The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds

Jazz Age, jazz-musicians, England, situational-humor, verbal-humor, laugh-riot, law-enforcement, laugh-out-loud, amateur-sleuth, family-dynamics, friendship, murder, theft*****

These jazz musicians are good friends of Lady Hardcastle in this first-in-series spinoff of another hilarious cozy mystery series. It starts off with a lot of background stuff involving previous encounters with Scotland Yard (positive), Lady Hardcastle, and The Great War before getting into why the guys were tapped to help out Superintendent Sunderland. The story is really good and full of jazzy cant and references to musicians and films from America. I loved it and laughed my way through it in one dreary afternoon!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Thomas & Mercer/ Amazon Publishing UK via Netgalley. Thank you!

This is a quick and light historical mystery! This was a first for me from this author, and I enjoyed the author’s witty and often comical writing style, well developed and fun characters, and an interesting but well plotted mystery. All in all this is a good novel and one I’d recommend for anyone looking for a good solid read!

This started off as a fun read with an interesting setting in Roaring 20s London. But after an entertaining start the book bogged down into a mush of endless, irrelevant dialogue and lengthy descriptions of everything from the transportation of the band’s instruments from gig to gig to endless servings of tea.
The mystery is thin and underdeveloped, and at one point I skipped 50 pages with no loss of narrative coherence.
It’s a shame—the characters were charming and the narration amiable.

The premise of this novel was good, it’s what drew me to the story. However, I didn’t much enjoy the execution. I read about 50 percent of this book before deciding not to finish it because I was genuinely feeling bored. At the halfway point, not much has happened as far as solving the mystery. There were a lot of characters and they spent a lot of time sitting around and talking. I think if there was more action and less dialogue, it would have helped the story. One thing I did like about the story was the strong female character (skin’s wife) and the respect the other male characters had for her. I also think it would have been helpful to make it more clear to the reader at the beginning of the story that this was a spin off of the author’s previous Lady Hardcastle series. Just because I didn’t enjoy the story, it doesn’t mean this was a bad book. Just that I may not have been the target audience.
*thank you to the publisher for my free review copy.*

I really enjoy these books by T E Kinsey, this one is one from new series, set at the beginning of the jazz age, the story follows the plot of a unique murder, some stolen diamonds, WW1 and a dance competition in a Men's Club. The characters are really likable, the mystery is different and the story moves along quickly and the dialogue is enchanting.
Great book, does not disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review. Those Who Disappear is a beautifully woven mystery and a compelling story of one man's relationship with the Father he never knew. However, this story started out slowly and didn’t move along very fast. I was able to read a chapter and easily put the book down for another day without wondering what the next one would bring. There was no big climax in the story. In the end the man does find out who murdered his father and gets the closure he needed. Also, I don't like there are rape, abortion, and suicide are mentioned within this novel. I would only recommend this to someone who likes simple mysteries. It's short and quick to read, so it doesn't feel like a wasted effort. Overall, a good read.

This is the first book of a new series starring Skins Mahoney and Barty Dunn, who are the leads in the Dizzy Heights Jazz Band. Supposedly during the war in 1917, a courier who is carrying uncut diamonds is robbed by a deserter from the Army, and the diamonds and deserter might be found at the Aristippus Club. Skins' wife, Ellie, is an American; they first met in 1910 when she was touring with her Aunt. She went to France as a nurse during WWI as a nurse to try to find Skins who was in France during the war. She stitched him up after he was injured in 1918, and they were married a year later when he left the service. Her family was fairly wealthy, so they have a very nice house near the British Museum in London.

Skins and Barty are old friends of Lady Hardcastle for whom they have played, and Ellie is a friend of Flo. Thus, after they are called to talk with Superintendent Sunderland about keeping their eyes open while at the Aristippus Club, they talk with Flo and Lady Hardcastle who also know Sunderland very well. Sunderland has heard that the man who stole the gems is a member of the club and plans to run off with them during a dance competition. The Dizzy Heights are playing for all the dance classes, as well as regular Friday night gigs and will be playing for the competition.

At one of the lessons, Blanche, a female saxophone player suddenly dies. The six suspects appear to be the five young men known as the Alphabet Gang taking the dance lessons and the attractive dance teacher, Millie. Ellie becomes the manager of the Dizzy Heights so that she can come into the club and help sleuth. Finally, on the night of the dance competition, Ellie figures out the culprits, and there is a wonderful scene where the two of the alphabet gang in costume manage to tangle up the fleeing culprits.

