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Peter Diamond #1
The Last Detective (Deluxe Edition)
"I am so excited for you to be at the very beginning of this trend-setting, beautifully written, vivid series."—from the introduction by LOUISE PENNY
In the first entry to the series and winner of the 1992 Anthony Boucher Award for Best Mystery Novel, Diamond must locate two missing letters attributed to Jane Austen to solve the murder of the "Lady in the Lake."
A woman’s body has been found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath. There are no marks on her and no murder weapon. No one will identify her. It looks like Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond has his work cut out for him. Diamond is one of the last detectives of his kind, a gumshoe whose heroes solved crimes by question and answer, door stepping and deduction. To unravel this one, Diamond must locate two missing letters attributed to Jane Austen and defy his superiors in order to save a woman unjustly accused of murder.
In the first entry to the series and winner of the 1992 Anthony Boucher Award for Best Mystery Novel, Diamond must locate two missing letters attributed to Jane Austen to solve the murder of the "Lady in the Lake."
A woman’s body has been found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath. There are no marks on her and no murder weapon. No one will identify her. It looks like Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond has his work cut out for him. Diamond is one of the last detectives of his kind, a gumshoe whose heroes solved crimes by question and answer, door stepping and deduction. To unravel this one, Diamond must locate two missing letters attributed to Jane Austen and defy his superiors in order to save a woman unjustly accused of murder.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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6330 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 847 reviews
June 23, 2012
The Last Detective is a police procedural in the traditional, British form - think Colin Dexter, John Harvey or Ian Rankin. Lovesey tries to break the form up by varying the point of view, the book divided into parts, with each told from the perspective of a different character. It’s a useful device to add some depth to what is a fairly mundane story. The characterisation is good, although it’s difficult to warm to Diamond until near the end of the book and at that point his personality seems to have been transformed. There is a good sense of place, the story clearly rooted in Bath and its surrounds, and there is nice contextualisation with respect to Jane Austen’s link to the city. The plot works fine, having a couple of twists and turns, some misdirection, and good procedural detail with respect to the case and a trial, but ultimately, the book hinges on two events that both seemed weak to me. Difficult to discuss without giving spoilers, but the dramatic change in Diamond’s life was needed as a plot device but didn’t ring true, and the resolution is based on a confession that comes very easily and seemed very unlikely. Overall, an okay, straight up-and-down police procedural.
May 10, 2018
I have read other books by Lovesey and I finally got around to reading the first book in the Peter Diamond series. Frankly, part one of the book reminded me of why I've grown tired of police procedurals because it was fairly plodding and conventional. It wasn't until part two of the book that it started getting twisty and interesting. It was well plotted with lots of suspects and, although I guessed who the murderer was, the writing had me doubting my choice up until the end. The narration of the audiobook was very good.
December 30, 2024
There is always something nice about reading the first of a series, even 20 plus years after it was written.
It is also fun exploring how the "last detective" begins his cases, just how curmudgeonly he is or isn't, how he deals with adversity, with facts, with speculation. How can you not be taken in by the First Sentence:
"A man stood thigh-deep in water, motionless, absorbed, unaware of what was drifting towards him."
As I read on, I was struck with the obvious knowledge of police procedurals by the author, the complex and somewhat daring change of voice throughout the narrative, the presentation of fine moral and ethical questions, and the unsettling ambiguity of the ending.
This is a series worth exploring and an author worth reading.
It is also fun exploring how the "last detective" begins his cases, just how curmudgeonly he is or isn't, how he deals with adversity, with facts, with speculation. How can you not be taken in by the First Sentence:
"A man stood thigh-deep in water, motionless, absorbed, unaware of what was drifting towards him."
As I read on, I was struck with the obvious knowledge of police procedurals by the author, the complex and somewhat daring change of voice throughout the narrative, the presentation of fine moral and ethical questions, and the unsettling ambiguity of the ending.
This is a series worth exploring and an author worth reading.
April 24, 2018
Peter Diamond
Inspector
Was in London
Now in Bath
The lady in the lake
An unknown floater
How was she killed ?
The novel is divided to 5 main parts
Each chapter is written like a short story
A cliffhanger
Or a bomb at the end
We meet the suspects
We read the transcripts
We join Diamond and see when he gets kicked out of the force
And we are in the trail
Front seats
And the drama unfolds in front of us
Diamond is Indeed the last detective
He is perfect for anyone who enjoys John Rebus
Inspector
Was in London
Now in Bath
The lady in the lake
An unknown floater
How was she killed ?
The novel is divided to 5 main parts
Each chapter is written like a short story
A cliffhanger
Or a bomb at the end
We meet the suspects
We read the transcripts
We join Diamond and see when he gets kicked out of the force
And we are in the trail
Front seats
And the drama unfolds in front of us
Diamond is Indeed the last detective
He is perfect for anyone who enjoys John Rebus
July 21, 2015
A new British mystery series begun---and at the beginning! There is always something nice about reading the first of a series, even 20 years after it was written, seeing how the "last detective" begins his cases, just how curmudgeonly he is or isn't, how he deals with adversity, with facts, with speculation. Well Peter Lovesey has met the test for me and I will be returning for more of Peter Diamond's adventures. I enjoyed the detection, the wit in the prose and the working out of the mystery.
Recommended!
Recommended!
May 25, 2015
Read by.................. Simon Prebble
Total Runtime......... 11 Hours 28 Mins
Description: Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is the last detective: a genuine gumshoe, committed to door-stopping and deduction rather than fancy computer gadgetry. So when the naked body of a woman is found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath with no one willing to identify her, no marks and no murder weapon, his sleuthing abilities are tested to the limit. Struggling with a jigsaw puzzle of truant choirboys, teddy bears, a black Mercedes and Jane Austen memorabilia, Diamond persists even after the powers-that-be have decided there's enough evidence to make a conviction.
The opening scene has a cat-walking elderly lady (I imagined Margaret Rutherford) knocking on a door late evening - she has something to report.Diamond is aged forty-one in this first book; it is explained that he gave up rugby eight years ago, at the age of thirty-three.
That was gentle, twisty fun. Obviously I'm not going to become a total Peter Diamond fan because of my interest and support for the forensic sciences, however if all the episodes are up to this standard, it looks an enjoyable series.
Bath Football Club is one of the oldest clubs in existence, having been founded in 1865 by members of Lansdown Cricket Club in Bath (founded 1825) for 'something to do in the winter'3* The Last Detective (Peter Diamond, #1)
3* Bloodhounds (Peter Diamond, #4)
3* Diamond Dust (Peter Diamond, #7)
September 1, 2009
First Sentence: A man stood thigh-deep in water, motionless, absorbed, unaware of what was drifting towards him.
A naked woman is found dead. The first challenging is determining her cause of death; the second is finding out who she is. Eventually the identity is known and an obvious suspect presents itself. Or does it?
