The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T.E. Kinsey

Friendship is at the heart of this novel and Kinsey brings it to life. I easily pictured the club, the band, and saw the Charleston being danced. Adding to that, the cultural aspects made reading this book an immersive experience and felt authentic. The author brings a strong sense of time and place and easily transported this reader to post-war London. Additionally, protagonists from this author’s other series, Lady Hardcastle and Flo Armstrong, make a short cameo appearance. This supporting cast had varying degrees of depth, but provided balance and contrast to the main characters. Their repartee elevated the level of the book and gave this reader a fun laugh-out-loud moments, but there were a few too many puns. The main characters of Dizzy, Barty, and Ellie were likeable and unusual. Will it really be that easy for amateurs to find the deserter and prevent more crimes? Who is the cunning criminal? They also enlist the help of Dizzy’s wife Ellie and the other band members. When Superintendent Sunderland of Scotland Yard asks for their help, Dizzy and Barty agree. He is now believed to be a member of the Aristippus Club where the band plays. It is believed that a deserter stole a fortune in diamonds while in France during the war.

This is the first book in the Dizzy Heights Mystery series and is a spin-off series from the Lady Hardcastle Mystery series.ĭizzy Heights is a jazz band featuring Ivor ‘Dizzy’ Maloney (drummer) and Bartholomew ‘Barty’ Dunn (double bass) along with the brass section, banjo player, and speaking trumpet. The country is recovering from the war and escapism from the devastation comes with jazz music, dancing, and excellent company. The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T.

With the dance contest fast approaching, the trio must solve the mystery of the missing diamonds, unmask the murderer, and prevent more deadly crimes-all without missing a beat.

But the stakes change dramatically when a mysterious death at the club brings a sinister note to the investigation. As mutual pal Lady Hardcastle has suggested, Skins and Dunn are perfectly placed to be Sunderland’s eyes and ears-and Skins’s wife Ellie soon lends a hand with a bit of light snooping. And the thief is planning to steal a hoard of jewels hidden there under the cover of a dance contest. Superintendent Sunderland has had word that a deserter who stole a fortune in diamonds as he fled the war is a member of the Aristippus private members’ club in Mayfair-where the Dizzy Heights have a residency. 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.

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T.E. Kinsey