I greatly enjoyed this and I cannot wait to read more from this series! I was ambivalent towards the Lady H series, so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this, but it was just so lovely and such an easy read. The mystery was fun, the characters engaging, and the settings sounded delightful. I do think a few things could be a better fleshed out, but I’m hoping that will come with the other books.

This is my first book by this author. I haven't read too many historical mysteries either. But I definitely liked this one.

I really liked the way this book is written. The author did a great job introducing the atmosphere of the 20's not only to the plot but also to the language of the book. And he did it with real humor and intuition. When you read a book, you can almost feel the atmosphere of jazz. Everything from the style of writing to the characters to the plot is permeated with it. This is a very well created 20's styling. At the same time, this story is written in a playful tone with a grain of salt. If you like this type of narrative, then you won't be disappointed.

Another strong point is the interesting and diverse characters. The book mostly focuses on three people – Dunn, his best friend Skins and Skins’ wife Ellie. This trio makes a very well-knit team, then you’ve got the other members of the Dizzy Heights band, just as colorful and fascinating. I really like the dynamics of the relationship between all these characters. Their friendly banter gives the book an additional humorous twist. They make a great team to which I will gladly come back in the next book. They are complemented by the Alphabet Gang - a group of potential suspects, which in itself is also very interesting and introduces another comic element.

And finally, we have an interesting and complicated criminal plot, still in the style of the 20s and novels from that time. Although I admit that the death of one of the characters at the beginning of the book surprised and saddened me. I wish it could have been avoided. And while I wasn't particularly surprised by who turned out to be the thief, watching Ellie and the guys try to solve it in their own unique way was great entertainment.

Also because of the fast pace which I like very much. There is a lot of exceptionally good dialogue here that effectively sets the pace and introduces this light, playful tone. Only at the beginning we get short information about Skins and Dunn's childhood and how they met. But it is not tiring or boring, it just allows us to quickly orientate ourselves in the situation and enjoy the novel. We get the rest without any problems throughout the story.

I definitely recommend this book to all those who like historical mysteries set in the 1920s and jazz musicians who, despite their grim wartime experiences, take little things seriously. Although this may not be a book for people who do not like any, even the smallest, mentions about the war (in this case the First World War), because the plot of this book refers to such events.

Take a jazz band with members who are smart, honorable and love word play, add a century ols d tale of missing diamonds, sprinkle with a dance contest featuring a group of men who have no rhythm and toss gently into a well written, well plotted mystery and you've got T E Kinsey's latest book. For anyone who is a fan of Kinsey' s Lady Hardcastle and Flo mysteries, this is a must read. For anyone looking for a good mystery with a lively surrounding story and unique characters, this is also a good choice. It's fun to read, escapism at it's best.
This is a spinoff from the Lady Hardcastle and Flo books, but it isn't necessary to have read that series or the book in that series that introduces the two groups of people. There are some references to the earlier book, but they aren't essential to the story in this novel and the reader doesn't have to have any understanding from the earlier relationship other than, perhaps, to understand that the musicians met and were involved with a Lady Hardcastle and Flo mystery and the now wife of the drummer met the pair of women years ago and Wiwas briefly associated with their activities as government agents.
The reader does need to suspend disbelief in some major ways, including that the police would ever ask for help from ordinary citizens. Considering the policeman is Superintendent (formerly Inspector) Sullivan, and knowing he's had positive results in receiving help in the past, this is easier to accept. At his request, the band agrees to search for some missing diamonds that are rumoured to be hidden in the gentlemen's club where they are playing. The band agrees and the search is on, combined with a healthy dose of personality development of band members, relationships and the like.
Everything takes a turn, though, when a murder occurs. Because it involves the band members on a personal level, they become even more involved in discovering the answers to who is hunting for the jewels and who is desperate enough to commit murder. There are also cameo appearances from Lady Hardcastle, Flo, and Sunderland to help bring the book full circle.
For anyone who is a fan of the Lady Hardcastle and Flo series, this is a must read. It has the same lighthearted, breezy style to the writing that runs through all those books. It will be interesting to see if this series continues and, if so, where the band takes it. By the end I was a definite fan. My thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy of this book for review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

A good, light-hearted, entertaining mystery story. Set during the First World War, we are introduced to a colourful bunch of musicians who are asked to help solve the mystery of some missing diamonds. The descriptions of time and place really paint the picture of what life was like for this group of friends in London at this time. We really feel to get to what they looked like, the clothes they wore, the fashions and trends and also the language used. I found it easy to read, an engaging story and you could go along with the puzzle. I think if you already liked the Lady Hardcastle boks then this is in the same vein. Great escapism!