While the justice system is determined to convict their suspect, Diamond is so certain they are wrong, he makes an important personal decision that alters his life but not his determination to find real killer.
I loved the description of Diamond: “You're the end of an era. The last detective. A genuine gumshoe, not some lad out of police school with a degree in computer studies.” I like that, in a technological age, he is something of a luddite and believes in traditional investigative techniques.
At the same time, I liked the contract between Diamond and Wigfull. For some reason, I was surprised that Diamond is married but loved the story of how he met his wife and felt his being so was a nice, unexpected surprise as it gives the character added dimension.
There is wonderful, subtle humor to the story, particularly around the Jane Austen exhibit. I laughed at the idea of it and found myself agreeing with Diamond’s view on venerating authors or any celebrity.
The best part of the story, for me, was the plot. There was twist upon twist. It never felt contrived and I certainly was never able to accurately predict where the plot was going. This was a wonderful book and I’ve already ordered the next four in the series.
THE LAST DETECTIVE (Pol Proc-DS Peter Diamond-England-Cont) – Ex
Lovesey, Peter – 1st in series
SoHo Crime, 2003, US Hardcover (reprint) – ISBN 978-1569472095
A naked woman is found dead. The first challenging is determining her cause of death; the second is finding out who she is. Eventually the identity is known and an obvious suspect presents itself. Or does it?
While the justice system is determined to convict their suspect, Diamond is so certain they are wrong, he makes an important personal decision that alters his life but not his determination to find real killer.
I loved the description of Diamond: “You're the end of an era. The last detective. A genuine gumshoe, not some lad out of police school with a degree in computer studies.” I like that, in a technological age, he is something of a luddite and believes in traditional investigative techniques.
At the same time, I liked the contract between Diamond and Wigfull. For some reason, I was surprised that Diamond is married but loved the story of how he met his wife and felt his being so was a nice, unexpected surprise as it gives the character added dimension.
There is wonderful, subtle humor to the story, particularly around the Jane Austen exhibit. I laughed at the idea of it and found myself agreeing with Diamond’s view on venerating authors or any celebrity.
The best part of the story, for me, was the plot. There was twist upon twist. It never felt contrived and I certainly was never able to accurately predict where the plot was going. This was a wonderful book and I’ve already ordered the next four in the series.
THE LAST DETECTIVE (Pol Proc-DS Peter Diamond-England-Cont) – Ex
Lovesey, Peter – 1st in series
SoHo Crime, 2003, US Hardcover (reprint) – ISBN 978-1569472095
July 28, 2016
The Last Detective is a book that has been on my vast "to be read" list for a very long time. First published in 1992, it won the Anthony Boucher Award for Best Mystery Novel in that year and was considered groundbreaking. Overweight, technophobic, irascible and blunt to the point of rudeness, Peter Diamond was a different type of detective in British Crime fiction. I think I may have read one or two of the series but never the book that started it all.
Set in Bath, the nude body of a woman is found floating in the river. The first challenge is to find out who she is in the absence of clothing, identification, jewelry or a wedding ring. Not even the cause of death is immediately apparent, but Diamond is sure that it was no suicide. Sending out a photo of the dead woman is the only solution when no woman matching her description has been reported missing. Diamond is first amused, then annoyed when a number of calls come in identifying her as a character in a long-running soap opera on TV. By the time this case is solved the lives of all who knew, loved or hated her are turned upside down; even the life of Peter Diamond.
I greatly enjoyed The Last Detective.The inclusion of undiscovered, then missing Jane Austen letters as part of the plot were a plus for me. The story was told in multiple viewpoints; most of which are unreliable in one way or another. There is plenty of humor and some pointed social commentary. Even after 25 years,The Last Detective holds up well.
Thanks to NetGalley and SoHo for an advance digital copy of this reissued crime classic.
Set in Bath, the nude body of a woman is found floating in the river. The first challenge is to find out who she is in the absence of clothing, identification, jewelry or a wedding ring. Not even the cause of death is immediately apparent, but Diamond is sure that it was no suicide. Sending out a photo of the dead woman is the only solution when no woman matching her description has been reported missing. Diamond is first amused, then annoyed when a number of calls come in identifying her as a character in a long-running soap opera on TV. By the time this case is solved the lives of all who knew, loved or hated her are turned upside down; even the life of Peter Diamond.
I greatly enjoyed The Last Detective.The inclusion of undiscovered, then missing Jane Austen letters as part of the plot were a plus for me. The story was told in multiple viewpoints; most of which are unreliable in one way or another. There is plenty of humor and some pointed social commentary. Even after 25 years,The Last Detective holds up well.
Thanks to NetGalley and SoHo for an advance digital copy of this reissued crime classic.
December 25, 2021
I've previously read the first Sgt Cribb's historical mystery by Peter Lovesey and enjoyed. For some reason this first of the Peter Diamond series, The Last Detective has sat on my bookshelf for way too long. Peter Diamond was an Inspector in London. After a court case in which he was accused of intimidating a suspect into confessing, Diamond has moved to take over CID in Bath. The case continues to hang over his head, unresolved.
A woman's body is found in a river, naked and unidentified. Murder is suspected and Diamond and his team try to get clues to her identity. Diamond's #2, Inspector Wigfull, is mistrusted by Diamond as he feels Wigfull has been put in the position as both a spy for the boss and also to be ready to take over CID should Diamond get in trouble.
The body is finally identified as an ex-actress on a popular British soap opera. Her husband is a professor at the local university and involved setting up a Jane Austen exhibit. His relationship with his wife is indifferent at best, tempestuous at the worst. Diamond suspects Prof Jackman but then switches his views. Jackman had rescued a young boy, Matthew Didrickson, from a fall into the river and had developed a friendship with his wife. Diamond and Wigfull begin to suspect Dana as the murderer, possibly due to jealousy about Jackman's and his wife's relationship.
There are many twist and turns in this story, even to the point of Diamond quitting his job. But he continues to keep an eye on the case, until the ultimate, satisfying resolution.
Lovesey presents the story in an interesting manner. We start with Diamond's initial investigation, then to Jackman telling his story, then Mrs. Didrickson, then fall back to Diamond himself. It's a neat way to present a mystery. The story moves along nicely, with clues dropping here and there. Diamond is a crusty, at times irritating character, but he does grow on you as the story progresses. The remaining cast are all well-described and believable. It was a well-written, interesting mystery and the solution was very satisfying. Now to get the 2nd book. (4 stars)
A woman's body is found in a river, naked and unidentified. Murder is suspected and Diamond and his team try to get clues to her identity. Diamond's #2, Inspector Wigfull, is mistrusted by Diamond as he feels Wigfull has been put in the position as both a spy for the boss and also to be ready to take over CID should Diamond get in trouble.
