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The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds
(A Dizzy Heights Mystery #1)
by
Missing diamonds. Mysterious deaths. And all that jazz.
London, 1925. With their band the Dizzy Heights, jazz musicians Ivor ‘Skins’ Maloney and Bartholomew ‘Barty’ Dunn are used to improvising as they play the Charleston for flappers and toffs, but things are about to take a surprising turn.
Superintendent Sunderland has had word that a deserter who stole a fortune in diamo ...more
London, 1925. With their band the Dizzy Heights, jazz musicians Ivor ‘Skins’ Maloney and Bartholomew ‘Barty’ Dunn are used to improvising as they play the Charleston for flappers and toffs, but things are about to take a surprising turn.
Superintendent Sunderland has had word that a deserter who stole a fortune in diamo ...more
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Kindle Edition, 330 pages
Expected publication:
March 1st 2021
by Thomas & Mercer
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Start your review of The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds (A Dizzy Heights Mystery #1)
Feb 02, 2021
Christine
marked it as to-read
This first book in a Lady Hardcastle spin-off series is one of the free ebook choices in Amazon First Reads’ program for Prime members this month!
Jazz Age Cozy
Review of the Thomas & Mercer Kindle eBook edition (to be released March 1, 2021)
The Deadly Mystery... was one of the 9 possible selections in the 2nd month of the Amazon First Reads program which offered 1 free Advance Reading Copy (ARC) selection to Prime members in Canada (2 copies in the USA).
This is a spin-off from the author's other popular cozy series the Lady Emily Hardcastle & Florence Armstrong mysteries. Musicians Ivor "Skins" Maloney and Bartholomew Dunn have made severa ...more
Review of the Thomas & Mercer Kindle eBook edition (to be released March 1, 2021)
The Deadly Mystery... was one of the 9 possible selections in the 2nd month of the Amazon First Reads program which offered 1 free Advance Reading Copy (ARC) selection to Prime members in Canada (2 copies in the USA).
This is a spin-off from the author's other popular cozy series the Lady Emily Hardcastle & Florence Armstrong mysteries. Musicians Ivor "Skins" Maloney and Bartholomew Dunn have made severa ...more
I absolutely loved this book and I want to thank the author for my advanced reader copy through #GoodreadsGiveaway.
I am absolutely going to read the Lady Hardcastle Mysteries series now. I wish I had read it first now, as this is a spin-off of that series with what I'm assuming were some tertiary characters. I have to admit I am a jazz-hater, so I'm glad I did not have to hear the music throughout the book. That would have changed my impressions greatly.
The story centers around a jazz band, tw ...more
I am absolutely going to read the Lady Hardcastle Mysteries series now. I wish I had read it first now, as this is a spin-off of that series with what I'm assuming were some tertiary characters. I have to admit I am a jazz-hater, so I'm glad I did not have to hear the music throughout the book. That would have changed my impressions greatly.
The story centers around a jazz band, tw ...more
Thanks for another Goodreads Giveaway. For those fond of British mysteries set in 1925 after WWI. Fun set up. Liked the husband and wife combo. 100 pages too long. 300 pages of redundancy 20 pages of mystery.
I'm a bit torn on this one. It revolves are a few minor characters from the Lady Hardcastle series.
I thought itt would be interesting to read mysteties featuring Skins and Dunn.
What is not clear, until you start reading is this book is set some 15-17 years after the events in the published Lady Hardcastle series.
I did like the book but felt the patter between Sticks and Dunn was a littke forced and not up to the standard of previous books vy this author.
I would still recommend it and would giv ...more
I thought itt would be interesting to read mysteties featuring Skins and Dunn.
What is not clear, until you start reading is this book is set some 15-17 years after the events in the published Lady Hardcastle series.
I did like the book but felt the patter between Sticks and Dunn was a littke forced and not up to the standard of previous books vy this author.
I would still recommend it and would giv ...more
Not for me
It a bit boring to be honest. I guess the setting of the book doesn't really interest me and a lot of the lingo I don't really understand. I'm sure it's a great book but it just wasn't for me
...more
It a bit boring to be honest. I guess the setting of the book doesn't really interest me and a lot of the lingo I don't really understand. I'm sure it's a great book but it just wasn't for me
...more
Lovely ... an offshoot of the Lady Hardcastle mysteries and just as fun ... I can't wait to read the next adventure of the Dizzy Heights gang!
