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estelleidekreads's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
this was so fun! i love skins ellie and dunn SO much and they have such a great dynamic. i figured out the mystery very early on but was still fun
enticingtitles's review against another edition
4.0
Another fun caper with the Dizzy Heights band! This novel is set in one beautiful country estate where the band was invited to play for a family of famous biscuit makers. After a torrential downpour, the host is found dead of what appears to be a self inflicted gunshot. But the Dizzy Heights group senses that something is awry and an investigation ensues. This mystery had a lot more moving pieces to it and I loved all the real detective work that went into solving this crime!
thebi_brarian's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
txa1265's review against another edition
4.0
Book #22 of 24 “A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball” by TE Kinsey. I rated this 4/5 stars, but only because 3/5 felt a bit low for the amount of enjoyment. Had you polled me when I was halfway done, it would have been 2 or 3/5, but let me explain …
This is the second ‘Dizzy Heights’ mystery, a spin off of the successful ‘Lady Hardcastle’ mystery series. It takes place in the 1920s and centers around the ‘world’s best rhythm section’ of Skins and Dunn who we met in the First Lady H book as well as Ellie who made an appearance in book six and was mentioned through correspondence in the final book. In the first book Lady H and Flo appear through correspondence and conversations, but in this book they are only mentioned once or twice in passing.
At the start of the book I felt that absence very much - in the final Lady H book Flo’s personal narrative style made everything better and more endearing. In contrast the ‘detached narrator’ in the ‘Dizzy Heights’ books feels much more impersonal and makes it harder to engage. Frankly, I was bored - but persevered. As things progressed the familiar and new characters became much more engaging, and while many of the details of the mystery were never in much doubt, the reveals were all well done and fun.
Another issue I had was that the characters needed to be in a certain situation to allow the plot to make any sense. It is like in a Murder She Wrote episode, where the premise by which JB Fletcher continues interfering with the police work is sketchy at best - only here it is worse! Actually that is not true - both situations actually make sense, but the book does so little work setting the scene that it feels contrived when it could have been perfectly acceptable.
Fortunately (and unlike in the first Dizzy Heights book) the mystery was pretty well done with enough clues to help you but enough dead-ends to keep you guessing! And the strength of the main characters once again pulls the book through and made me smile and feel good about things by the end! I know these are 'cozy mysteries', but I find myself really enjoying them!
This is the second ‘Dizzy Heights’ mystery, a spin off of the successful ‘Lady Hardcastle’ mystery series. It takes place in the 1920s and centers around the ‘world’s best rhythm section’ of Skins and Dunn who we met in the First Lady H book as well as Ellie who made an appearance in book six and was mentioned through correspondence in the final book. In the first book Lady H and Flo appear through correspondence and conversations, but in this book they are only mentioned once or twice in passing.
At the start of the book I felt that absence very much - in the final Lady H book Flo’s personal narrative style made everything better and more endearing. In contrast the ‘detached narrator’ in the ‘Dizzy Heights’ books feels much more impersonal and makes it harder to engage. Frankly, I was bored - but persevered. As things progressed the familiar and new characters became much more engaging, and while many of the details of the mystery were never in much doubt, the reveals were all well done and fun.
Another issue I had was that the characters needed to be in a certain situation to allow the plot to make any sense. It is like in a Murder She Wrote episode, where the premise by which JB Fletcher continues interfering with the police work is sketchy at best - only here it is worse! Actually that is not true - both situations actually make sense, but the book does so little work setting the scene that it feels contrived when it could have been perfectly acceptable.
Fortunately (and unlike in the first Dizzy Heights book) the mystery was pretty well done with enough clues to help you but enough dead-ends to keep you guessing! And the strength of the main characters once again pulls the book through and made me smile and feel good about things by the end! I know these are 'cozy mysteries', but I find myself really enjoying them!
annieb123's review against another edition
5.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball is the second book in the Dizzy Heights historical mystery series by T.E. Kinsey. Released 27th July 2021 by Amazon on their Thomas & Mercer imprint, it's 318 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book (and the first in the series) are currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
This is such an exuberant jazz-fueled musical romp and combines a lot of my favorite elements of classic crime novels from the British Golden Age. It's a closed room murder mystery, set in a country house in the 1920s interwar period, and the action plays out in isolation (golden age trifecta, right there), since the country home where the murder has taken place is also isolated for the moment by a huge flood which also knocks out the telephone lines and roads.
The characters are unusually well rendered and it was easy to keep them distinct in my mind whilst reading. The plotting is spare and subtly twisty with lots of undercurrents and red herrings to keep readers engaged. The resolution and denouement were written with finesse and facility and I found it a satisfying read. I was unaware that the author had written another series besides the lightly humorous Lady Hardcastle books and I enjoyed this series very much.
Although this is the second book in this series, I read it as a standalone and it worked very well. I intend to go back and read the first book as well. I was especially impressed by the characterizations. The author manages to keep more than a dozen characters quite distinct and I had no problems at all remembering who was who which is often a problem for me. If there are more than a few suspects, they sometimes tend to blend together.
This one reminded me in a lot of good ways of the best of the golden age authors, especially Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, or even John Bude or Edmund Crispin's slight shadings of campy lighthearted repartee.
Really a worthwhile read. Fans of golden age British crime shouldn't pass it up since there won't be anymore classics from the original sources.
Four and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball is the second book in the Dizzy Heights historical mystery series by T.E. Kinsey. Released 27th July 2021 by Amazon on their Thomas & Mercer imprint, it's 318 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book (and the first in the series) are currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
This is such an exuberant jazz-fueled musical romp and combines a lot of my favorite elements of classic crime novels from the British Golden Age. It's a closed room murder mystery, set in a country house in the 1920s interwar period, and the action plays out in isolation (golden age trifecta, right there), since the country home where the murder has taken place is also isolated for the moment by a huge flood which also knocks out the telephone lines and roads.
The characters are unusually well rendered and it was easy to keep them distinct in my mind whilst reading. The plotting is spare and subtly twisty with lots of undercurrents and red herrings to keep readers engaged. The resolution and denouement were written with finesse and facility and I found it a satisfying read. I was unaware that the author had written another series besides the lightly humorous Lady Hardcastle books and I enjoyed this series very much.
Although this is the second book in this series, I read it as a standalone and it worked very well. I intend to go back and read the first book as well. I was especially impressed by the characterizations. The author manages to keep more than a dozen characters quite distinct and I had no problems at all remembering who was who which is often a problem for me. If there are more than a few suspects, they sometimes tend to blend together.
This one reminded me in a lot of good ways of the best of the golden age authors, especially Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, or even John Bude or Edmund Crispin's slight shadings of campy lighthearted repartee.
Really a worthwhile read. Fans of golden age British crime shouldn't pass it up since there won't be anymore classics from the original sources.
Four and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
veronicalovesjeff's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bethanie98's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ibtisam_n's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rach345's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0