The body is finally identified as an ex-actress on a popular British soap opera. Her husband is a professor at the local university and involved setting up a Jane Austen exhibit. His relationship with his wife is indifferent at best, tempestuous at the worst. Diamond suspects Prof Jackman but then switches his views. Jackman had rescued a young boy, Matthew Didrickson, from a fall into the river and had developed a friendship with his wife. Diamond and Wigfull begin to suspect Dana as the murderer, possibly due to jealousy about Jackman's and his wife's relationship.
There are many twist and turns in this story, even to the point of Diamond quitting his job. But he continues to keep an eye on the case, until the ultimate, satisfying resolution.
Lovesey presents the story in an interesting manner. We start with Diamond's initial investigation, then to Jackman telling his story, then Mrs. Didrickson, then fall back to Diamond himself. It's a neat way to present a mystery. The story moves along nicely, with clues dropping here and there. Diamond is a crusty, at times irritating character, but he does grow on you as the story progresses. The remaining cast are all well-described and believable. It was a well-written, interesting mystery and the solution was very satisfying. Now to get the 2nd book. (4 stars)
April 19, 2025
A first rate English police procedural. Nothing distinctive about it, just well executed.
Peter Diamond is a DCI who has been transferred from Scotland Yard’s murder squad to Bristol following some controversy regarding his interview techniques.
Murders are far less common in his new location than in London and so he is delighted when an unidentified naked corpse is found in a nearby lake. Finally, a case worthy of his old-fashioned detective skills, especially his gift for interviewing suspects. Hopefully he will be able to crack this one without the increasingly common use of technology.
The corpse belongs to a beautiful former BBC soap star now the wife of a young professor of English at a Bath university. Also factoring into the story are two recently discovered letters that appear to have been written by Jane Austen and have now gone missing, a woman chauffeur for a beer company, and the woman’s son.
After a conflict with a superior officer, Diamond quits the force and is replaced on the case by another investigator who is confident that the chauffeur is guilty of the murder and has plenty of forensic evidence to back up this assertion. Diamond is not so sure and begins exploring some overlooked possibilities.
Although Lovesy provides enough hints that I had a good idea about most of the key plot elements before they were revealed, I still felt a lot of tension toward the end of the book as the focus switched to the courtroom. Would all the pieces fall into place in time to save the woman in the dock? Obviously the answer will be be yes, but the getting there was well done.
I have to confess that the book had an extra attraction for me because of the setting in Bath, where I had visited just last summer. It’s always fun when you are familiar with the places described by an author.
One last mystery, though. How did this book end up on my TBR? It doesn’t seem that any of my GR friends have recently reviewed it, and I don’t remember coming across it elsewhere, but on March 25 I added it. Hmmm…. I’m not sure I will read more in the series, but this was definitely an excellent palate cleanser.
Peter Diamond is a DCI who has been transferred from Scotland Yard’s murder squad to Bristol following some controversy regarding his interview techniques.
Murders are far less common in his new location than in London and so he is delighted when an unidentified naked corpse is found in a nearby lake. Finally, a case worthy of his old-fashioned detective skills, especially his gift for interviewing suspects. Hopefully he will be able to crack this one without the increasingly common use of technology.
The corpse belongs to a beautiful former BBC soap star now the wife of a young professor of English at a Bath university. Also factoring into the story are two recently discovered letters that appear to have been written by Jane Austen and have now gone missing, a woman chauffeur for a beer company, and the woman’s son.
After a conflict with a superior officer, Diamond quits the force and is replaced on the case by another investigator who is confident that the chauffeur is guilty of the murder and has plenty of forensic evidence to back up this assertion. Diamond is not so sure and begins exploring some overlooked possibilities.
Although Lovesy provides enough hints that I had a good idea about most of the key plot elements before they were revealed, I still felt a lot of tension toward the end of the book as the focus switched to the courtroom. Would all the pieces fall into place in time to save the woman in the dock? Obviously the answer will be be yes, but the getting there was well done.
I have to confess that the book had an extra attraction for me because of the setting in Bath, where I had visited just last summer. It’s always fun when you are familiar with the places described by an author.
One last mystery, though. How did this book end up on my TBR? It doesn’t seem that any of my GR friends have recently reviewed it, and I don’t remember coming across it elsewhere, but on March 25 I added it. Hmmm…. I’m not sure I will read more in the series, but this was definitely an excellent palate cleanser.
June 17, 2019
''The Last Detective' is the first in a series. It was published in 1991, and it features the 41-year-old English Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond. He is overweight, hates computers and scientific methods, and he wears a brown trilby over a bald head with a silver fringe. He strikes many of his colleagues as overbearing and opinionated, but he is is without question a good detective with the proof of many solved murders. He thinks the old methods are best: knocking on doors and interviews. However, he reluctantly, when the occasion requires it, admits to relying on forensic evidence, but he resists any use of computers, leaving that to his younger staff, such as his new assistant, John Wigfull, who has been recently transferred from the Home Office to work with Diamond.
Diamond is suspicious of Wigfull. He is certain Wigfull has been placed as his assistant in preparation to replace Diamond should the outcome of a police investigation into a previous case go against Diamond. Diamond has been accused of excessive force in an interrogation of an ultimately convicted suspect, who unfortunately gave a false confession to a crime he did not do. Diamond has a forceful personality, but he did not lay a finger on the suspect. Nonetheless, Diamond now has a cloud over his head.
A body is recovered from a lake. It is a beautiful redhead who resembles a popular actress in a soap opera, although she was fired from the show two years ago. Originally hired as an ingenue of 19, she is now 32 and the producers wanted another young girl to play the part. But there has been no missing person report filed on the actress by her husband, so Diamond is certain the dead woman cannot be her. He sets his staff in motion to discover the body's identity and waits for the pathologist's report. The pathologist, Jack Merlin, soon returns with a report that he cannot tell with any certainty how she died, since the body has none of the classic drowning clues.
Frustration mounting, Diamond knows a lot of eyes are on him from the Home Office. He has to solve this case.
The Last Detective' is very entertaining. I feel Peter Lovesey, the author, has his tongue firmly in his cheek, and he is knowingly looking back to the Agatha Christie classics of the 1940's. There is a gentle humor permeating this medium-violent cozy, with a lot of satisfying twists and turns. Some squeamish people of sensitive natures may find some scenes a bit tough, although I did not think it very graphic. However, gentle reader, it IS a book about murder and guilty characters who are hiding crimes peripheral to the main death, as well as having been written for an audience with a bit more exposure to modern television. There are also multiple points of view.
The ending was an interesting twist, but I thought it was very odd. I did not see it coming, but I was very puzzled by Diamond's innocent, misguided response.
However, even though I thought the ending WAY peculiar and off, not simply offbeat, I give this four stars.