Set during the Jazz Age/Roaring 20’s, this mystery seemed fun, light, and entertaining. I love British humour and there is quite a bit of dialogue here to sink into. The characters were bright, interesting, and charming despite this difficult time in history. However, there is almost too much dialogue. I found myself losing interest in the plot pretty quick, it just didn’t capture me the way I hoped this kind of story would. I don’t think it is bad by any means, just slow and moreso focused on the characters than the mystery itself.

Sadly I will be giving this a 2.5/5 due to my loss of interest and I found the mystery to have a bit of a loose line. I really enjoyed the characters and would like to read more from this author, but this one wasn’t for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I met Skins and Barty in one of the Lady Hardcastle mysteries, and am loving meeting them again.

Set in between the two World Wars, it's a tale of how two musicians end up helping Sunderland to solve an audacious crime that was committed years before and leading to another crime.

Full of misdirection, japes and intrigue, T E Kinsey once again delights with a world of toffs, everyday folk and wrong-doers. The interplay between Skins and Barty is key to this story as they given their narrative of the events of the story.

A great romp!

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds is the first book in the Dizzy Heights mystery series. This is a spin off from the Lady Hardcastle series of cozy mysteries. If you have read them, you will know Ivor "Skins" Maloney and Barty Dunn as Jazz musicians, and Officer Sunderland as her go to police officer. If you haven't read the Lady Hardcastle books, that's fine, you will be properly introduced to all the players in this first Dizzy Heights book. This book is also set about 15 years or so later than the Hardcastle books.

There is a war deserting diamond thief at large and the Dizzy Heights jazz band is brought in to see if they can help find the culprit. Of course Kinsey always writes in a strong female character, so enter Skin's wife Ellie. Kinsey's books are always a fun read with interesting characters, now we have a whole new series to follow. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to give my voluntary and honest opinion on #TheDeadlyMysteroftheMissingDiamonds.

This is a characyer driven novel sent to me by Netgalley for Kindle review. It moves slowly at times but trying to guess the mystery is fun. Try this one and enjoy. Live daily with the characters and wonder what they might do next. Follow the plot with its twists.

Now, I haven't read any of T.E. Kinsey's other series with Lady Hardcastle, but his new mystery series following the Dizzy Heights Band includes some crossover characters that will make the transition to a new series even easier for his return readers.

Set in the Jazzy age of the 1920's, the Dizzy Heights musicians get pulled into a mystery that spans decades and centuries... a member of the Aristippus Members only club is thought to be a war deserter who stole a cache of diamonds and is trying to add to his pot by finding the rumored lost treasure hidden in some secret vault at the club. The band has been recruited to play during dance lessons for a new group of club recruits that call themselves the Alphabet Gang, and whose ranks include this deserter/diamond thief who has been on the lam since his disappearance.

I thought this was a great beginning to a series and was well written. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

This was my first book by this author and I will definitely be reading more. It starts with a letter sent during the FIrst World War which mentions the robbery of some uncut diamonds in passing. We then roll forward to 1925 and the writer of the letter, Ellie, is now married to the drummer in a Jazz Band, as is known as Skins.
SKins plays in a band called the Dizzy Heights with his friend Barty and various other people. Because of a previous acquaintance, they become embroiled in the hunt for a missing deserter and diamonds.
The story is very good and conjured images of the Jazz era in my head. I felt it was pacy but not so fast that you felt you had missed what was happening.

3.5 stars. The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds was an enjoyable, light-hearted mystery! Set in the 1920's, two band mates - Skins and Barty, are asked to help solve a mystery of a war deserter/diamond thief hanging out at the gentlemen's club where their jazz band - The Dizzy Heights - play regularly. Skins' wife Ellie, and the other bandmates all get involved to try to get information from a group of new members who call themselves the Alphabet Gang and solve not just the mystery of the missing diamonds, but also solve the murder of one of their own that occurs during the investigation.

I found the characters to be quite endearing and quirky which made it an enjoyable read for me. Some parts moved a little slow, but the personalities of the characters and silly banter won me over. I definitely would read additional books by T E Kinsey in this series.