...more
Feb 09, 2021
Ivonne Rovira
marked it as to-read
Amazon First Reads
I have long been a fan of T.E. Kinsey's humorous Lady Hardcastle historical mystery series, so when I found out that he was branching out, I jumped at the chance to read The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds. While I didn't find it quite as much fun as following Lady Hardcastle and her redoubtable maid Florence Armstrong on their adventures, the potential is certainly there, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
The strongest parts of this first Dizzy Heights mystery are ...more
The strongest parts of this first Dizzy Heights mystery are ...more
Set in the 1920's, this story follows two best friends who play together in a London jazz band. The drummer 'skins' is married to an American heiress who has connections to the spy and super sleuth Lady Hardcastle. They were all previously entangled in a murder mystery which had has led them to be sought after by the police. Superintendent Sunderland was a humble inspector when they last crossed paths, but now after a promotion a day a transfer has asked the band for their help. There is a diamo
...more
Jazz, a Diamond Heist, and Murder
Suitable for teens - adults
Likable characters
Amusing dialog
No strong language unless you are British, in which case there are some couple words or phrases that would be considered crude.
No sex
No Violence
Skins (his nickname), the drummer in a 1920's jazz band, and his fellow musicians are called upon by a police officer friend to investigate whether a known WWI deserter and gem thief is planning another robbery at a local exclusive men's club, where rumor and leg ...more
Suitable for teens - adults
Likable characters
Amusing dialog
No strong language unless you are British, in which case there are some couple words or phrases that would be considered crude.
No sex
No Violence
Skins (his nickname), the drummer in a 1920's jazz band, and his fellow musicians are called upon by a police officer friend to investigate whether a known WWI deserter and gem thief is planning another robbery at a local exclusive men's club, where rumor and leg ...more
I don't recall how I learned about this new mystery series but I was intrigued to read it. It's 1925 and musicians are delighting the party-goers out for a night on the town with the music of the era which includes the ragtime Charleston as part of the dancing music reportoire. The music for the Charleston is in quick 4/4 time with syncopated rhythms although I found the pace of the mystery to be in the quieter pace of smooth jazz (not elevator music simply nice and easy).
One detail in the story ...more
One detail in the story ...more
2021 Grade B+
I "bought" this period mystery from Amazon Kindle when it was available for free and was pleasantly surprised. It is rather enjoyable. The writing style reminds me a bit of Heinlein's middle years, only better. It never bogged down, like Heinlein's, making it easy to keep reading.
It takes place in the mid 1920s. But that is just the place and time the characters live. There was no preaching about the inequalities of the era.
The actual story progresses slowly and is basically secon ...more
I "bought" this period mystery from Amazon Kindle when it was available for free and was pleasantly surprised. It is rather enjoyable. The writing style reminds me a bit of Heinlein's middle years, only better. It never bogged down, like Heinlein's, making it easy to keep reading.
It takes place in the mid 1920s. But that is just the place and time the characters live. There was no preaching about the inequalities of the era.
The actual story progresses slowly and is basically secon ...more
This book was one of the Amazon First Reads on Kindle for this month.
It is supposed to be a spin-off of T.E. Kinsey's popular Lady Hardcastle Mysteries. It takes place in the 1920s (1925) in London and follows two jazz musicians, Ivor "Skins" Maloney & Bartholomew "Barty" Dunn, and their band, the Dizzy Heights. There is also Skins wife Ellie, an American socialite that is close friends with Lady Emily Hardcastle and her companion, Flo Armstrong. I really liked both Skin and Barty is a mirror o ...more
It is supposed to be a spin-off of T.E. Kinsey's popular Lady Hardcastle Mysteries. It takes place in the 1920s (1925) in London and follows two jazz musicians, Ivor "Skins" Maloney & Bartholomew "Barty" Dunn, and their band, the Dizzy Heights. There is also Skins wife Ellie, an American socialite that is close friends with Lady Emily Hardcastle and her companion, Flo Armstrong. I really liked both Skin and Barty is a mirror o ...more
I have very much enjoyed the Lady Hardcastle series by T E Kinsey (and plan to do so many times more), so when I saw The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds available on Amazon First Reads, I thought I’d give it a try.
I had no idea what to expect, as the blurb doesn’t really give much away. I enjoyed the 1920s setting, and the mystery was interesting. I found it a little slow moving occasionally, and it’s less in my wheelhouse (light, frothy, and silly) than the Lady Hardcastle books. However ...more
I had no idea what to expect, as the blurb doesn’t really give much away. I enjoyed the 1920s setting, and the mystery was interesting. I found it a little slow moving occasionally, and it’s less in my wheelhouse (light, frothy, and silly) than the Lady Hardcastle books. However ...more
The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds
It is 1925 and Superintendent Sunderland asks Skins and Barty for their help. He wants them to track and track down a deserter from the war who got away with a large amount of diamonds.
I so loved this book. I thoroughly enjoy T E Kinsey 's Lady Hardcastle novels and this one is every bit as good. Full of familiar faces this book is a dream.