Diamond is suspicious of Wigfull. He is certain Wigfull has been placed as his assistant in preparation to replace Diamond should the outcome of a police investigation into a previous case go against Diamond. Diamond has been accused of excessive force in an interrogation of an ultimately convicted suspect, who unfortunately gave a false confession to a crime he did not do. Diamond has a forceful personality, but he did not lay a finger on the suspect. Nonetheless, Diamond now has a cloud over his head.
A body is recovered from a lake. It is a beautiful redhead who resembles a popular actress in a soap opera, although she was fired from the show two years ago. Originally hired as an ingenue of 19, she is now 32 and the producers wanted another young girl to play the part. But there has been no missing person report filed on the actress by her husband, so Diamond is certain the dead woman cannot be her. He sets his staff in motion to discover the body's identity and waits for the pathologist's report. The pathologist, Jack Merlin, soon returns with a report that he cannot tell with any certainty how she died, since the body has none of the classic drowning clues.
Frustration mounting, Diamond knows a lot of eyes are on him from the Home Office. He has to solve this case.
The Last Detective' is very entertaining. I feel Peter Lovesey, the author, has his tongue firmly in his cheek, and he is knowingly looking back to the Agatha Christie classics of the 1940's. There is a gentle humor permeating this medium-violent cozy, with a lot of satisfying twists and turns. Some squeamish people of sensitive natures may find some scenes a bit tough, although I did not think it very graphic. However, gentle reader, it IS a book about murder and guilty characters who are hiding crimes peripheral to the main death, as well as having been written for an audience with a bit more exposure to modern television. There are also multiple points of view.
The ending was an interesting twist, but I thought it was very odd. I did not see it coming, but I was very puzzled by Diamond's innocent, misguided response.
However, even though I thought the ending WAY peculiar and off, not simply offbeat, I give this four stars.
August 2, 2021
Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is an "old fashioned" gumshoe detective in Bath, England - none of the latest technology for him, which, of course, puts him at odds with the younger generation, even in the early 1990s. The book starts with a woman's naked body floating in a lake. Diamond and his team set out to identify her and find her murderer. Diamond is not an easy character to like, he is abrasive and grumpy, but brilliant at his job. He just can't get along with people and he definitely doesn't suffer fools. Throw in missing Jane Austen letters (Jane Austen lived in Bath with her family for about five years), drug smuggling, plenty of red herrings and this mystery kept me guessing. I just couldn't connect with Peter Diamond even though he and I share a dislike for the latest technology. The author, Peter Lovesey, recently published Book #20 in the series. He is the author of many bestsellers and has won many crime fiction awards.
June 28, 2016
3 1/2 stars
I really enjoyed this first in a mystery series featuring Peter Diamond. I was introduced to it when I asked my friend Kathleen about her favorite books of 2015 and this was on the list. Diamond appears on the surface as a strong-arm, arrogant detective, but is shown to be more than what's on the surface in the course of this story. A woman is found naked in a lake at the beginning of the book and it appears that there are no clues to go on. Diamond to the rescue! He is old school, doggedly following through on both evidence and hunches. This was written in 1991 and Diamond is of the "resistant to technology" type, relying rather on experience and old-time policing approaches. I did tire of the "men in the white coats" references to those that embrace and use modern methods, but in general his resistance sets up interesting dynamics.
There are many story lines and suspects, lots of clues and red herrings to add interest and energy to keep the story moving. Lovesey changes twice from 3rd person to 1st person POV to allow the main suspects to tell their story to the police . . . and to us. I guessed who the murderer was a little more than halfway through, but for the rest of the book I doubted my conclusion, a testimony to Lovesey's writing. This would have received more stars from me except that most of the story came out in a rush in the last third of the book. While it made things more interesting, it felt crammed in at the end, with some aspects of it implausible. But that won't stop me from continuing with Peter Diamond. I've already ordered Diamond Solitaire, book 2, from the library.
I want to give a shout out to the narrator, Simon Prebble. He was excellent. I can't believe I've never heard him narrate before given there are 16 pages of a wide range of books on Audible that he's narrated. I look forward to hearing him read book 2
I really enjoyed this first in a mystery series featuring Peter Diamond. I was introduced to it when I asked my friend Kathleen about her favorite books of 2015 and this was on the list. Diamond appears on the surface as a strong-arm, arrogant detective, but is shown to be more than what's on the surface in the course of this story. A woman is found naked in a lake at the beginning of the book and it appears that there are no clues to go on. Diamond to the rescue! He is old school, doggedly following through on both evidence and hunches. This was written in 1991 and Diamond is of the "resistant to technology" type, relying rather on experience and old-time policing approaches. I did tire of the "men in the white coats" references to those that embrace and use modern methods, but in general his resistance sets up interesting dynamics.
There are many story lines and suspects, lots of clues and red herrings to add interest and energy to keep the story moving. Lovesey changes twice from 3rd person to 1st person POV to allow the main suspects to tell their story to the police . . . and to us. I guessed who the murderer was a little more than halfway through, but for the rest of the book I doubted my conclusion, a testimony to Lovesey's writing. This would have received more stars from me except that most of the story came out in a rush in the last third of the book. While it made things more interesting, it felt crammed in at the end, with some aspects of it implausible. But that won't stop me from continuing with Peter Diamond. I've already ordered Diamond Solitaire, book 2, from the library.
I want to give a shout out to the narrator, Simon Prebble. He was excellent. I can't believe I've never heard him narrate before given there are 16 pages of a wide range of books on Audible that he's narrated. I look forward to hearing him read book 2
December 9, 2017
For me, the "last detective" was my "last" lost book. Every now and then a memory bell would clang "Peter Lovesey" and I couldn't figure it out. Lately I have seen GR reviewers mention how much they like the Peter Diamond series so I finally ran out of good stuff to read in my list and did a search on my Amazon content. Ta-da! I bought this book years ago and some event kept me from it. Right now the book is only 1.99 on Amazon, rather a bargain!
I enjoyed finally reading this introduction to Peter Diamond. The book opens with the discovery of a body floating in a reservoir but humor soon breaks through as Diamond is found to be sleeping on a gurney just outside the morgue. The pathologist scolds, "You should have come in." He responded that it was too close to lunch. "You know very well what I mean, Peter. You're the end of an era. The last detective. A genuine gumshoe, not some lad out of police school with a degree in computer studies."
The initial efforts were intense trying to identify the naked corpse and because the husband did not report that his wife was missing until three weeks along, the spotlight was on him. There were a number of interesting characters and, of course, the Bath setting and a Jane Austen exhibit added to my appreciation of this rather complex murder investigation.
I enjoyed finally reading this introduction to Peter Diamond. The book opens with the discovery of a body floating in a reservoir but humor soon breaks through as Diamond is found to be sleeping on a gurney just outside the morgue. The pathologist scolds, "You should have come in." He responded that it was too close to lunch. "You know very well what I mean, Peter. You're the end of an era. The last detective. A genuine gumshoe, not some lad out of police school with a degree in computer studies."