Thanks to #NetGally, T E Kinsey, and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC of #TheDeadlyMysteryoftheMissingDiamonds

Author TE Kinsey has created an enjoyable spin-off series with The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds - the first of what will hopefully be several Dizzy Heights books. Unlike the supposedly quiet country setting for the “parent” Lady Hardcastle books, this new series is unabashedly set in busy Jazz Age London. In addition to being friends of Lady Hardcastle’s and Flo’s, the main characters, Skins and Barty, are musicians in the Dizzy Heights band, and they regularly go to sleep when the rest of the world is waking up. In Missing Diamonds, however, they’ve added a spot of detection to their music-making, at the behest of Lady Hardcastle’s friend, Superintendent Sunderland.

Sunderland has had a hint that the thief (and deserter) who stole a valuable packet of diamonds during World War I may be hanging out at the same club where the Dizzy Heights have a “residency”. So he wants Skins and Barty to just observe a few of the members, learn what they can, and report back. Unfortunately, things don’t stop there, and Blanche, one of the band’s two female members, soon dies. Was it murder? Is it connected to the deserter and the diamonds? Or to the rumors of a hidden treasure at the club? And what is so important about the club’s upcoming dance contest? Skins and Barty, together with Skins’ wife, Ellie, dive deeper into the puzzle, and find a tangled web to un-weave.

I very much enjoyed Missing Diamonds – the setting was well-drawn, the characters were fun, and the plot was a nice mash-up of a mystery and some PG Wodehouse. I read this mostly in one evening and the whole time, I kept expecting to see Jeeves make an appearance… And although it raises a few thorny issues related to the recent war (e.g. desertion, conscientious objection), Missing Diamonds really is a quick-to-read cozy. My only minor issue with the book is that I wished the victim had been someone other than Blanche, but that wasn’t enough to spoil my enjoyment.

Please keep in mind that I give very very few five-star ratings, maybe only one in thirty or forty books I read, so four-stars is a solid “read” recommendation from me. Perhaps the best endorsement is that I’m very much looking forward to the next in the series, which is due to come out in July, 2021! And finally, my thanks to the publisher, Thomas and Mercer, and to NetGalley for the advance review copy!

I loved this book so much! It was the first book I have read by this author and I can't wait to read more! The characters and their story stick with you long after you finish the book.

I am a big fan of this author's Lady Hardcastle series so as soon as I became aware of this spinoff series I had to give it a try.

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds is set a a time when the most popular dance was the Charleston and people met at a Lyon's Corner House for pots of tea and cakes. Kinsey is a master at the art of setting the scene, both historically and musically. He also writes very appealing and witty characters and there is a lot of amusing banter between the main characters. The mystery is interesting and is resolved in a satisfactory way.

I enjoyed this book very much, not quite as much yet as the other series but I am sure it will grow on me with future books. Lady Hardcastle and Flo do pop in this one for a quick visit, and Flo and Ellie keep up a correspondence throughout the book. I am hoping the author will continue to write their series as well.

Somehow I don't read nearly enough cozy mysteries even though I do enjoy the genre, so when I saw The Deadly Mystery Of The Missing Diamonds mentioned I simply couldn't resist getting a copy. I loved the sound of both the historical setting and the jazz element, and I've been looking forward to read it ever since... And I definitely ended up having a great time with it. Whether you enjoy historical fiction or cozy mysteries, this first book of a series will sing to you!

I especially loved just how important music is throughout the story. Not only does the story itself focus on the Dizzy Heights band and its members, but there is also plenty of musical performance, band practise and dance lessons with the band. I really liked how the whole jazz scene was described and this element really came alive for me... And the same goes for the historical setting in general. We have references to WWI, we have references to the 1920s London jazz world, we have references to an old hidden treasure... All elements that help turning The Deadly Mystery Of The Missing Diamonds into a big hit.

As for the characters... I found that they were really easy to connect to in general. The story has quite a few different characters in play and it can take a little while to place them all, but once you do it is easy to keep them apart and follow their development. I especially liked the band members; both their dynamics and how they worked together to solve the mystery. Lady Hardcastle and Superintendent Sunderland are less present although still important to the plot, and I'm curious to see what role they will play in the future.

