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Peter Diamond #12
Cop to Corpse
“Next to Jane Austen, Peter Lovesey is the writer the tourist board of Bath, England, extols most proudly . . . The enduring draw of the Peter Diamond books derives both from the beguiling Bath cityscape and the brusque character of Diamond himself.” —NPR
PC Harry Trasker is the third policeman in the Bath area to be shot dead in less than twelve weeks. The assassinations are the work of a sniper who seems to be everywhere and nowhere at once, always a step ahead.The younger detectives od their best with what little evidence he leaves, but they're no match for this murderer and his merciless agenda.
When Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond is assigned to the case, he begins to find curious connections between the dead officers after talking to their widows. But then a chilling encounter with the killer leaves Diamond in the lurch and the sniper in the wind. Things get even more complicated when the evidence starts to suggest that the killer might be one of Britain's finest--a theory unpopular among Diamond's colleagues. Can Diamond manage to capture an elusive and increasingly dangerous killer while keeping his team from losing faith in him?
PC Harry Trasker is the third policeman in the Bath area to be shot dead in less than twelve weeks. The assassinations are the work of a sniper who seems to be everywhere and nowhere at once, always a step ahead.The younger detectives od their best with what little evidence he leaves, but they're no match for this murderer and his merciless agenda.
When Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond is assigned to the case, he begins to find curious connections between the dead officers after talking to their widows. But then a chilling encounter with the killer leaves Diamond in the lurch and the sniper in the wind. Things get even more complicated when the evidence starts to suggest that the killer might be one of Britain's finest--a theory unpopular among Diamond's colleagues. Can Diamond manage to capture an elusive and increasingly dangerous killer while keeping his team from losing faith in him?
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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521 people want to read
About the author
Peter Lovesey
295 books643 followersPeter Harmer Lovesey, also known by his pen name Peter Lear, was a British writer of historical and contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detective based in London, and Peter Diamond, a modern-day police detective in Bath. He was also one of the world's leading track and field statisticians.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
June 15, 2015
Read by.................. Simon Prebble
Total Runtime......... 11 Hours 25 Mins
Description: In the small hours of a Sunday morning in the city of Bath a policeman on beat duty is shot dead by an unseen gunman - the third killing of an officer in Somerset in a matter of weeks. The emergency services are summoned. Ambitious to arrest the Somerset Sniper, the duty inspector, Ken Lockton, seals the crime scene, which is confined by the river on one side and a massive retaining wall on the other. He discovers the murder weapon in a garden - and is himself attacked and left for dead. Enter Peter Diamond, Bath's burly CID chief. Middle-aged and not built for action, he pits himself and his team against the killer in a hunt that will test his physical powers to the limit...
This is the one with a florist's blog, a Minehead Hobby Horse, the rollercoaster that is Brassknocker Hill, and a tramp throught the dense and spooky Becky Addy wood.
3* The Last Detective (Peter Diamond, #1)
2* Diamond Solitaire (Peter Diamond #2)
3* The Summons (Peter Diamond #3)
3* Bloodhounds (Peter Diamond, #4)
3.5* Upon A Dark Night (Peter Diamond #5)
3.5* The Vault (Peter Diamond, #6)
3* Diamond Dust (Peter Diamond, #7)
3.5* The House Sitter (Peter Diamond, #8)
2.5* The Secret Hangman (Peter Diamond, #9)
3* Skeleton Hill (Peter Diamond, #10)
3* Stagestruck (Peter Diamond, #11)
CR Cop to Corpse
June 30, 2012
Well..........I have read all the Peter Diamond's to date and by comparison this is not as good.
It starts like a scene from a TV Police show. All drama and action and never really recovered.
There was much less descriptive text about Bath, which I missed.
Also, some of the previous characters were almost cameo parts only.
The conclusion seemed rushed and was not overly satisfying.
A great shame, but only being honest here.
It starts like a scene from a TV Police show. All drama and action and never really recovered.
There was much less descriptive text about Bath, which I missed.
Also, some of the previous characters were almost cameo parts only.
The conclusion seemed rushed and was not overly satisfying.
A great shame, but only being honest here.