The initial efforts were intense trying to identify the naked corpse and because the husband did not report that his wife was missing until three weeks along, the spotlight was on him. There were a number of interesting characters and, of course, the Bath setting and a Jane Austen exhibit added to my appreciation of this rather complex murder investigation.
February 4, 2011
The Inspector Peter Diamond mystery series by Peter Lovesey has been on my reading list for some time. I am pleased to discover that The Last Detective turns out to be the first in the series. As I read, I was struck with the obvious erudition of the author, the complex and somewhat daring change of voice throughout the narrative, the presentation of fine moral and ethical questions, and the unsettling ambiguity of the ending. The main character, Peter Diamond, is meant to be a "diamond in the rough." He may be overbearing and critical with his associates at the police force, but he is unerring in sensing discrepancies between suspects' statements and their deeds. He is not above taking pride in finding a piece of evidence that disproves his colleagues' assumptions.
In this, the first in the mystery series, the characterizations are finely wrought and suprisingly sympathetic. One finds oneself shifting allegiances with each chapter. All the characters have failings, but each have redeeming features which impel our interest. The ending is both heartbreaking and shocking and open-ended as regards the fate of our chief investigator. A fine addition to British mystery.
In this, the first in the mystery series, the characterizations are finely wrought and suprisingly sympathetic. One finds oneself shifting allegiances with each chapter. All the characters have failings, but each have redeeming features which impel our interest. The ending is both heartbreaking and shocking and open-ended as regards the fate of our chief investigator. A fine addition to British mystery.
September 29, 2025
I’ve been gravitating toward long-running series lately; there’s a special kind of comfort in time honored classics and that’s how I ended up reading The Last Detective, the first Peter Diamond book, written 34 years ago.
The premise is deceptively simple: the body of a young woman is discovered floating in a reservoir near Bath, and Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is called in to investigate. The victim, Geraldine Jackman, leaves behind a tangle of secrets, lovers, and half-truths, each pointing to a different possible suspect. What begins as a straightforward case of murder becomes a layered exploration of jealousy, deception, and the fallibility of even the sharpest detective.
This is a police procedural in textbook British form. The story is told in multiple viewpoints, and divided into parts, a rather useful device that makes this traditional police procedural more engaging.
At the heart of the novel is Peter Diamond himself. He’s gruff, old-fashioned, and proudly skeptical of gadgets, computers, and the creeping rise of forensic science. Instead, he trusts people; reading their expressions, catching their inconsistencies, and leaning on instinct honed through years of experience. He is flawed (an understatement!) - grumpy, prickly, opinionated stubborn, and sometimes downright unlikeable… and often at odds with his own team, but his doggedness makes him endlessly compelling. You can’t help but enjoy watching him bulldoze through suspects and bureaucracy alike.
As the investigation winds through, the question isn’t just who killed Geraldine, but whether Diamond can keep up in a world that’s quickly leaving his methods behind.
The ending is poignant too. Without spoiling too much: there isn’t an easy resolution where the detective triumphs cleanly. Instead, Diamond is humbled, even undone by the case which adds to the book’s emotional weight.
Overall, The Last Detective is both a superb mystery and a study of character. It has the wit, precision, and atmosphere of a classic British whodunit, but it’s also modern in its willingness to question its own detective hero.
This is one of those crime novels that feels old-school yet fresh all these decades later and I can’t wait to keep going with it.
4 stars 🌟
The premise is deceptively simple: the body of a young woman is discovered floating in a reservoir near Bath, and Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is called in to investigate. The victim, Geraldine Jackman, leaves behind a tangle of secrets, lovers, and half-truths, each pointing to a different possible suspect. What begins as a straightforward case of murder becomes a layered exploration of jealousy, deception, and the fallibility of even the sharpest detective.
This is a police procedural in textbook British form. The story is told in multiple viewpoints, and divided into parts, a rather useful device that makes this traditional police procedural more engaging.
At the heart of the novel is Peter Diamond himself. He’s gruff, old-fashioned, and proudly skeptical of gadgets, computers, and the creeping rise of forensic science. Instead, he trusts people; reading their expressions, catching their inconsistencies, and leaning on instinct honed through years of experience. He is flawed (an understatement!) - grumpy, prickly, opinionated stubborn, and sometimes downright unlikeable… and often at odds with his own team, but his doggedness makes him endlessly compelling. You can’t help but enjoy watching him bulldoze through suspects and bureaucracy alike.
As the investigation winds through, the question isn’t just who killed Geraldine, but whether Diamond can keep up in a world that’s quickly leaving his methods behind.
The ending is poignant too. Without spoiling too much: there isn’t an easy resolution where the detective triumphs cleanly. Instead, Diamond is humbled, even undone by the case which adds to the book’s emotional weight.
Overall, The Last Detective is both a superb mystery and a study of character. It has the wit, precision, and atmosphere of a classic British whodunit, but it’s also modern in its willingness to question its own detective hero.
This is one of those crime novels that feels old-school yet fresh all these decades later and I can’t wait to keep going with it.
4 stars 🌟
February 19, 2025
I wasn’t sure of this to begin with, I only picked it up because it shares a title with some of my favourite books (those of Dangerous Davies, Leslie Thomas).
However, it improved as it went along and interestingly employs differing points of view for suspects in a murder enquiry. Enjoyable!
However, it improved as it went along and interestingly employs differing points of view for suspects in a murder enquiry. Enjoyable!
April 26, 2025
I thought this book was slow and a bit boring... at first. It went along introducing Peter Diamond, telling his story, then switched to another character and told his story, then another. None of them were really that interesting, and I was beginning to think this series wasn't going to be as good as I had hoped. But then, I noticed that I didn't want to stop reading. Things began to get interesting, and I began to understand the characters, and have feelings for them.
The last portion of the book was very good, and we begin to see that Peter Diamond is actually pretty smart much of them time. It's too bad he doesn't get the credit he deserves, but sometimes that's the way with life.
The last portion of the book was very good, and we begin to see that Peter Diamond is actually pretty smart much of them time. It's too bad he doesn't get the credit he deserves, but sometimes that's the way with life.
February 3, 2018
Really enjoyed this leading character. My local library just picked up the re-issued paperback editions of the series....so I'll get to know this grouchy and warm-hearted detective.
August 5, 2021
I tried this, my first Peter Lovesey, having read good things about his books. I was disappointed. It had its decent features, but never really took off and rather fell apart in the final third.
Written in 1992 The Last Detective is set in Bath, where Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond has fairly recently transferred from the Met. A woman’s naked body is found in a lake, leading to a difficult identification and then a tricky murder investigation involving academics, possibly dodgy businessmen and others. Diamond himself is an irascible, technophobic man whose old-fashioned coppering is at odds with more modern police procedure, especially the use of the dreaded computers. It’s a decent set-up and the opening is pretty good, if somewhat familiar. The sense of place in Bath is very well done and there is a well researched, wry and interesting look at Jane Austen’s connections with the city in the background.
