Reviews

As cozy mysteries go, it has genuinely likeable, funny characters and is written very well. It is leaps and bounds ahead of its competition and better than the predecessor. *However.*

However. My frustration lies in another direction. The repetitive dialogue. The implausibility of (the characters being allowed to do amateur investigations) (the scenario) (the solution). The repetitive dialogue. Genuinely, the book could be half the length but instead it tells you what happens as the action happens, what happens when one of the leads finds out, when that character tells the other characters, and when they are recapping at the end. The repetitive dialogue.

And why does every character have the same type of... humor/tone/manner of speaking?

I'm started to suspect that the author initially wanted Dunn and Skins to be the main characters but as he wrote Diamonds, he felt more comfortable with Ellie, who appears to be written as a combination of young Lady Hardcastle with Flo's practicality.

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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4.0

Finished reading: July 14th 2021

"The clever ones never think they'll get caught so they always leave something."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I really enjoyed my time with the first Dizzy Heights cozy mystery earlier this year, so it was an easy decision to read the sequel as well. Add the fact that A Baffling Murder At The Midsummer Ball is basically a locked room murder mystery, and this sequel became even more irresistible... And I definitely ended up having a brilliant time reading it. Both the 1920s setting and the jazz element add extra flavor to what is already an entertaining mystery, and this series is quickly turning into a new favorite.

I once again loved just how important music is throughout the story. We have the focus on the Dizzy Heights band and its members of course; they have been invited to play during the event in Oxfordshire after all. It isn't just them performing there though, as music keeps popping up during the rest of the story and there is even some studio recording (with fascinating historical details) going on. I really liked how this musical element was incorporated into the plot, and the same goes for the historical setting as a whole. There are plenty of references to the 1920s jazz world as well as references to WWI and you will also find plenty of phrases in the dialogues that will transport you right back to the 1920s. Both the historical setting and the jazz definitely helped turning this sequel into another success for me!

The characters are very easy to like, and I had a great time meeting up with them again in A Baffling Murder At The Midsummer Ball. There are quite a few different characters involved with the band and the members of the Bilverton House, and it is definitely adviced to read the first book before starting the sequel because of this. It makes it easier to keep the members of the band apart and gives you insight in their dynamics too, which always helps. I once again loved the banter between the different members of the band and the members of the Bilverton House (or should I say suspects?) were also an interesting bunch to get to know.

The locked room mystery is the star of the show here, and I loved reading about how the different members of the band investigated and slowly tried to unravel the many secrets of the different suspects as well as how the murder could have been done. There are plenty of plot twists and secrets to keep you entertained in between the banter and the music, and I most definitely didn't guess who could be behind it all. The writing is engaging and makes it very easy to keep turning those pages, and the development of the plot was spot on for me.

In short, A Baffling Murder At The Midsummer Ball turned out to be an entertaining and cleverly plotted locked room mystery that mixes a historical setting with jazz to give the story that little something extra. Definitely recommended if you enjoy historical fiction and/or cozy mysteries!

janettedv's review against another edition

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4.0

I read the first Dizzy Heights mystery last year and enjoyed it so much that I went on to read most of his other series. I was really happy to be able to read this pre-publication in exchange for an honest review.
The story is set in 1925 and is a must for lovers of the roaring twenties and the jazz age. The Dizzy Heights are booked to play at a ball and inevitably get mixed up with a mysterious death. It's a classic locked room mystery and has quite a complicated plot which all gets resolved in a satisfactory manner very reminiscent of Agatha Christie. The author has done his research on the period and it really comes alive with snappy dialogue between the members of the band and their companions.

vsbedford's review

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4.0

Another very fun read from T.E. Kinsey, this time with the heroes of the extended Lady Hardcastle universe, the Dizzy Heights. The characters feel more fully realized and the location and mystery swing along nicely; I'd like to spend a bit more time with Barty Dunn and less with Skins, who I think the author finds more entertaining than I do, unless he is meant to be kind of annoying? That being said, we are firmly in country house mystery territory and while the novel does integrate some of the tropes of the genre quite a few are also turned on their head and the potential tiresomeness of class warfare between the aristocratic family and the normie detective/policeman is avoided (which I appreciated because how many times can you read a variation of "How DARE you ask me that, sir? I know the Prime Minister!" without wanting to backhand slap everyone in the scene). All in all, a recommend.

I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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