June 25, 2012
I love Peter Lovesey's Peter Diamond series. For those of you who don't know Inspector Diamond, you are in for a wonderful discovery if you begin to read this series. Diamond is a real "diamond-in-the-rough". A cop's cop who uses old fashioned policing and a lot of natural savvy to solve some pretty high-level cases. The setting is present-day Bath, England. Mr. Lovesey has a unique way with plots. They are fairly fast-moving, quite funny and with lots of unexpected surprises. The dialogue is quick and real. In this book Diamond is trying to find a sniper who is picking off police constables in his patch. And in true Diamond fashion he throws his particularly stout self whole-heartedly into the investigation at considerable risk to him and to his team. Lovely English Police procedural that I always think that it takes too long to get to the next book.
July 2, 2019
The 18th Diamond book should be out in a week, so this 12th book served as appetizer for me. A very engaging police hunt for a sniper with policemen as his/her target. The serial killer unit from headquarters comes to Diamond's territory with their armed men in all-night stakeouts with Diamond laid out on a bed of gravel in his usual suits with no weapon. Serious stuff made comic by this talented author. The mixture of cock-ups and success for the detective come in about 50/50. A very entertaining read!
Library Loan
Library Loan
February 25, 2025
This was one of Diamond’s great solves because it was so painful and so complex. He was persistent and had to collaborate with others, which he managed admirably. But his deductive skills were just very very honed in this one, leading him here and there and finally to a solution.
I loved this one and read it quickly while being very busy in my other life. See, you CAN make time for the things you like!
I loved this one and read it quickly while being very busy in my other life. See, you CAN make time for the things you like!
December 8, 2014
I read a few other books in this series, but I'm pretty sure I stopped going back for more when the female detective started talking like a feminist cartoon character. Maybe such women exist, but I have no interest in reading about them. It's not the 'woman in a man's world' matter I dislike, it's the stereotype language/attitudes used in the book - it just wasn't handled seriously.
This was an average police procedural/mystery, and for the most part I don't have much to complain about. There is one thing that bothered me, though. When Diamond comes to believe that one of the (police) victims was on the take, and that the killer might himself be a copper, his squad refuse to investigate the possibilities - out of a wounded honor. Now you might argue that once the man was dead, there was no sense raking up dirt, but if it helped explain his murder - and the murder of two other cops, how is it not justified? And if you refuse to consider the possibility that the murderer may be a cop, then you have a gross dereliction of duty on your hands. Which may make a good plot line, but the matter is never resolved, and it is treated like simple difference of opinion. To my mind, they all should have been busted down to uniform service, if not fired. This is the kind of moral quandary that can't be raised and just dropped like nothing happened. I take it as biting off more than the author could chew.
This was an average police procedural/mystery, and for the most part I don't have much to complain about. There is one thing that bothered me, though. When Diamond comes to believe that one of the (police) victims was on the take, and that the killer might himself be a copper, his squad refuse to investigate the possibilities - out of a wounded honor. Now you might argue that once the man was dead, there was no sense raking up dirt, but if it helped explain his murder - and the murder of two other cops, how is it not justified? And if you refuse to consider the possibility that the murderer may be a cop, then you have a gross dereliction of duty on your hands. Which may make a good plot line, but the matter is never resolved, and it is treated like simple difference of opinion. To my mind, they all should have been busted down to uniform service, if not fired. This is the kind of moral quandary that can't be raised and just dropped like nothing happened. I take it as biting off more than the author could chew.
August 23, 2016
Chief Superintendant Peter Diamond is assigned to a death of the third Police Constable. Peter has his own ideas of the profile of the killer, highly unpopular, as the manhunt begins.
This was the first , to me, novel in the series that I've read. I was greatly impressed by the writing and story. I had purchased this book ages ago and it was a gem hidden in the shelves.
This was the first , to me, novel in the series that I've read. I was greatly impressed by the writing and story. I had purchased this book ages ago and it was a gem hidden in the shelves.
March 13, 2019
In this police procedural, Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond and his usual team take on a case involving fatal attacks on three policemen. This case is all business, and I missed seeing the more human side of CS Diamond.
October 8, 2012
Hero to zero.
Cop to corpse.
This is how the latest Peter Diamond novel begins….
While on foot patrol, a young beat cop named Harry Tasker is picked off by a sniper. This would be awful enough if it were an isolated instance. But it is not: Tasker is the third member of the Avon and Somerset force to be killed in this manner in the past twelve weeks.
