Lovesey is just showing off in this one, making it as complex as possible, bringing in illegal immigrants and their handlers along with overweight womLovesey is just showing off in this one, making it as complex as possible, bringing in illegal immigrants and their handlers along with overweight women hoping to lose a few pounds, a teacher lovesick in love with a fellow teacher, a recently released convict who preys on women with little confidence...
But in the end, he brings it all together again, showing the myriad motives for murder...and if not actual murder...then for accidental death. He shows us a Peter Diamond finally taking a few knocks after decades of running after vicious bad guys, and these problems are mostly caused by his pursuit of criminals rather than the actual capture of them.
This is really the work of a mystery writer at the top of his game and is one of the most complicated cold cases I have ever read. Three murder mysterThis is really the work of a mystery writer at the top of his game and is one of the most complicated cold cases I have ever read. Three murder mysteries are laid out and Diamond is working all three like a virtuoso. Bravo! that he was able to keep it all straight for us and the final scene, which I don't want too spoil for you, is exactly what Diamond deserves with his colleagues all standing and clapping at his success.
This one has heartbreak and talent galore but also a long-running history of the infamous Beau Nash, man extraordinaire, who dazzled with his ability to capture the limelight. Although the circumstances of his death were disputed in this novel, one thing is sure that he lived a long life and is long-remembered....more
I would read anything by Lovesey at this point. He is a master. This was one complicated mystery unlike any of his others and the truth of the murdersI would read anything by Lovesey at this point. He is a master. This was one complicated mystery unlike any of his others and the truth of the murders did not come clear until the very last pages. While sometimes I feel the author is withholding if the clues are not spread throughout the book, he is forgiven because of the final nail-biting finish.
This was a fabulous addition to the Peter Diamond series...a mystery that did not have a false note. It brought back a character we'd been introduced This was a fabulous addition to the Peter Diamond series...a mystery that did not have a false note. It brought back a character we'd been introduced when Asst Chief Constable in Bath, Georgiana Dallymore, went on a cruise. Henrietta Mallin, DCI in nearby Chichester, has run into some trouble, and Diamond is dispatched with Dallymore to sort it.
Diamond is his usual masterful self, and DCI Mallin is no slouch, either. Together, the two of them solve a number of mysteries that had been bedeviling towns stretching along the coast for 50 miles....more
This one is something else. Has it ever happened in real life that a longtime convict's daughter falls for a cop's kid? Well, similar to Romeo and JulThis one is something else. Has it ever happened in real life that a longtime convict's daughter falls for a cop's kid? Well, similar to Romeo and Juliet, you can be forgiven for thinking everyone ends up dead. But no, Diamond has something special in store, another cliff-hanger that is not resolved until the last pages.
Glorious Bath, in all its history, takes center stage here. I wasn't picturing it quite so hilly, nor so ancient, but those are the features stressed in this wonderful novel. We are closing in on the end of this series, but Lovesey really does not flag. He just keeps getting better and better....more
I struggled a bit with this one. But Lovesay redeemed himself at the end. It was a wonderfully complex drama with a host of characters introduced righI struggled a bit with this one. But Lovesay redeemed himself at the end. It was a wonderfully complex drama with a host of characters introduced right at the end that made it lovable.
Ingebord does some undercover work that strains credulity but willful suspension of disbelief is always necessary for good reads. Anyway, it did not blunt my admiration for the Crime Dagger Winner. I'm still a huge fan, especially after this reminder of the skill and clarity of Chaucer, that old wag....more
This was a total nail-biter. Down to the last pages we are questioning the police force, suspecting what they do not. Diamond falls prey to a stalker This was a total nail-biter. Down to the last pages we are questioning the police force, suspecting what they do not. Diamond falls prey to a stalker (!) who loves him [mostly] for his mind. The lovely former journalist Ingebord plays a key role and it is wonderful to have her personality counterpoint to the more stodgy male detectives.
Very...compelling. Read it in one busy day....more
Lovesey had me laughing through this. He is right, though, that murder on a beach does not leave much for the detectives to find. This was a complicatLovesey had me laughing through this. He is right, though, that murder on a beach does not leave much for the detectives to find. This was a complicated mystery, combining as it did two seemingly distinct murders.
The cast of characters is priceless in this...he is a writer with a wealth of experience and he brings all that worldly wisdom to bear in this one. The house belongs to Police Chief boss madam Georgina Dallymore and Diamond doesn't tell her the house sitter is a pop star.
Another brilliant cast of characters, featuring the head detective in another town some distance away, a woman, who also doesn't take flak lying down....more
I adore Lovesey but because I read ahead in the series, I knew his wife died. I didn't know how. Now I do, and it is painful. The crazy back-and-forthI adore Lovesey but because I read ahead in the series, I knew his wife died. I didn't know how. Now I do, and it is painful. The crazy back-and-forth of the senseless death of a loved one is what makes one absolutely rigid at times with anger. But ultimately, no one's death is as any of us would wish--only useless and stupid and hurtful.
This is the story of finding the killer of a wonderful wife and beloved partner of a crotchety old police detective. He is forced to use his unusual abilities to catch criminals on his home turf.
Lovesey the writer had an unbeatable description somewhere along the way: "He angled forward in the chair until the tips of his shoes pressed against the carpet." In other words, he was ready to run......more
What a great novel in the series this is. Lovesey was a hit from the moment he began his Peter Diamond series, but this complicated mystery is a real What a great novel in the series this is. Lovesey was a hit from the moment he began his Peter Diamond series, but this complicated mystery is a real gem of its type. An overweight kleptomanic resident of a homeless shelter with an unbridled mouth and imagination star in this murder mystery. A property developer and a land surveyor manage to represent the greed of their profession. An ordinary woman who has lost her short-term memory after being hit by a car round out the cast of characters subjected to the clever discoveries of Peter Diamond, head of the murder squad. He is not politically correct, but neither is it easy to get past him.
Lovesey is a classic in British murder mystery and police procedural. Peter Diamond, head of Bath鈥檚 Murder Squad, has lost his longtime deputy, Julie Lovesey is a classic in British murder mystery and police procedural. Peter Diamond, head of Bath鈥檚 Murder Squad, has lost his longtime deputy, Julie Hargreaves. She said she was tired of Diamond鈥檚 meathead ways鈥搊blivious when he was asking too much, sexist when making assignment, less of a mentor than tormentor. He misses her, but comes across another young lovely in the form of a local reporter who turns up great clues through her thorough research. It turns out she wants to join the police force.
This is another complicated novel, following the path of Mary Shelley in Bath, the writer of the Frankenstein book in the early 19th Century there. A body in a underground vault is uncovered and discovered to be only 20 years old. Simultaneously a series of paintings are suspected to be drafted by the hand of William Blake, for Mary Shelley鈥檚 book.
So many suspects are narrowed to a small number of recurring names and it is still difficult to be sure who the culprit is. ...more
I couldn't finish this. I was so looking forward to it before I began but halfway through it was such a struggle. Around page 100 there was one chapteI couldn't finish this. I was so looking forward to it before I began but halfway through it was such a struggle. Around page 100 there was one chapter that rang both true and fluent, as though it had been polished endlessly in writing class. It described the daily grind of Ali Shams, that father of the main character. He worked every day at a poultry farm and the atmosphere of this space is worth reading.
I even sought out a podcast discussing the book, and I guess the interviewer made me crazy though that author seemed worthy enough. I came away with no insights and a ton of opinion about the darn interviewer....more
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