It’s all OK, if slightly plodding, for a while, but the clichés of the genre and implausibilities begin to mount up, and after a cataclysmic (and hard to believe) event in Diamond’s career there is a good deal of extraneous detail as another officer smugly pursues an obvious solution. (Does the excessively described smugness and self-satisfaction perhaps give you any clue as to whether he is right or whether he will be made to look foolish by Diamond in the end?) Following a scarcely credible one-to-one death struggle in a famous but deserted location, the whole thing became ludicrously implausible, I’m afraid, including late and blindingly obvious realisations presented as shrewd insights, a laughably unlikely courtroom confession and an apparent Total Personality Transplant for Diamond.
I became very fed up with all this by the end. I may possibly try another instalment sometime, just to see whether things improve – and how this can possibly be a series after developments here – but not for some while, I’m afraid.
Written in 1992 The Last Detective is set in Bath, where Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond has fairly recently transferred from the Met. A woman’s naked body is found in a lake, leading to a difficult identification and then a tricky murder investigation involving academics, possibly dodgy businessmen and others. Diamond himself is an irascible, technophobic man whose old-fashioned coppering is at odds with more modern police procedure, especially the use of the dreaded computers. It’s a decent set-up and the opening is pretty good, if somewhat familiar. The sense of place in Bath is very well done and there is a well researched, wry and interesting look at Jane Austen’s connections with the city in the background.
It’s all OK, if slightly plodding, for a while, but the clichés of the genre and implausibilities begin to mount up, and after a cataclysmic (and hard to believe) event in Diamond’s career there is a good deal of extraneous detail as another officer smugly pursues an obvious solution. (Does the excessively described smugness and self-satisfaction perhaps give you any clue as to whether he is right or whether he will be made to look foolish by Diamond in the end?) Following a scarcely credible one-to-one death struggle in a famous but deserted location, the whole thing became ludicrously implausible, I’m afraid, including late and blindingly obvious realisations presented as shrewd insights, a laughably unlikely courtroom confession and an apparent Total Personality Transplant for Diamond.
I became very fed up with all this by the end. I may possibly try another instalment sometime, just to see whether things improve – and how this can possibly be a series after developments here – but not for some while, I’m afraid.
September 27, 2024
3.5 stars - 3/4 of the way through this police procedural I was frustrated and thinking I'd never read another Diamond mystery because I found the detective insufferably cranky and unlikeable, although I really enjoyed Lovesey's writing. Then Diamond quits the force in frustration, we finally meet his long-suffering wife, he turns into a likeable curmudgeon and investigates on his own and voila - we've got a four-star humdinger of a finish and I'm a new fan...
This investigation of a nude dead woman found floating in a lake near Bath had almost no clues to begin with, and Lovesey took his time pacing this, his first Inspector Diamond mystery, through many layers, different points of view, and red herrings that at first seemed very frustrating and unnecessarily long-winded; I found myself in no hurry to pick the book back up, but once I did I was hooked again (although I agree with another review I saw here that said telling part of the story from suspect Dana Didrickson's POV was overkill and simply restating what we already knew!)
I haven't read a modern traditional police procedural in awhile but I found this one to be entertaining, gripping and humorous; being a debut, I'm willing to overlook an improbably dramatic but very satisfying courtroom climax (I'm a sucker for those scenes when well written as this one was) and a lead detective who isn't even likeable until the end. I look forward to more visits with Detective Superintendent Diamond and seeing how he fits back in when he rejoins the force in triumph (I assume) in his next outing!
This investigation of a nude dead woman found floating in a lake near Bath had almost no clues to begin with, and Lovesey took his time pacing this, his first Inspector Diamond mystery, through many layers, different points of view, and red herrings that at first seemed very frustrating and unnecessarily long-winded; I found myself in no hurry to pick the book back up, but once I did I was hooked again (although I agree with another review I saw here that said telling part of the story from suspect Dana Didrickson's POV was overkill and simply restating what we already knew!)
I haven't read a modern traditional police procedural in awhile but I found this one to be entertaining, gripping and humorous; being a debut, I'm willing to overlook an improbably dramatic but very satisfying courtroom climax (I'm a sucker for those scenes when well written as this one was) and a lead detective who isn't even likeable until the end. I look forward to more visits with Detective Superintendent Diamond and seeing how he fits back in when he rejoins the force in triumph (I assume) in his next outing!
July 16, 2016
The Last Detective is the first book in the Peter Diamond series. The location of the story is Bath England. Peter Diamond does not like technology and prefers to do his detecting by interviewing and intuition. He is overweight, can be overbearing and has strong opinions. There is not much of a democracy for those working under him. At first I thought there are so many books in this series and Peter Diamond is not a likable character. I wondered how he held up through the series. However, by the end of the book Peter Diamond showed some redeeming qualities and I found myself pulling for him.
I enjoyed the book. I debated between 4 or 5 stars because I though it was that good. I went with 4 stars due to one witness in the trial. That is all I will say as I don't want to give a spoiler. The POV went back and forth by sections in the book between 3rd person and 1st person. It was like starting a new story in each section. The mystery was quite good with twists and turns. I will continue with the series to see what is in store next for Peter Diamond as his life right now is a major period of change.
I enjoyed the book. I debated between 4 or 5 stars because I though it was that good. I went with 4 stars due to one witness in the trial. That is all I will say as I don't want to give a spoiler. The POV went back and forth by sections in the book between 3rd person and 1st person. It was like starting a new story in each section. The mystery was quite good with twists and turns. I will continue with the series to see what is in store next for Peter Diamond as his life right now is a major period of change.
August 27, 2019
if a good mystery keeps you guessing till the end then this one was very good. The first in what became a series focusing on the work of a police detective, Peter Diamond located in Bath, UK. The story begin with a mysterious nude woman found in a nearby lake. How long she has been there and who she is, is the first mystery solved fairly early on. From there it is on to who did this, when and why. These too are believed solved and even a trial is begun of the accused. All is finally revealed in the last few pages and it was far from what I had suspected. Well written and a fun journey though at times it seemed a little padded. Almost too many twists and turns but it just kept me turning pages. An excellent mystery read--a genre I thought I grown tired of due to recent thrillers that did not seem to reveal much or keep me guessing for long. I'll be looking for more of Mr. Lovesey's books and the Bath locale is certainly a plus as well. Love learning more about this interesting city.
August 11, 2024
3.5 STARS
The first installment of the Peter Diamond mystery novels. Set in and around the city of Bath in England the series began in 1991. Peter Lovesey had been writing mystery novels for over twenty years when he began this series.