Located in the South West of England, the police force known as The Avon and Somerset Constabulary covers the county of Somerset as well as the cities of Bath, Bristol, Wells, and several other jurisdictions. The Peter Diamond series is set primarily in Bath, where Peter Diamond makes his home – less of a home to him, sadly, since the loss of his wife Steph. (See Diamond Dust, 2002.)
One of the many joys of this series is the sense of place with which Lovesey endows his narratives. History is ever present, as here when an ambulance and police cars rush to the scene of Harry Tasker’s murder. As the emergency vehicles converge on Walcot Street, time stops for a moment, as we learn just what this place is:
Walcot street was created by the Romans. It is believed to have formed a small section of the Fosse Way, the unswerving road that linked the West Country to the Midlands. It runs north to south for a third of a mile, parallel to the River Avon, from St. Swithin’s Church – where Jane Austen’s parents were married in 1764 – to St. Michael’s, where it morphs into Northgate Street.
There’s more, but you get the general idea. Later, as Diamond and others are attempting to track a suspect, this happens:
The static alerted him again. ‘Sierra Three at Barton Bridge, repeat, Barton Bridge. We have a sighting.’
Barton Bridge, another of Bradford’s ancient structures, seven hundred years old, spanned the Avon only a few hundred yards from where Diamond was.
As Diamond and one of his team approach yet another bridge over the Avon, they find themselves approaching “…one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s oddest indulgences, his railway viaduct disguised as a castle wall.”
(Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic, but to me it seems that dwellng in a landscape so rich in literary and historical associations would be very heaven!)
Cop To Corpse is not merely a travelogue; on the contrary, it’s a terrifically plotted mystery, a veritable page turner, with all the suspense one could desire from such a novel. There are some truly memorable set pieces, too. One involves Peter Diamond deep in a wood where the suspect has been sighted. What happens to him there is so sudden and bizarre – it had me gasping!
Lovesey writes great dialog, much of it spiked with sharp observation and wit. On one occasion, because both of his good suits are at the cleaners, Peter Diamond shows up for work in a rather quaintly rural get-up. Turning toward him to make a comment, one of his fellow investigators takes one look and asks in astonishment if he’s auditioning for a part in Midsomer Murders.
Since its inception, with The Last Detective in 1991, the Peter Diamond series has gotten better and better. If memory serves (which it doesn’t always), I’ve read all of them, plus two excellent standalones, The Reaper and Rough Cider.
I owe many hours of great reading pleasure to Peter Lovesey. His procedurals are on a par with those of Reginald Hill and Colin Dexter. Yes – he’s that good, and Cop to Corpse may be his best yet.
Cop to corpse.
This is how the latest Peter Diamond novel begins….
While on foot patrol, a young beat cop named Harry Tasker is picked off by a sniper. This would be awful enough if it were an isolated instance. But it is not: Tasker is the third member of the Avon and Somerset force to be killed in this manner in the past twelve weeks.
Located in the South West of England, the police force known as The Avon and Somerset Constabulary covers the county of Somerset as well as the cities of Bath, Bristol, Wells, and several other jurisdictions. The Peter Diamond series is set primarily in Bath, where Peter Diamond makes his home – less of a home to him, sadly, since the loss of his wife Steph. (See Diamond Dust, 2002.)
One of the many joys of this series is the sense of place with which Lovesey endows his narratives. History is ever present, as here when an ambulance and police cars rush to the scene of Harry Tasker’s murder. As the emergency vehicles converge on Walcot Street, time stops for a moment, as we learn just what this place is:
Walcot street was created by the Romans. It is believed to have formed a small section of the Fosse Way, the unswerving road that linked the West Country to the Midlands. It runs north to south for a third of a mile, parallel to the River Avon, from St. Swithin’s Church – where Jane Austen’s parents were married in 1764 – to St. Michael’s, where it morphs into Northgate Street.
There’s more, but you get the general idea. Later, as Diamond and others are attempting to track a suspect, this happens:
The static alerted him again. ‘Sierra Three at Barton Bridge, repeat, Barton Bridge. We have a sighting.’
Barton Bridge, another of Bradford’s ancient structures, seven hundred years old, spanned the Avon only a few hundred yards from where Diamond was.
As Diamond and one of his team approach yet another bridge over the Avon, they find themselves approaching “…one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s oddest indulgences, his railway viaduct disguised as a castle wall.”
(Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic, but to me it seems that dwellng in a landscape so rich in literary and historical associations would be very heaven!)
