Death Among the Diamonds

A Cressida Fawcett Mystery, Book 1

By: Fliss Chester

Narrated by: Daphne Kouma

Everyone in 1920s London knows the Honourable Cressida Fawcett: fiercely independent (though never apart from her little pug Ruby), lover of martinis and interior designer extraordinaire. She’s solved many crimes of fashion...so how about murder?

Cressida Fawcett is heading to the English countryside for a weekend of cocktails and partying at her friend’s glamorous mansion, the location of a recent diamond heist. But just hours after her arrival, Cressida is woken by an almighty scream. Rushing to the landing, she looks down into the great hall to find a trembling maid standing next to the body of Harry, the friendly young chandelier cleaner.

Everyone believes Harry’s death was an accident. But as Cressida examines the opulent hall and the beautiful grounds, she thinks something darker is afoot. Why clean a chandelier in the early hours of the morning? And who overheard Harry boasting about coming into unexpected wealth? A small piece of torn silk found near the body has Cressida looking at the guests’ elegant clothes with fresh eyes....

The short-tempered detective insists that she keeps her curious nose out of the investigation, but it’s Cressida who realizes the stolen diamonds were hidden in the sparkling chandelier. Convinced there is a connection between the theft and the murder, the case takes a sinister turn when a guest is killed in his sleep after a brandy-fueled night of cards. With everyone unable to leave, can Cressida’s sharp eye for detail catch the killer before another life is taken?

An absolutely gripping and utterly charming 1920s murder mystery packed with wit, glamour, and intrigue. The perfect whodunnit for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Downton Abbey!

©2022 Fliss Chester (P)2022 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Fun to listen to. Y

Light and pleasant. It was a little over long but I enjoyed it a lot.

Great

First one by this author and I loved it! Fun and interesting with murder, diamonds and hidden secrets. Excellent narrative! On to the next!

The narration and the story it self! Funny and interesting.

We liked the book as even a teenager can appreciate and enjoy! Thanks so much !

Idiot girl

I really wanted to like this one, but after a quarter way in, skipped to the end. The narrator was to slow but did capture Cressida’s empty headed guessing perfectly. The worst is she thinks she’s smart but doesn’t have the sense to pull it off

Best Cozy Mystery I've Heard in a While

Here's why:
-Intelligent, independent and fun-loving female protagonist, who is assertive without being aggressive or anti-male.
-A humorous and witty whodunit with an abundance of clues, but is not so simple to puzzle out.
-Narration is brilliant, with each character being easily distinguishable.
-No gratuitous violence, misery or human suffering.
-And supernatural free!

Superior cozy debut

So refreshing to have a cozy start without the trite formula of the heroine either accused of murder or having to defend a friend or family member. This lovely lady arrives at the country home of her best friend, only to walk into the aftermath of a robbery, and then one murder after another. Saphne Kourna is wonderful, and the cast of characters delightful, looking forward to the next in the series.

Great start to new series

This is a great narration of Cressida’s first adventure in the country home of her dear friend to meet her fiancé for a weekend get together. She arrives late, awakens to death, well, murder, and everything goes a bit sideways after that. She stays on top of all the intersecting events, collecting clues, ingratiating herself with the police, and figures out whodunit and howdunit in the end. The writing is crisp and fresh. I look forward to her next adventure.

Ok story and characters

There's an engaging plot in here, if parts weren't so unrealistically drawn out. It's like the author trying to build suspense. It's usually obvious what's going to happen, or has happened, but it takes too much wandering and winding to get to the point. There's a likable protagonist, but the detectives don't seem to do much besides interview people. Would have liked a more equal partnership between them.

Narrator is a good performer, but a little slow. It's ok if you set to 1.25. Still looking forward to the author's next books with Cressida and Ruby, since the little pug is worth writing about.

Narration gets better

This is a good new series which I almost didn’t listen to because of the narrator. It got better as the story progressed and as I became attached to the characters.

Repetitive

This book is so repetitive. It described the crime scene about twenty times. It has endless descriptions of the decor and people’s clothes. The so called mystery is almost nonexistent. When it was describing how ugly the same pair of curtains was for the tenth time I finally gave up and quit.