This story uses a multiple POV structure to help you get to know the characters better as well as putting those plot twists in place. The Deadly Mystery Of Missing Diamonds also uses flashbacks to the past and letters to spice things up and enhance the plot structure. While I do have to say that the mystery itself isn't too complicated and quite easy to figure out, it does fit the cozy mystery genre very well and I really enjoyed seeing the band members trying to solve the case.

In short, I ended up having an excellent time with this first book of a new historical cozy mystery series, and if you are a fan of the genre I'm sure you will have a great time with The Deadly Mystery Of Missing Diamonds. The jazz element definitely takes this story to the next level!

Well, considering I almost set it aside at 25% and a couple of times after that, I am glad that I finished it, although it was a bit of a slog (13 days?). It was an awfully long book and while it was well written, it ambled along and just wasn't particularly exciting. I liked the premise - musicians helping the police on a case and being the 'eyes on the inside', but I have to say that I also like my mysteries to be a *bit* more exciting, and to pull me along more quickly. There was an exceptional amount of dialogue in the book too, which got a bit heavy at times.

I did enjoy the characters and the dance contest premise, though, it was actually quite fun, and the Alphabets were well drawn.

It's a solid three stars, although I'm not sure I would read the next.

This book had a lot of promise, but it disappointed me greatly.

I was very intrigued by the plot of this book. However, there were a lot of errors in both plot and the writing style that just let this book down.

There was a lot of dialogue in this book. I don't mind dialogue usually, but in this book it was just unnecessary and just slowed the pace of the book down.

This could have been a very great read, but it needs a lot of polishing.

Delightful Characters....
1925, London, flappers and jazz galore. Band Dizzy Heights are enjoying entertaining the masses but events are about to take an unexpected turn. Entertaining and relaxing escapism from Kinsey who creates some delightful characters in keeping with the period. Nicely executed and can happily read well as a standalone.

This was a fun and lighthearted read. I loved the banter between the band members and the dynamic of the group as they embarked on uncovering the mystery. The story and humour was a refreshing change to some of the more in-depth books I’ve read recently.

Having absolutely adored T E Kinsey’s Lady Hardcastle series, I tucked into The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds with excitement! Skins, Dunn, Ellie and Sutherland are minor characters in the other series but no previous introductions are required to enjoy this one. Set in post-World War I London, our jazz musicians receive a request to help the police with an undercover observance at a gentlemen’s club. Shortly after meeting the key suspects, one of their own is murder and the trio are determined to find the killer.

The banter is lovely and the story unfurls gently but there is a spark missing in this one for me. Perhaps it is the sorrow of the war which each has as part of their story or the much smaller cast, but, in comparison to Lady Hardcastle and Flo, it doesn’t quite measure up. The mystery is a little light on plausibility too. That said, it’s well-written and I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading it. I will be looking forward to the next in the series. It’s a four out of five on the en-JOY-ment scale!

P.S. If you enjoy Jazz, you may want to play a little 1920s music to get you in the mood!

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Amazon Publishing UK through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved this book! Ol timey jazz band gets involved in a undercover operation! It was quick, enjoyable, and very interesting! I will be giving this book as a gift when it comes out!

A thorough good time with characters from the Lady Hardcastle series taking center stage, although we still get a guest star appearance from Flo and Lady Hardcastle - think of this as a crossover episode, in the NCIS mode, that serves as a series premiere. The mystery clips along with thoroughly likable leads and a nice supporting cast in the Dizzy Heights band, with nods to the trauma of WWI, and the sense of humor that one can expect from a Kinsey mystery. The only stumbling block, to me, was a bit of action dump in the latter quarter of the novel that read a bit stiff; I think this can be explained as a one-off issue of a writer grappling with a new point of view and we can smoothly move on from there. A total recommend.

This title is the start of a new series for this author who also writes books about Lady Hardcastle. Lady H is peripherally involved here as well. A friend of hers suggests that the Dizzy Heights, a jazz group, can help to solve a case. As readers can tell from the title, there are missing diamonds, stolen during WWI.

This mystery, that takes place in the 1920s, is an enjoyable one. There is music, a private members’ club, a dance contest and more on the way to solving the case.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds is the first in new spin off series of the Lady Hardcastle mysteries. Set in the interwar years and the beginning of the jazz age Skins Maloney and Barty Dun, the founding members of the Dizzy Heights jazz band, are recruited by the overstretched and underfunded Superintendent Sunderland to sniff out a deserter who also might have stolen some uncut diamonds. They are to observe some bright young things and report back nothing more but when one of their own is murdered steps must be taken.
This was a lot of fun, it’s eighty percent dialogue which I didn’t mind at all especially the phobia bit and there are some genuinely touching moments specifically Duns relationship with his landlady. Puddle is obviously the best character so more of her please.