Cop To Corpse is not merely a travelogue; on the contrary, it’s a terrifically plotted mystery, a veritable page turner, with all the suspense one could desire from such a novel. There are some truly memorable set pieces, too. One involves Peter Diamond deep in a wood where the suspect has been sighted. What happens to him there is so sudden and bizarre – it had me gasping!
Lovesey writes great dialog, much of it spiked with sharp observation and wit. On one occasion, because both of his good suits are at the cleaners, Peter Diamond shows up for work in a rather quaintly rural get-up. Turning toward him to make a comment, one of his fellow investigators takes one look and asks in astonishment if he’s auditioning for a part in Midsomer Murders.
Since its inception, with The Last Detective in 1991, the Peter Diamond series has gotten better and better. If memory serves (which it doesn’t always), I’ve read all of them, plus two excellent standalones, The Reaper and Rough Cider.
I owe many hours of great reading pleasure to Peter Lovesey. His procedurals are on a par with those of Reginald Hill and Colin Dexter. Yes – he’s that good, and Cop to Corpse may be his best yet.
September 22, 2016
A police procedural in a long running series, set in the city of Bath and the surrounding area. Peter Diamond is a Chief Superintendent in CID, the plain clothes police department, and is called in to assist when the third uniformed officer in a row is shot by a sniper. The others were killed in nearby towns but this time the victim is killed in Bath while on the beat (foot patrol).
There are some good aspects such as the wry humour of a Chief Superintendent who gets car sick during car chases, and some of the banter between the police characters, but other aspects struck me as unconvincing. This included the hostility of Diamond's team to the possibility that it is an inside job - that the murders are connected and that either a police person or a civilian working at a police station is involved. Diamond seems to blunder from one mishap to another, including going on stake out in unsuitable clothing, and ending up on crutches after assault by the apparent perpetrator. Leaving aside the point that someone of his senior rank wouldn't be involved in such hands-on police work (since all police procedural novels and TV shows also ignore this), it's difficult to see how he has managed to keep the respect of his team up to now. But their hostility is also a bit ridiculous as there are plenty of real-life instances of police who have not measured up to their calling so they should have had the open mindedness to at least consider it even if they were determined to find evidence to prove their boss' theory wrong.
There is also an unexplained (until the end of the book) and rather boring blog inserted at various points along the way. A young woman apparently does some amateur sleuthing with two friends into the behaviour of a man who books short trips abroad. The blog hints that another character who is ex-army may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and could therefore be the sniper responsible for the police deaths.
The actual denouement I found totally unconvincing. I won't say more as it would give too much away, but it seemed far fetched across the board, with the motives of those concerned failing to justify their actions.
There are some good aspects such as the wry humour of a Chief Superintendent who gets car sick during car chases, and some of the banter between the police characters, but other aspects struck me as unconvincing. This included the hostility of Diamond's team to the possibility that it is an inside job - that the murders are connected and that either a police person or a civilian working at a police station is involved. Diamond seems to blunder from one mishap to another, including going on stake out in unsuitable clothing, and ending up on crutches after assault by the apparent perpetrator. Leaving aside the point that someone of his senior rank wouldn't be involved in such hands-on police work (since all police procedural novels and TV shows also ignore this), it's difficult to see how he has managed to keep the respect of his team up to now. But their hostility is also a bit ridiculous as there are plenty of real-life instances of police who have not measured up to their calling so they should have had the open mindedness to at least consider it even if they were determined to find evidence to prove their boss' theory wrong.
There is also an unexplained (until the end of the book) and rather boring blog inserted at various points along the way. A young woman apparently does some amateur sleuthing with two friends into the behaviour of a man who books short trips abroad. The blog hints that another character who is ex-army may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and could therefore be the sniper responsible for the police deaths.
The actual denouement I found totally unconvincing. I won't say more as it would give too much away, but it seemed far fetched across the board, with the motives of those concerned failing to justify their actions.
May 14, 2017
My big regret in finishing this one is that there are only two more on my shelf ( plus 3 that I havent located yet).
Another cracking Peter Diamond story. As I have said before in reviews of books in this series, Bath is about an hour's drive away and I have a passing knowledge of the city centre. Although I mean this as no criticism of the authors ability to 'paint the scene' I was curious about the location of the first killing and looked it up on Google Street View. It was all there, just as described but somehow seeing it on screen brought the story even more to life.