Last year I picked up several of the books at a thrift store and decided to give them a go. The books are solidly part of a literary sub-genre referred to as "cozy mysteries" of whom such famous writers as Agatha Christie, Lilian Jackson Braun, G.K. Chesterton and Diane Mott Davidson have contributed to. In other words, I'm not talking about Donald Westlake or Robert B. Parker "hardboiled" crime novels.
The book is very smooth and makes a wonderful bedside companion or a way to idle away the hours while "rving" (motorized caravan for those in Great Britain).
This particular novel isn't anything surprising though it does go a bit more into the reasons why people do what they do. As a result, there is more depth and layers than one typically finds in such novels. It's a "whodunit" but the why is a bit more complicated.
Additionally, there is a changing of narrators which opens up the story as well. It's an interesting tact and I found it to be effective.
Inspector Diamond is the classic gruff dinosaur who isn't happy with the inroads that technology is making into the profession. He feels that more traditional methods are being forgotten and younger officers are becoming dependent on technology. By today's standards the cutting-edge tech that Diamond grouses about seems rather quaint, but it also rings true to me. I've been an officer for 24 years and I can relate.
By the year 2000 (when I began my career) computers were standard as were cell phones and DNA, but in the years that have followed there has been an explosion of technology with cell phones, smart phones (all those apps), car computers, weapon lights, red dot sights on our handguns, body-cameras that can be viewed real-time by supervisors from miles away. The same body-cameras now turn on whenever a taser is activated within fifty feet. It's all a bit overwhelming to this 56-year-old officer (me). I can relate.
I liked that aspect of the character, and it doesn't go away in the following books. Diamond uses the technology and acknowledges it, but he still goes old-school whenever possible. Yes, I do appreciate the fact that I'm grousing about tech while writing a review on an Internet site with my wireless computer. I'm a curmudgeon, but I am aware.
All in all, I like this book. Whether one uses the term "cozy mystery" or "comfort food" it's a good book to relax with. It's nice to be able to read a novel that doesn't cause turmoil to one's psyche.
The first installment of the Peter Diamond mystery novels. Set in and around the city of Bath in England the series began in 1991. Peter Lovesey had been writing mystery novels for over twenty years when he began this series.
Last year I picked up several of the books at a thrift store and decided to give them a go. The books are solidly part of a literary sub-genre referred to as "cozy mysteries" of whom such famous writers as Agatha Christie, Lilian Jackson Braun, G.K. Chesterton and Diane Mott Davidson have contributed to. In other words, I'm not talking about Donald Westlake or Robert B. Parker "hardboiled" crime novels.
The book is very smooth and makes a wonderful bedside companion or a way to idle away the hours while "rving" (motorized caravan for those in Great Britain).
This particular novel isn't anything surprising though it does go a bit more into the reasons why people do what they do. As a result, there is more depth and layers than one typically finds in such novels. It's a "whodunit" but the why is a bit more complicated.
Additionally, there is a changing of narrators which opens up the story as well. It's an interesting tact and I found it to be effective.
Inspector Diamond is the classic gruff dinosaur who isn't happy with the inroads that technology is making into the profession. He feels that more traditional methods are being forgotten and younger officers are becoming dependent on technology. By today's standards the cutting-edge tech that Diamond grouses about seems rather quaint, but it also rings true to me. I've been an officer for 24 years and I can relate.
By the year 2000 (when I began my career) computers were standard as were cell phones and DNA, but in the years that have followed there has been an explosion of technology with cell phones, smart phones (all those apps), car computers, weapon lights, red dot sights on our handguns, body-cameras that can be viewed real-time by supervisors from miles away. The same body-cameras now turn on whenever a taser is activated within fifty feet. It's all a bit overwhelming to this 56-year-old officer (me). I can relate.
I liked that aspect of the character, and it doesn't go away in the following books. Diamond uses the technology and acknowledges it, but he still goes old-school whenever possible. Yes, I do appreciate the fact that I'm grousing about tech while writing a review on an Internet site with my wireless computer. I'm a curmudgeon, but I am aware.
All in all, I like this book. Whether one uses the term "cozy mystery" or "comfort food" it's a good book to relax with. It's nice to be able to read a novel that doesn't cause turmoil to one's psyche.
December 6, 2012
I must have read this before, as it was on my 'read' shelves, rather than in the always overflowing 'to read' box, but I couldn't remember it at all, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Diamond, the 'last detective' is a grumpy eccentric in the Morse / Rebus mould, and the Bath setting was vividly drawn. The puzzle was good, with neat twists, and the in-fighting at the police station an enjoyable part of the plot.
I went on to re-read two others, one lively one about a crime-book-club, 'The Bloodhounds', which was a very conscious parody of the locked-room murder, and great fun, with loads of references to masters like Dickson Carr, and 'Diamond Solitaire', which was more action romp than whodunnit, and ended in Japan with a sumo-wrestler routing the baddies.
I ended up with 'Rough Cider', a stand-alone, which turned on an adult telling the story of a murder he'd been involved in as a child - very finely drawn, and with a good twist at the end.
All very enjoyable - slightly old-fashioned, compared to the new psychological depth which needs to inform modern detective stories, but good characters, good plots, and workmanlike prose. Also on my 'read' shelves were two of his 'Bertie' novels, whodunnits narrated by the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria's son, which are particularly good fun for the difference between what Bertie thinks and what the reader works out.
I went on to re-read two others, one lively one about a crime-book-club, 'The Bloodhounds', which was a very conscious parody of the locked-room murder, and great fun, with loads of references to masters like Dickson Carr, and 'Diamond Solitaire', which was more action romp than whodunnit, and ended in Japan with a sumo-wrestler routing the baddies.
I ended up with 'Rough Cider', a stand-alone, which turned on an adult telling the story of a murder he'd been involved in as a child - very finely drawn, and with a good twist at the end.
All very enjoyable - slightly old-fashioned, compared to the new psychological depth which needs to inform modern detective stories, but good characters, good plots, and workmanlike prose. Also on my 'read' shelves were two of his 'Bertie' novels, whodunnits narrated by the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria's son, which are particularly good fun for the difference between what Bertie thinks and what the reader works out.
January 3, 2025
This was a solid detective novel with an interesting plot and good character development.
Although the writing was very good, the one detail that nagged at me was the way many plot elements and back stories were revealed. Much of the story is told through statements made by suspects/witnesses being interviewed by the detective. When asked a simple question like "when did you meet the suspect?", the character would go into a pages-long, VERY detailed narrative going back several years before they met the person in question and, without further prompting, providing personal details about their marriage, career, the emotional state of their family members, many events leading up to the present situation, and even providing exact quotes from conversations held or overheard with many other characters.
Other than that one troublesome technique of providing backstory information, it was a good read.