This is the first novel I have read by T.E. Kinsey and I really enjoyed it! I have never read the Lady Hardcastle series but now I want to check them out as well. This book is set in London during the 1920's and follows Skins Maloney and Barty Dunn who are in a jazz band called The Dizzy Heights. It's a really fun cozy read with a little something for everyone - stolen diamonds, jazz, dance contests and a case of murder thrown in!

I really enjoy T. E. Kensey's Lady Hardcastle series when I pick it up, so I was excited about the spin-off of it. Here we follow Skins Maloney and Barty Dunn, with the edition of Skins' wife Ellie, superintendent Sunderland and the band that the boys are in, The Dizzy Heights.
The year is 1925. Jazz music is getting very popular in Britain, so The Dizzy Heights are quite busy with gigs. Then an old acquaintance, Sunderland, reaches out to Skins and Dunn to ask for their help. As one of the gigs, The Dizzy Heights are playing for a group of club members called The Alphabet Gang, who will participate in a dancing contest in a few weeks. The police have reasons to suspect that one of the group's members is an imposter and is in fact a diamond thief. Skins and Dunn are asked to look closer at each member to try and figure out who it might be. Things get more complicated when someone from The Dizzy Heights is murdered.
I enjoyed this one. It was nice to see the characters that I already breifly know take center stage. This book is set quite a few years in the future, so Emily Hardcastle is almost 60 years old! She and Flo Armstrong make a brief appearance and they are still kicking it.
My biggest complaint is that for a mystery novel there was very little investigating going on. The book is over 300 pages but the solving of the crime only happened in the last 20%. The rest of it was just lots of dialogues and dance practices. I wasn't too mad about that because I liked The Alphabet Gang, they were hilarious, and I liked the relationship between our main characters, Ellie was definitely my favorite. But I still wish there was more clues and theories and so on.
But overall, it wasn't a bad first book in a new series. You definitely don't have to have read the Lady Hardcastle books to understand this one, it stands well on its own.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Working for Superintendent Sunderland was a different way of going about their music, as the Dizzy Heights played many gigs in London in 1925, but with Skins and Barty, good friends of Lady Hardcastle and Flo, and best friends themselves, everything was lighthearted and fun and loved by many. The dance contest that the band had promised to play for – helping them practice every week - saw the group bumble their way through their first lessons.

But when a murder occurred in the Aristippus Club in Mayfair where Dizzy Heights were playing, things became personal, and they were determined to find the killer. They also vowed to sort out Sunderland’s problem along the way. Would the Alphabet boys win the dance contest? And would they discover the killer and thief before the entertainment was over?

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds is the 1st in A Dizzy Heights Mystery series by T.E. Kinsey and it was fun and entertaining. I laughed out loud many times, especially at Skins and Barty’s antics and comments. There wasn’t much interaction with Lady Hardcastle and Flo but they were behind the scenes. All in all, a great start to a new series by the author of The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries which I love! Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was just somehow not what I expected. Despite the delightful performers of the Dizzy Heights, the banter amongst them and with the rest of the ensemble of characters, I just struggled with the storyline. It just didnt make sense to me, and it took a long time to be resolved.

I really do enjoy this period, the author's style and his exploration of the rhyming Cockney slang etc. Perhaps next time?

I am addicted to the Lady Hardcastle series. Loved each one to date and hoped for more than her very small cameo appearance in this story.

With thanks to Amazon Publishing UK, #Netgalley and the author for my advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds is the first book of A Dizzy Heights Mystery series by T. E. Kinsey. Set in London 1925, we follow the Dizzy Heights band unravel the mystery of the missing diamonds and catch a murderer.

It's a light and entertaining read. It's filled with delightful and dynamic characters. The banters between the band members are enjoyable especially Skins and Barty's. I love the premise, historical setting, and the jazz element. The plot is well-written and the mystery is solved nicely.

My only issue: there's little investigating that happened. It's mostly dialogues and dance practices that it bogs down the plot.

Thank you Netgalley, T. E. Kinsey, and Amazon Publishing UK for the opportunity to read The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds.