I was surprised when the story changed from the murder and the subsequent enquiry to a new blog. I thought that this was a most unusual feature. I am sure that we have all read books which have the current story interlaced with sections of historical events, and others where the 'killer's story' slowly unfolds as a story within the story. This was different and it was another puzzle for the reader to work out how it would connect with the main story. ( I failed). Looking back, I wonder how realistic it was that the 'Team' would have come across it .
As the story unfolded, there was some nice misdirections which directed my attention to someone else as a serious suspect and although it transpired that he was not involved, I have his name in my little black book as someone to keep an eye on in the future.
I particularly enjoyed this one and its crescendos of excitment/anticipation throughout.
Another cracking Peter Diamond story. As I have said before in reviews of books in this series, Bath is about an hour's drive away and I have a passing knowledge of the city centre. Although I mean this as no criticism of the authors ability to 'paint the scene' I was curious about the location of the first killing and looked it up on Google Street View. It was all there, just as described but somehow seeing it on screen brought the story even more to life.
I was surprised when the story changed from the murder and the subsequent enquiry to a new blog. I thought that this was a most unusual feature. I am sure that we have all read books which have the current story interlaced with sections of historical events, and others where the 'killer's story' slowly unfolds as a story within the story. This was different and it was another puzzle for the reader to work out how it would connect with the main story. ( I failed). Looking back, I wonder how realistic it was that the 'Team' would have come across it .
As the story unfolded, there was some nice misdirections which directed my attention to someone else as a serious suspect and although it transpired that he was not involved, I have his name in my little black book as someone to keep an eye on in the future.
I particularly enjoyed this one and its crescendos of excitment/anticipation throughout.
February 18, 2016
I have always read a lot of British police procedurals. It is gratifying to find a series as well-written as this one. It never disappoints, and quite often surprises.
April 24, 2025
3.5 stars
Simon Prebble's narration was divine as usual, but overall possibly my least favorite Peter Diamond entry.
There were some ridiculous scenes (Diamond gets run down by a motorbike, Diamond gets cuffed as a suspect and then turns around and flattens his own suspect a short while later, Diamond is almost murdered by someone ). There is also a very boring subplot that doesn't seem to tie in to the main plot until the book is two thirds over, and when All Is Revealed eventually it wasn't important enough for the time spent on it.
The mystery was eh.
Simon Prebble's narration was divine as usual, but overall possibly my least favorite Peter Diamond entry.
There were some ridiculous scenes (Diamond gets run down by a motorbike, Diamond gets cuffed as a suspect and then turns around and flattens his own suspect a short while later, Diamond is almost murdered by someone ). There is also a very boring subplot that doesn't seem to tie in to the main plot until the book is two thirds over, and when All Is Revealed eventually it wasn't important enough for the time spent on it.
The mystery was eh.
February 28, 2021
This book was not up to the level and had some very unbelievable scenarios. As in - Peter in the field. And after severe injuries. Nope!
When we realize there are 2 killers, we are still forced to follow the completely unreasonable red herrings.
2.5 rounded to 3.
I’ll give the next book a chance, because I loved the series so far.
When we realize there are 2 killers, we are still forced to follow the completely unreasonable red herrings.
2.5 rounded to 3.
I’ll give the next book a chance, because I loved the series so far.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2021
I do so love Peter Lovesey's writing. This one is no exception and had me fooled right up to the end.
Police are being shot and killed but why? Who is the culprit of these seemingly unprovoked killings. Who is the person riding dangerously on his motorbike and is he involved?
DCI Peter Diamond upsets his team in the process of finding this killer. He's not at all popular. Meanwhile a heavy handed Superintendent from another department wants all the glory for someone else's work. Is he and Diamond on a crash course?
It all pans out in the end. Journey is good.
Love it.
Police are being shot and killed but why? Who is the culprit of these seemingly unprovoked killings. Who is the person riding dangerously on his motorbike and is he involved?
DCI Peter Diamond upsets his team in the process of finding this killer. He's not at all popular. Meanwhile a heavy handed Superintendent from another department wants all the glory for someone else's work. Is he and Diamond on a crash course?
It all pans out in the end. Journey is good.
Love it.
January 5, 2021
So I love Peter! On to the next one!!
May 16, 2021
The plot strained belief a bit, but it was a good enough read.
September 28, 2018
Just like every other cop story. Not very original. Didn't grab me.
