The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds: A Dizzy Heights Mystery, Book 1

First, I must admit I am a huge fan of this author. He never has failed to entertain and enchant me.This is a story of a time after World War I. The Dizzy Heights are a jazz band. The best rhythm section in London is made up of Skins Mahoney the drummer and Barty Dunn the bass player. They have been together for a long time, including during the war. Ellie is Skins wife. She is an American heiress and they have two children.The band has been asked to play at an exclusive gentleman’s club. They will help some members practice for a dance contest, and they will continue to perform on a regular basis for dances for all the members and their guests.Skins and Barty have been asked to do a little snooping on behalf of the police. That leads to many interesting events.This is a fun read. There is a great deal of humor. Skins is big on puns and his humor is so bad it’s funny.Mr Kinsey has created terrific characters. The band members are all really good together. They have differences of opinions, but never about their music. And they make good music.The Mahoney family is like a true family. The children can be silly and fun and the parents love one another.This is a fun cozy mystery. The good guys are truly good. The villains are truly terrible people. And everyone is interesting and entertaining. The plot is fast moving and the reader gets a feeling about being a musician at an earlier time. And also that life is not always simple and easy.I enjoyed this book very much.

this is a lovely spin off series & brings back several favorites from the original series. it’s a nice story that keeps moving & the mystery does work out well too. i for one hope there will be many more (& more lady hardcastle too please)

Delightful, enjoyable characters, good detail, not obvious when solving the mystery and just a joy to read. T. E. Kinsey is a gifted author. I have completed the Lady Hardcastle series (9 books) and await the Sept release of #10. Highly recommend all, looking forward to more in the Dizzy Heights series. Must start #2 in the series now ... A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball ...

I haven't finished this yet but as there are no reviews yet I thought I'd write a few lines to aid anyone trying to decide on their First Reads choice...So far the story seems a bit all over the place... But it has potential. At this point there seem to be a great deal of unnecessary details and background, instead of just jumping into the action, but with a mystery all that could actually end up being important. There is a lot of dialogue, which I generally like but I kind of feel the author is trying a little too hard to mimic Roaring Twenties British slang and it doesn't always flow as well or naturally as novels actually written during that time.However if the other choices don't seem your cup of tea, this is a fun, light choice. It may not be the caliber of Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers but it's a noble attempt at a story set in 1920's England. I will update once I've finished the book.2/3/2021 Update: This is a light, entertaining story, but not much of a mystery. It's heavy on snappy dialogue, very sparse on clues, detecting or investigating. If you go into the book looking for a light escape it's enjoyable enough but true mystery fans will be disappointed. It's more a story of a group of musical friends in the 1920s who stumble into a diamond theft and consequently, a murder, but very little of the story actually has to do with these events. I also feel the random letters scattered throughout were unnecessary and added nothing to the advancement of plot.That all being said, there are some fun moments, the 1920s London setting works well, and if you don't have high expectations for the mystery aspect, it's not a bad book. The author knows how to tell a decent story, just not how to write a good mystery. I looked back over the choices for this month and, even if this book doesn't stand out, I don't regret my choice or feel any of the others would have been better. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Great book! Love T E Kinsey characters. A fun time to be a band. Some great historical points. I love the progression and learning where everyone is. Glad Flo and Emily are still misbehaving! I see that there is another book in the series. I believe I'll jump right in and start!

This book started slow and dragged a bit at first. I realize a lot of it was due to the fact that the characters had to be introduced and developed, so I stuck with it. By the end of the book it was a much faster pace and I'm hoping that continues with the rest of the series.

Book was good, kept my interest up. A good read

Well written, easy and entertaining.

I like the characters, the plot and the pace. The humour and wit were an added bonus. All in all, for me a good read! Looking forward to more!

It was a wonderful gift from amazon thank you

This book is okay. It took almost 80% of the book to be finished before mystery started to unfold. No real connection on how suddenly Ellie decides to check out the room and seeks access to register. Why would Police never try to get to the register. Further after the crime secret was revealed the story kept going. I had lost my interest and almost skipped last chapters. It was an ok read.