to put myself, The Honourable Cressida and indeed the police of Scotland Yard, off the scent. In fact, although I had followed and agreed with many of Cressida’s deducements about the order and nature of events, I would never have been in a position to point the finger at the correct guilty party, as she inevitably did.

The physical footprint this story occupied, was quite finely focussed, however the narrative and dialogue were crisp and visually descriptive, affording a genuine sense of time and place. Enough for any avid ‘armchair traveller’, depends on just how immersed you want to become in the 1920s era, with all its associated social mores, but personally, I was more than satisfied.

The Right Honourable Cressida Fawcett is a bit of an enigma within her social class and amongst her circle of friends and family. She is a progressive and independent female of the times and has no intentions of following Dorothy, or any of her other friends, down the aisle anytime soon, most firmly shunning all attempts at getting her to make a ‘suitable’ liaison and marriage. However, she does not entirely deny all the protocols and privileges her title endows her with, but rather uses them to their full advantage in gaining favours and opening doors for her, and her reputation for making the most of her freedoms, partying long and hard, is legendary. She has her dog, her car and a great network of friends, what more could a thoroughly modern girl want!!

A large, sprawling cast of guest characters occupied this storyline, none of which, including Cressida’s hosts are particularly likeable, with the possible exception of the rather hapless Dorothy, although even she was on my suspect list at one point. Selfish, demanding, manipulative and duplicitous, are all words which come readily to mind, to describe this eclectic mix of the upper classes, who all seem to be jostling for some unspoken recognition or position, which made for a very unreliable, volatile and toxic atmosphere whenever they were around, meaning I was always on the edge of my seat and alert for their sudden changes in demeanour and temperament, which might indicate their guilt.

Any future relationship between Max and Cressida, isn’t really even off the starting blocks just yet, although there are definitely sparks of mutual respect and attraction simmering away beneath the surface. Notwithstanding the quite large age disparity between them, the rather unpredictable nature of Max’s job and given the past history between Max and Cressida’s father, I’m sure that everything is not going to be plain sailing for them. However, I am equally certain that Cressida will fight tooth and nail, by fair means or foul, to get her own way if she so desires, especially as Ruby’s all important affirmative, deciding vote has already been cast.

This story definitely ticked all the right boxes for the reasons I read this particular genre of book every now and then, and how I want to feel when I have finished the last word and closed that final page. Part of what always makes reading such a wonderful experience for me, is that with each and every new series, I am taken on a unique and individual journey, by authors who fire my imagination, stir my emotions and stimulate my senses, even though I’m sure I won’t have felt the same way about it as the last reader, nor probably the next. So why 4.5* rather than 5*? There were just a couple of small niggles for me, that I wasn’t able to block out. The way that Cressida constantly called everyone (but mostly Dorothy) ‘chum’, really grated. And the fact that a dead body could be removed from the premises and all physical signs of the incident have been thoroughly cleaned, before the police arrived. Therefore, I recommend that you read “Death Among The Diamonds” for yourself, to see where your journey leads you! It certainly isn’t going to deter me from following Cressida’s adventures, whenever I have the opportunity.