February 15, 2021
Lovesey's writing is masterful, his plots uniquely complicated and his characters very real. C to C however was disappointing in that while the quality of writing never wavered and the characters were still very true to form, the reader was sent down some rabbit holes that were too deep for their worthiness in the end. Especially when my initial suspicions were finally confirmed after much (to me anyway) pointless meandering. Two thirds of the way through I was still waiting for some opening to crack even slightly.
This was especially maddening since never before have I called out the original perpetrator within the first two chapters in a Diamond story. A small check back would have saved the detective and the reader hours of complex red herrings. Also a confession: I hate having to slog through a secondary character's narrative in a book. I seem to resent the need to give my attention to another while the first narration is suspended. It's an irritating distraction I suppose as I find it enough of a task to attend to the main action line.
Further...I think Lovesey mistakes a Blog for an actual writer's venue. This supposed Blog was so unbelievably unrealistic, so detailed and literate that it simply wasn't credible. Most Blogs are "Glogs" as we say here...just a load of rubbishy whinging with absolutely no literary merit whatsoever, let alone clue dropping. This so obviously was A Blogge, as an accomplished novelist would imagine someone might create. And so the conceit clanged a great deal.
Ah well, Lovesey is allowed one or two mis-steps in this otherwise impressive series even as he deservedly reveals the dangers of nationalist movements and exploitive bogus immigration scams with mixed results. Does not dissuade me from his other work.
This was especially maddening since never before have I called out the original perpetrator within the first two chapters in a Diamond story. A small check back would have saved the detective and the reader hours of complex red herrings. Also a confession: I hate having to slog through a secondary character's narrative in a book. I seem to resent the need to give my attention to another while the first narration is suspended. It's an irritating distraction I suppose as I find it enough of a task to attend to the main action line.
Further...I think Lovesey mistakes a Blog for an actual writer's venue. This supposed Blog was so unbelievably unrealistic, so detailed and literate that it simply wasn't credible. Most Blogs are "Glogs" as we say here...just a load of rubbishy whinging with absolutely no literary merit whatsoever, let alone clue dropping. This so obviously was A Blogge, as an accomplished novelist would imagine someone might create. And so the conceit clanged a great deal.
Ah well, Lovesey is allowed one or two mis-steps in this otherwise impressive series even as he deservedly reveals the dangers of nationalist movements and exploitive bogus immigration scams with mixed results. Does not dissuade me from his other work.
July 5, 2012
Harry, a local bobby, is walking his beat like he normally does. Suddenly he's shot apparently by a sniper who has already taken out two other police officers. DI Peter Diamond's team is a part of the investigation which he is working with Serial Crimes head, Jack Gull. The problem is, of course, that Diamond sees things differently. When he sees things so differently that he suspects that Harry, may have been "bent" as the Brits say, he becomes very unpopular with his team. However, that doesn't stop him from putting a plan in place.
Diamond is never the most popular guy on the force by any means, and he really stretches his popularity with this one. In the usual Lovesey style, nothing it is ever as it seems, and there is a series of turns and twists that lead to an interesting end. The great thing about Lovesey is that he doesn't write "down" to the reader. One review was grateful for Lovesey's assumption that he is writing for an intelligent audience. This is not a book full of sexual inuendo and car chases although Diamond does nearly get run down by a motorcycle.
Lovesey's "Diamond" novels take place in the city of Bath in England, a place beloved by tourists but, like most cities, with an underbelly of crime. I came into the Diamond series late. This is only the third book I've read in the series. However, as always I found it riveting, intelligently written and full of surprises.
Diamond is never the most popular guy on the force by any means, and he really stretches his popularity with this one. In the usual Lovesey style, nothing it is ever as it seems, and there is a series of turns and twists that lead to an interesting end. The great thing about Lovesey is that he doesn't write "down" to the reader. One review was grateful for Lovesey's assumption that he is writing for an intelligent audience. This is not a book full of sexual inuendo and car chases although Diamond does nearly get run down by a motorcycle.
Lovesey's "Diamond" novels take place in the city of Bath in England, a place beloved by tourists but, like most cities, with an underbelly of crime. I came into the Diamond series late. This is only the third book I've read in the series. However, as always I found it riveting, intelligently written and full of surprises.
