Reviews - A Death in Diamonds

222 reviews for:

A Death in Diamonds

S.J. Bennett

4.03 AVERAGE

tracey21k's review against another edition

4.0

Loved this!

heatherstanton's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark 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: Yes

siggy89's review against another edition

4.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

chlo_ella_'s review against another edition

4.0

I really liked this! Having read the others in the series (except the Christmas one), I knew I'd also thoroughly enjoy reading this too, especially with the setting taking us back to the late 1950's with a young H.M as well as following other characters to carry the storyline. I think if you haven't read the others in the series it doesn't really matter too much because of the time period changing from modern day to the 50's which is a bonus to dip your toe into it.

I think the mystery / murder in itself was cleverly written and although it began with a lot of description and setting the scene (again this is almost where you see the Queen's intrigue in solving crimes come into play compared to her being well-adversed in the first few books in the series), I also didn't guess who the murderer was, so again cleverly written to keep you guessing.

Overall, the characters were developed and really interesting (loved Joan), and I love the touch of adding some true events / facts into the fictional story adding another level of interest and making it more likeable and believe-able. Very easy, cosy crime novel that I will absolutely keep reading if more in the series came out!

Thank you NetGallery, the publisher and author for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review of this book.

apocketfulofdandelions's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

geralddaniels's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

ionabookortwo's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I was so excited for this book being set in the 1950s, as I love historical fiction. I did find that there was a bit more of a 'barrier for entry' for this one though than past books, as I didn't know the contextual history as well as the ones set in modern day, but the book does a good job at explaining the lesser known things.
I loved the female characters in this book - they had such depth, even the ones only shown "on screen" for a few moments - I felt like they were still well fleshed out and that they came to life during their scenes, each one with goals and dreams of their own.
I did have a bit of a hard time keeping track of who some of the characters were - there are quite a few Dukes of ____ to keep in my head, and the various potenial witnesses/suspects in the case sometimes were also hard to keep straight.
That being said, I think the two main plotlines worked really well together, and set against the backdrop of "relationships" as a theme - both in the international community, as well as the Queen's personal life - this book is right up there for me with the rest of the HM Queen Investigates Series!