The story is really good and there are plenty of twists and turns as Skins, Barty, Ellie and the rest of the Dizzy H ...more
It is 1925 and Superintendent Sunderland asks Skins and Barty for their help. He wants them to track and track down a deserter from the war who got away with a large amount of diamonds.
I so loved this book. I thoroughly enjoy T E Kinsey 's Lady Hardcastle novels and this one is every bit as good. Full of familiar faces this book is a dream.
The story is really good and there are plenty of twists and turns as Skins, Barty, Ellie and the rest of the Dizzy H ...more
Fun mystery
such a fun book, humor and mystery together. Set in London in 1925 Skins and Barty and later Skin's wife, Ellie, and the rest of the band are recruited by Superintendent Sutherland to help him find the "wrong one" in a group of friends at a gentleman's club. Skins and Barty's band is playing there and are asked to observe. There's a cache of missing diamonds and possibly a long lost treasure at the club. The background of WW1 veterans, nurses and conscientious objectors add to the sto ...more
such a fun book, humor and mystery together. Set in London in 1925 Skins and Barty and later Skin's wife, Ellie, and the rest of the band are recruited by Superintendent Sutherland to help him find the "wrong one" in a group of friends at a gentleman's club. Skins and Barty's band is playing there and are asked to observe. There's a cache of missing diamonds and possibly a long lost treasure at the club. The background of WW1 veterans, nurses and conscientious objectors add to the sto ...more
PopSugar Reading Challenge 2021 - Prompt #6 - Gem, Mineral, or Rock in the Title
This is a cozy set in the 1920s in London. It has promise but I definitely felt like I was missing quite a bit of backstory from the author's other series (this is a spin-off, apparently.) The characters were all likeable and the setting was good. The villain was a bit obvious as was the big shocking cause of death and I didn't love the cliffhanger with the hidden diamonds. If I had read the other series, I'd definit ...more
This is a cozy set in the 1920s in London. It has promise but I definitely felt like I was missing quite a bit of backstory from the author's other series (this is a spin-off, apparently.) The characters were all likeable and the setting was good. The villain was a bit obvious as was the big shocking cause of death and I didn't love the cliffhanger with the hidden diamonds. If I had read the other series, I'd definit ...more
What a bloody fun English tale! A mystery, some good humor and an engaging group of characters made this book an interesting read.
I had not read anything by T.E. Kinsey before but will be on the look-out for the next one in this series about the Dizzy Heights band. The main characters/musicians: drummer, Skins and the double bass player, Dunn, both seem like guys I would enjoy hanging out with. Very enjoyable banter between these two.
I will definitely look into another series by this author, La ...more
I had not read anything by T.E. Kinsey before but will be on the look-out for the next one in this series about the Dizzy Heights band. The main characters/musicians: drummer, Skins and the double bass player, Dunn, both seem like guys I would enjoy hanging out with. Very enjoyable banter between these two.
I will definitely look into another series by this author, La ...more
Mystery bookworm
I really enjoyed this mystery!! The main characters, Ellie, Skins, and Dunn, seem to be delightful people and enthusiastic in helping Superintendent Sunderland find the bad man. When a member of their band dies, everyone is thrown for a loop but it takes the American -Ellie - to put two and two together and come up with the right answer. There is a good amount of subtle English humor to keep the story moving along easily also. Even the presence of the alpacas in the gentlemen's c ...more
I really enjoyed this mystery!! The main characters, Ellie, Skins, and Dunn, seem to be delightful people and enthusiastic in helping Superintendent Sunderland find the bad man. When a member of their band dies, everyone is thrown for a loop but it takes the American -Ellie - to put two and two together and come up with the right answer. There is a good amount of subtle English humor to keep the story moving along easily also. Even the presence of the alpacas in the gentlemen's c ...more
I had just finished reading 1984 and was looking for a bit of light relief. I picked this as I am a fan of Agatha Christie and the era it was set in.
It is an easy reading book but unfortunately held very little in the way of tension. I found by three quarters of the way through, I had lost interest in the characters and the plot.
Now I have not read anything by this author before and I see this is a spin off from previous books.
I will try one of these books and see if my opinion changes.
It is an easy reading book but unfortunately held very little in the way of tension. I found by three quarters of the way through, I had lost interest in the characters and the plot.
Now I have not read anything by this author before and I see this is a spin off from previous books.
I will try one of these books and see if my opinion changes.
Excellent story. I was dubious about reading it believing it could not match the Emily Hardcastle/Flo Armstrong stories. It does match them and provided some good laughs as well as a good mystery.
It moves the story of these characters forward 15 years from the Hardcastle/Armstrong books. Skins is now married to American Eleanor whom we met in an earlier book and he is part of a jazz group playing regular dates in London. To say more would risk spoilers.