I've been quite enjoying the Lady Hardcastle mysteries and didn't quite realize that this is a new series with characters that we have seen before. Lady Hardcastle and Flo do make a brief appearance in this book both "in person" and through letters that Flo is exchanging with Skins' wife, Ellie.
Skins and Barty are part of a jazz ensemble who have been asked to been play for a specific group at the Aristippus club. It seems that this group is supposed to go up against another group in a dance off. But these boys will need a lot of help.
It is a routine job until an old friend, Superintendent Sunderland, asks them for a bit of help. Rumors have it that an army deserter who stole a fortune in diamonds is somehow related to the club. Skins and Barty agree to help and are eventually aided by the whole band as well as Ellie.
The mystery was very much secondary to the character development and I did not hate it. Bartholomew "Barty" Dunn is a footloose and fancy-free bachelor though he is starting to re-think his ways. He is shown to have a soft spot for his landlady who lost all three of her sons in the war.
Skins and Ellie fell in love in an early Lady Hardcastle book and now have two children. Ellie is supposed to have an inheritance but her family didn't like Skins being a musician and are holding the money until they've been married for a set amount of time. It's all of the little touches that really start to make us care about reading more of the stories.

Four stars
This book came out March 1, 2021
ARC kindly provided by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Thanks to Net Galley for this ARC. I love the Lady Hardcastle mysteries and I was slightly worried this series would not live up to their greatness but I was so wrong. A brilliant mystery with great characters and I can't wait for the next book in this series!

This was a rare miss for me from this author, whose work I adore. I love the Lady Hardcastle mysteries. They are AWESOME, and totally rereadable. This book is a spin-off involving some of the folks we've met in the Hardcastle series. I like the musicians, the setting, the music, the mystery... but somehow the sum of the parts didn't jive. The rat-a-tat banter between Skins and Barty and the band members felt a little silly and very contrived. I think the author is super witty and has a fabulous way with words, but somehow I didn't buy the characters spouting this sort of dialogue. I dunno...

I enjoyed meeting all our old friends from the other series (albeit many, many years later) - it was a little sad that no one's life seemed dramatically different besides Skins. Emily, Flo, the superintendent... all seemed pretty static. I might have hoped for a little more (I would have also loved seeing a little more of them!). I enjoyed getting to spend more time with Ellie, Skins' wife, and thank God for her mystery solving skills (and physical sparring ability, apparently), because the men would have been lost without her! The mystery itself was ok, pretty guessable in parts, and the story dragged a little. Regardless, I'll be first in line to read the next book this author publishes. I'm hoping it'll be another Hardcastle one!! :)

Many thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC via netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

The entertaining start of a new historical mystery series.
I had a lot of fun, found it well written and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
The characters are likeable and historical background vivid.
Can't wait to read the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is a quite light mystery with a charming background of jazz-related environment in 1925' London. Unfortunately, while I have enjoyed all the charming and witty banter, I found this novel being more chatty than sleuthy. I got bored quite quickly because I could not get interested in the characters's personal lives.

Read this for a historical romp and maybe a little jazz education, also for a very light mystery.

I really tried to get into this story but I couldn't. The characters all seem fun and exciting but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the advanced read.

This was a fun, twisting mystery that will keep you guessing. The writing was a little too dense at times so not the lightest read but worth sticking with it.

Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for a copy of the arc in return for my honest review.

this was a great start to the Dizzy Heights Mystery series, the plot was what I was looking for and I enjoyed reading this book.

Sadly this book wasn’t really my cup of tea. It was a mystery and while it was well written it just wasn’t one I could really get into. I wish I could’ve, but sadly I never did. I appreciate the opportunity to try a new author to me, even though I wasn’t a huge fan.

This one was not for me, it was predictable and slow. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this one but I'm sure it has its merits and other people will truly enjoy it.

I really really wanted to like this book. But it was just really slow. It took a while for it to pick up before the actual "deadly" part helped to pick up the speed of the story. The Dizzy Heights are fun but the Alphabet Gang were just a confusing bunch (I guess they were meant to be confusing but it was still too much for me to comprehend TBH) that I couldn't get my mind around. Once the actual murder happened, I was a bit more intrigued but it still took a lot for me to keep with it. If I'm being honest, once the mystery was solved I pretty much stopped reading. I just didn't feel the need for the further explanation of how the perpetrators went about the crime.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A good mystery Novel. Great weekend read.