October 22, 2012
There’s an old saying (sort of): If you throw enough mud against the wall, some of it will stick. Well that is the approach Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond takes in this, the 12th novel in the series, to solve the case of three shooting murders of patrolling bobbies. Most of his theories turn out to be meaningless, but, after all, as another old saying goes, you can’t otherwise get there from here.
The investigation is complicated by the fact that the third cop killed is from Diamond’s own office, while the other two took place weeks earlier in other locales. As a result, headquarters is in charge of the investigation, and the lead officer is convinced they are dealing with a serial killer using an illegal automatic rifle. Diamond, of course, goes off on his own in his inimitable fashion.
The novel is a welcome addition to a much-loved series, and the investigation is followed in great detail. Diamond is portrayed as an intuitive genius, although he exhibits in this caper a great deal of physical effort. Written in clear prose, the author’s style is straightforward, with some humor added. Perhaps most surprising is the conclusion, for which the clues along the way are few and far between, so that when revealed it comes as a complete surprise.
Recommended.
The investigation is complicated by the fact that the third cop killed is from Diamond’s own office, while the other two took place weeks earlier in other locales. As a result, headquarters is in charge of the investigation, and the lead officer is convinced they are dealing with a serial killer using an illegal automatic rifle. Diamond, of course, goes off on his own in his inimitable fashion.
The novel is a welcome addition to a much-loved series, and the investigation is followed in great detail. Diamond is portrayed as an intuitive genius, although he exhibits in this caper a great deal of physical effort. Written in clear prose, the author’s style is straightforward, with some humor added. Perhaps most surprising is the conclusion, for which the clues along the way are few and far between, so that when revealed it comes as a complete surprise.
Recommended.
October 9, 2014
I've liked other books in this series more.
The solidarity of the police team in Bath is shaken by the possibility that either a police officer is killing police, picking them off with a rifle, or that a police officer was on the take from minor criminals, or both.
Diamond, the main character, comes across as rather daft for twice getting a suit and shoes ruined by wearing them to outdoor assignments where much searching of woodland, riverbanks and gravel was involved. He must have had other clothes and it doesn't make the specialist firearms team respect him.
There is some circuitous rambling about hobby horses, a local custom, and I've already forgotten the outcome of that line. There is a far-too-wordy woman's blog with every word shown to us. Actually, after a few paragraphs we don't read it. You would not sit reading this boring material if it was an unknown woman's blog you'd stumbled across on line. The motive for posting it is not stated clearly at the outset and the many pages of the several instalments just come across as padding. We let a character read it and report her findings to us.
What I did find good was the representation of the work of the firearms officers, the crime scene unit forensics and local details.
The solidarity of the police team in Bath is shaken by the possibility that either a police officer is killing police, picking them off with a rifle, or that a police officer was on the take from minor criminals, or both.
Diamond, the main character, comes across as rather daft for twice getting a suit and shoes ruined by wearing them to outdoor assignments where much searching of woodland, riverbanks and gravel was involved. He must have had other clothes and it doesn't make the specialist firearms team respect him.
There is some circuitous rambling about hobby horses, a local custom, and I've already forgotten the outcome of that line. There is a far-too-wordy woman's blog with every word shown to us. Actually, after a few paragraphs we don't read it. You would not sit reading this boring material if it was an unknown woman's blog you'd stumbled across on line. The motive for posting it is not stated clearly at the outset and the many pages of the several instalments just come across as padding. We let a character read it and report her findings to us.
What I did find good was the representation of the work of the firearms officers, the crime scene unit forensics and local details.
September 6, 2014
Read for this month's reading group. I was disappointed in this one. It started well, with a good mystery and a detective who is as much a thinker as a doer, but it just didn't grip me from the start. I felt detached from the characters, especially Peter Diamond.
I assume this is one of a series, and perhaps if I'd already read some others I might have felt a bit more connected to Diamond, but to be honest I don't feel I want to read another.
The plot was interesting, and I didn't work out the extra twist of the blog author. I would have liked a bit more about the forensic procedures and a lot less of the stakeout scenes which seemed far too long.
Overall, I found it okay, just a bit bland and forgettable.
I assume this is one of a series, and perhaps if I'd already read some others I might have felt a bit more connected to Diamond, but to be honest I don't feel I want to read another.
The plot was interesting, and I didn't work out the extra twist of the blog author. I would have liked a bit more about the forensic procedures and a lot less of the stakeout scenes which seemed far too long.