It moves the story of these characters forward 15 years from the Hardcastle/Armstrong books. Skins is now married to American Eleanor whom we met in an earlier book and he is part of a jazz group playing regular dates in London. To say more would risk spoilers.
Good English Fun
I was thoroughly entertained by this story which contained overtones of Wodehouse and humour from the fifties / sixties.
As a dance band musician I was very much in tune with the "band politics" which cropped up throughout the novel.
It was also refreshing after some of the American novels I have read which are very "samey" however I can't see many US readers understanding this book!
I shall look out for more of T E Kinsey ...more
I was thoroughly entertained by this story which contained overtones of Wodehouse and humour from the fifties / sixties.
As a dance band musician I was very much in tune with the "band politics" which cropped up throughout the novel.
It was also refreshing after some of the American novels I have read which are very "samey" however I can't see many US readers understanding this book!
I shall look out for more of T E Kinsey ...more
This was a fun and interesting read! I loved the dynamics of the characters. I very much enjoyed this peek into post WWI era with jazz music, dancing and murder and mystery. References to past history between some of the characters are like lures to find out more. This was my first read by this author, and I was glad to see this is a first in a series and a spin-off of another series. More books to read!
Brilliant!
I've become a big fan of T E Kinsey and his Lady Hardcastle mysteries. This is obviously not a Lady Hardcastle mystery, although she, and Flo, do make an appearance. It's a stand - alone mystery featuring some old friends of Lady H and Flo, and it's a corker! Typical Kinsey. Very Enjoyable! I hope we're going to hear more from The Dizzy Heights. And, of course, Lady H. ...more
I've become a big fan of T E Kinsey and his Lady Hardcastle mysteries. This is obviously not a Lady Hardcastle mystery, although she, and Flo, do make an appearance. It's a stand - alone mystery featuring some old friends of Lady H and Flo, and it's a corker! Typical Kinsey. Very Enjoyable! I hope we're going to hear more from The Dizzy Heights. And, of course, Lady H. ...more
Not my normal go to
This is not the kind of book that I would normally pick up, but after getting it as a first reads and reading a couple of chapters I could barely put it down. I love how you can never really work out who the murderer is and that everyone gets involved in the plot and not just the main characters. I would definitely recommend people getting this book when it comes out.
This is not the kind of book that I would normally pick up, but after getting it as a first reads and reading a couple of chapters I could barely put it down. I love how you can never really work out who the murderer is and that everyone gets involved in the plot and not just the main characters. I would definitely recommend people getting this book when it comes out.
The deadly mystery of the missing diamonds.
This is probably a little different to the normal books I read. Set shortly after WW1, it is a quaint and old fashion story of a few members of a jazz band and the drummers wife, solving a mystery and a murder. The characters become very likeable and it’s a charming storyline. It reminds me of a Father Brown type storyline. Probably a 3.75 out of 5. Maybe a little slow paced for me, but well written.
This is probably a little different to the normal books I read. Set shortly after WW1, it is a quaint and old fashion story of a few members of a jazz band and the drummers wife, solving a mystery and a murder. The characters become very likeable and it’s a charming storyline. It reminds me of a Father Brown type storyline. Probably a 3.75 out of 5. Maybe a little slow paced for me, but well written.
Feb 24, 2021
Carmela Roccaro
added it
I won this book in goodreads n as much as I appreciate it I have to say it was a job to get thru. I looked it up n it received good reviews but I found the story line was so dragged out that I literally went to the last chapter to get it over with whereas I’ve never done this before. The characters didn’t enchant me nor did the story. I’m a drummer n thought being there were musicians in it n a crime story thought I would love it. So I’m truly story but save your time n read something else
A New Team
I have loved the Lady Hardcastle books and was delighted to see this one, featuring "Skins" and Dunn, who featured in of them. The book has a good plot, with lots of humour that cheers me up when I read them. Thoroughly recommend this and the Lady Hardcastle series for a fun read. Looking forward to the next book! ...more
I have loved the Lady Hardcastle books and was delighted to see this one, featuring "Skins" and Dunn, who featured in of them. The book has a good plot, with lots of humour that cheers me up when I read them. Thoroughly recommend this and the Lady Hardcastle series for a fun read. Looking forward to the next book! ...more
Excellent start to a new series
I wasn't sure what to expect from this new series of books . But having read and enjoyed all the Lady Emily books I finally decided to plunge right in. I'm so glad I did! There are several laugh out loud moments, particularly the 'phobias'. I will definitely be reading more. ...more
I wasn't sure what to expect from this new series of books . But having read and enjoyed all the Lady Emily books I finally decided to plunge right in. I'm so glad I did! There are several laugh out loud moments, particularly the 'phobias'. I will definitely be reading more. ...more
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