Although the writing was very good, the one detail that nagged at me was the way many plot elements and back stories were revealed. Much of the story is told through statements made by suspects/witnesses being interviewed by the detective. When asked a simple question like "when did you meet the suspect?", the character would go into a pages-long, VERY detailed narrative going back several years before they met the person in question and, without further prompting, providing personal details about their marriage, career, the emotional state of their family members, many events leading up to the present situation, and even providing exact quotes from conversations held or overheard with many other characters.
Other than that one troublesome technique of providing backstory information, it was a good read.
May 6, 2017
Author Peter Lovesey is one of my favorite WHODUNNIT writers! Lovesey is among the few authors I’ve read who has the ability to make all of the characters he introduces suspects!
Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is a gumshoe detective who solves crimes wearing out the soles of his shoes. He’ll re-interview suspects, no matter the number of visits, until he is satisfied that he has gotten all he could from them. In the Last Detective, Diamond is searching for the murderer of a once famous soap opera star. This is not an easy case to solve because the clues are not easy to follow.
Author Lovesey’s great character development, creative story writing and Simon Prebble’s storytelling will hold you spellbound.
Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is a gumshoe detective who solves crimes wearing out the soles of his shoes. He’ll re-interview suspects, no matter the number of visits, until he is satisfied that he has gotten all he could from them. In the Last Detective, Diamond is searching for the murderer of a once famous soap opera star. This is not an easy case to solve because the clues are not easy to follow.
Author Lovesey’s great character development, creative story writing and Simon Prebble’s storytelling will hold you spellbound.
August 25, 2018
The title, The Last Detective, refers to the protagonist Peter Diamond. He and those around him in the police force consider him and his methods of detection as the last in the series of gumshoe police -- those who through the years have relied on the basics of investigative techniques -- door-to-door canvasses, the art of interrogation and the use of gut instincts to point in the direction of the perpetrator. Now, though, the time has come where modern forensics and the use of computers has somewhat streamlined the investigative process -- what always to a justified end?
I enjoyed meeting the fictional detective and his creator, author Peter Lovesey. I am looking forward to reading further adventures in this series.
I enjoyed meeting the fictional detective and his creator, author Peter Lovesey. I am looking forward to reading further adventures in this series.
December 8, 2024
So there I am deciding I'm doing my bit for small-business Saturday. Buy a book at Green Apple, walk to the Haight and get two at Borderlands, and then later I drive down the Peninsula early to be around there for the boy, who is heading to the blah Eastridge mall in San Jose, where there are literally hundreds of Vietnamese restaurants but no bookstores, so I hit the excellent Kepler's in Menlo Park. I'm determined to keep consuming, but what? There this is on an endcap. (Kepler's has a solid mystery selection, though I will always be sad that the Mystery Bookstore, which I made a pilgrimage to when I was 20 on a family trip to SF, is dead and gone.)
That endcap sold me, along with Daryl Gregory's Revelator and Dan Kois's Vintage Contemporaries, which I'd first seen in Larkspur but which they'd sold their copy of when I returned and decided to buy it. (Oddly, the book doesn't actually look like a classic Vintage Contemporary, which strikes me as slightly odd.) Later, I dealt in the Books Inc. in the mall across from Palo Alto HS by buying a book there after dinner at Zareen's, just so everyone would feel included. I care.
Anyway, this is an ace literary mystery that in some ways very knowingly replicates all the trad English elements and plot devices (Diamond, himself a fan of trilby-hatted detectives from the 40s who hates technology and is, frankly, kind of a dick, muses about his "little grey cells" at one point) and also plays around with POV (we have two sections narrated by other characters in first-person) and time (we jump forward quite a bit). There are procedural bits, and brilliant-eccentric bits, and literary-mystery bits, along with several pieces of good old detection. I twigged to a couple of the tricky bits and even guessed whodunnit, though not for any particular solving-the-case reason. More than that, though, the book feels like a social novel, as much character study as genre fiction, with rich, incisive prose and an enjoyable David Lodge-type sense of academic politics. (Reading something like this, with its bits of life and narrative and more rounded characters reminds me of all the things Westlake very deliberately leaves out of the Parker novels, or disposes with in a sentence.) The main character is a nice move away from the run of geniuses, as he spends a good half the novel getting things wrong and creating a hostile workplace environment.
Made me want to read more, though the note in my "deluxe edition" (uh, foreword by Louise Penny, and a couple of reprinted online bits at the end, plus an afterword that's the most interesting aspect, as Lovesey takes us through his research/compositional process--enjoyed reading about all the naturalist material he learned and didn't use) that there are, gulp, 21 books in the series may put a damper on that, especially since I'm just two from the end of 28 Parker extended universe books. Still, grabbed a used copy at Green Apple today of a later entry, so let's see how that goes.
That endcap sold me, along with Daryl Gregory's Revelator and Dan Kois's Vintage Contemporaries, which I'd first seen in Larkspur but which they'd sold their copy of when I returned and decided to buy it. (Oddly, the book doesn't actually look like a classic Vintage Contemporary, which strikes me as slightly odd.) Later, I dealt in the Books Inc. in the mall across from Palo Alto HS by buying a book there after dinner at Zareen's, just so everyone would feel included. I care.
Anyway, this is an ace literary mystery that in some ways very knowingly replicates all the trad English elements and plot devices (Diamond, himself a fan of trilby-hatted detectives from the 40s who hates technology and is, frankly, kind of a dick, muses about his "little grey cells" at one point) and also plays around with POV (we have two sections narrated by other characters in first-person) and time (we jump forward quite a bit). There are procedural bits, and brilliant-eccentric bits, and literary-mystery bits, along with several pieces of good old detection. I twigged to a couple of the tricky bits and even guessed whodunnit, though not for any particular solving-the-case reason. More than that, though, the book feels like a social novel, as much character study as genre fiction, with rich, incisive prose and an enjoyable David Lodge-type sense of academic politics. (Reading something like this, with its bits of life and narrative and more rounded characters reminds me of all the things Westlake very deliberately leaves out of the Parker novels, or disposes with in a sentence.) The main character is a nice move away from the run of geniuses, as he spends a good half the novel getting things wrong and creating a hostile workplace environment.
Made me want to read more, though the note in my "deluxe edition" (uh, foreword by Louise Penny, and a couple of reprinted online bits at the end, plus an afterword that's the most interesting aspect, as Lovesey takes us through his research/compositional process--enjoyed reading about all the naturalist material he learned and didn't use) that there are, gulp, 21 books in the series may put a damper on that, especially since I'm just two from the end of 28 Parker extended universe books. Still, grabbed a used copy at Green Apple today of a later entry, so let's see how that goes.
January 23, 2022
I thought I had read this series years ago, but nothing about this story was familiar. I thought it rambled too much, probably in its attempt to toss in red herrings, but I enjoyed listening to Simon Prebble's skill with the narration. Let's give it 3 1/2 stars.
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