Swing, Brother, Swing by Ngaio Marsh was first published in 1949. It’s an Inspector Alleyn mystery.

Lord Pastern is a well-known member of the English aristocracy, notorious for his outrageous behaviour, which all seems to be aimed at embarrassing his long-suffering wife. He lurches from one obsession to the next and in this tale it’s jazz that has grabbed his attention. He fancies himself as a jazz drummer and is part of a band called Breezy Bellairs and his Boys.

The band members seem to have been chosen for their eccentricities, they all like to make a big noise but the music isn’t enough for them. They plan to put on a bit of a show with a gun firing blanks being
used as part of the entertainment, of course, nothing goes to plan.

One of ‘the boys’ is Carlos Rivera and he has his eyes on Felicite de Suze, Lord Pastern’s step-daughter. She’s quite keen on him, but it’s not going to go down well with the family. Rivera is obviously not the sort that they expect to marry into the family.

This was an enjoyable read which kept me guessing.