Overall, I found it okay, just a bit bland and forgettable.
February 4, 2016
You can't go wrong reading a Peter Lovesey mystery. The Peter Diamond series is particularly well written. Diamond is a Detective Superintendent in Bath, England. He has a crack team that works with him but its Diamond's age and experience that wins the day. Lovesey's writing is to the point - not much wasted. Cop to Corpse starts off running at full speed - and it doesn't stop until the last page. The crime is multiple murder and it hits close to home for the cops. This is a police procedural in the fullest sense - you are a part of the investigation - a member of the Bath CID. You'll not be bored.
June 30, 2012
I wonder if the author is trying to appeal to a different or wider audience? As another reviewer has noted the beginning felt like a TV cop show. I have devoured previous volumes in this series, however, this book left me looking through my to-read pile for alternatives. I did finish it but felt a reluctance each time I picked it up.
July 20, 2014
This book was provided as part of the Goodreads Giveaways program in exchange for a review.
I enjoyed this book. It took me awhile to suspect the right person.
It is set in England so there are alot of geographic references that were lost on me, in America.
A good read.
I enjoyed this book. It took me awhile to suspect the right person.
It is set in England so there are alot of geographic references that were lost on me, in America.
A good read.
July 30, 2016
DCI Peter Diamond on the case of a serial killer who is picking off bobbies on the beat. Three in three nearby towns in the space of three months. Very good police procedural. Turf battles and red herrings.
August 11, 2014
wasn't his best work, but Peter Diamond was good. the last page was tacked on for what??
January 19, 2018
I read Peter Lovesey's WHOLE Peter Diamond series (16 books in all) in June and July of 2017, sequentially and without an iota of boredom. Forgive me for posting this as a comment/review into each book's space: I didn't think to do it as I was reading morning to night with no intervening literature.
The main detective, Peter Diamond, a few other police types, and a couple of non-police characters are incorporated into a series of crimes set in and around Bath, England. Historical and literary inclusions enrich the texts without being excessive. The inclusion of the music of a string quartet in one book was stupefying to this music lover.
The depth of description of the main characters is Just Right: they are rich, real, fully settled in the time and place where they appear. Minor characters reappear and are developed as their roles in each book's situation grows. There are a couple of emotionally shocking developments (no need for suspension of disbelief) one of which made me quite sad on a summer's day.
I was so absorbed by these book (MUST read chronologically) that I was unable to take in any other book in Lovesey's prolific bibliography. Probably my fault. They weren't Peter Diamond books, hence not worthy....
The main detective, Peter Diamond, a few other police types, and a couple of non-police characters are incorporated into a series of crimes set in and around Bath, England. Historical and literary inclusions enrich the texts without being excessive. The inclusion of the music of a string quartet in one book was stupefying to this music lover.
The depth of description of the main characters is Just Right: they are rich, real, fully settled in the time and place where they appear. Minor characters reappear and are developed as their roles in each book's situation grows. There are a couple of emotionally shocking developments (no need for suspension of disbelief) one of which made me quite sad on a summer's day.
I was so absorbed by these book (MUST read chronologically) that I was unable to take in any other book in Lovesey's prolific bibliography. Probably my fault. They weren't Peter Diamond books, hence not worthy....
June 29, 2019
A sniper is picking off beat cops in Bath.
Two were shot by an Iranian student brought here under false pretenses and left to fend for himself in a country where he didn't know the language. He was so afraid of the police he felt compelled to shot them.
The third victim was killed by his wife whose was sick and tired of his isolated life and fishing.
She used a rifle her husband had removed from a kid whose father was a gun range owner.
She began a blog implicating two other women looking to discover the motive behind a man buying tickets for flights to other countries and then passing the tickets to a banker who was selling assets of the bank. Very credible story, but a lie.
Writing and characters good, but I felt the story a bit muddled.
Two were shot by an Iranian student brought here under false pretenses and left to fend for himself in a country where he didn't know the language. He was so afraid of the police he felt compelled to shot them.
The third victim was killed by his wife whose was sick and tired of his isolated life and fishing.
She used a rifle her husband had removed from a kid whose father was a gun range owner.
She began a blog implicating two other women looking to discover the motive behind a man buying tickets for flights to other countries and then passing the tickets to a banker who was selling assets of the bank. Very credible story, but a lie.
Writing and characters good, but I felt the story a bit muddled.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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