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ericwelch's review
4.0
The Last Detective was the first of the Peter Diamond police procedurals, and it is excellent. The title refers to Diamond’s preference for detection methods of the past: good legwork, interviews, none of the fancy, computerized stuff that he is constantly disparaging.
When a naked woman is discovered floating in the local reservoir — bottled water sales must have soared that week — Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is placed in charge of the investigation. The woman is finally discovered to be the popular actress of a British television serial. What is not certain is the [b:cause of death|6541|Cause of Death (Scarpetta Book 7)|Patricia Cornwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165603739s/6541.jpg|2408]. The forensic folks will only suggest asphyxia, but with a body so long in the water, it’s hard to tell if the asphyxia was caused by drowning or human-induced suffocation.
The immediate suspect is Dr. Gregory Jackman, English professor, and husband of the dead woman (who had been living under her own name). He reveals during interrogations that Gerry Snoo, Mrs. Jackman, the murdered woman, had tried to kill him. The reasons remain somewhat nebulous, (the story is told from several perspectives) but Snoo was clearly mercurial, if not a few chips short of a cookie. Dr. Jackman was in charge of presenting a Jane Austen exhibit in Bath, the university wishing to have better relations with the community. Jackman finds this amusing, if not mildly unethical, because Jane Austen had always written pejoratively of Bath, where she had lived a few years.
Jackman courageously saves the life of a boy who fell into a weir near the town, and his mother, wishing to thank Jackman, does a little research and stumbles across two letters from Jane Austen to her aunt who had been charged with shoplifting in 1800. She donates them and is perceived by Gerry to be a threat (it’s complicated) and then Mrs. Didrickson, the boy’s mother, according to her statement, found Gerry dead at the Jackman residence.
Diamond, under pressure from a number of sources, has to resign from the force before he can solve this mystery and get Mrs. Didrickson’s charge of murder dropped.
When a naked woman is discovered floating in the local reservoir — bottled water sales must have soared that week — Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is placed in charge of the investigation. The woman is finally discovered to be the popular actress of a British television serial. What is not certain is the [b:cause of death|6541|Cause of Death (Scarpetta Book 7)|Patricia Cornwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165603739s/6541.jpg|2408]. The forensic folks will only suggest asphyxia, but with a body so long in the water, it’s hard to tell if the asphyxia was caused by drowning or human-induced suffocation.
The immediate suspect is Dr. Gregory Jackman, English professor, and husband of the dead woman (who had been living under her own name). He reveals during interrogations that Gerry Snoo, Mrs. Jackman, the murdered woman, had tried to kill him. The reasons remain somewhat nebulous, (the story is told from several perspectives) but Snoo was clearly mercurial, if not a few chips short of a cookie. Dr. Jackman was in charge of presenting a Jane Austen exhibit in Bath, the university wishing to have better relations with the community. Jackman finds this amusing, if not mildly unethical, because Jane Austen had always written pejoratively of Bath, where she had lived a few years.
Jackman courageously saves the life of a boy who fell into a weir near the town, and his mother, wishing to thank Jackman, does a little research and stumbles across two letters from Jane Austen to her aunt who had been charged with shoplifting in 1800. She donates them and is perceived by Gerry to be a threat (it’s complicated) and then Mrs. Didrickson, the boy’s mother, according to her statement, found Gerry dead at the Jackman residence.
Diamond, under pressure from a number of sources, has to resign from the force before he can solve this mystery and get Mrs. Didrickson’s charge of murder dropped.
susiesharon's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good. A tad repetitive in some spots but overall good.
hcq's review against another edition
2.0
It was all right; nothing out of the ordinary. The plot wasn't bad, wasn't great; ditto the characters. I like Bath as a setting, because it is a handsome city, but I'm not sure that's enough for me to continue the series. I don't especially care what happens next to the main character, which is not a good sign.
Really, the most memorable thing about this book was a jaw-dropping typo. There were some understandable minor ones, (though getting one of the main character's name wrong is bad), but the amazing one was a chapter header. Yes, there was an error in a single line of display type, on a page: "The Men in White Goats." At first I just thought it was an amusing phrase, but it was less amusing when I realized that it was supposed to read "The Men in White Coats," a particular target of the main character's ire (and one which gets a couple of mentions). Whoops!
And, of course, Lovesey did include what I'm beginning to think is the obligatory British lie about summer actually being hot in England--right out of the gate, too, on p.4. Sigh. Is there some law requiring this, perhaps? Does the UK Tourism Board, or whatever it is, really have that much power?
Really, the most memorable thing about this book was a jaw-dropping typo. There were some understandable minor ones, (though getting one of the main character's name wrong is bad), but the amazing one was a chapter header. Yes, there was an error in a single line of display type, on a page: "The Men in White Goats." At first I just thought it was an amusing phrase, but it was less amusing when I realized that it was supposed to read "The Men in White Coats," a particular target of the main character's ire (and one which gets a couple of mentions). Whoops!
And, of course, Lovesey did include what I'm beginning to think is the obligatory British lie about summer actually being hot in England--right out of the gate, too, on p.4. Sigh. Is there some law requiring this, perhaps? Does the UK Tourism Board, or whatever it is, really have that much power?
wordlover's review against another edition
1.0
Not a good book. Deeply unpleasant protagonist. Unnecessary changes in narrator/point of view. And sadly the worst ebook conversion I've ever seen.
cspiwak's review against another edition
3.0
narrative style reminded me of Wilkie Collin's moonstone. Seeing incidents several times from different points of view. I didn't feel the author provided distinctive voices for the different narrators, which lessened the effectiveness. I also didn't particularly like the detective until towards the end. Will probably give others a try , though, overall a satisfactory read
caidyn's review against another edition
DNF at 71%
Basically, I got this email from Netgalley, teasing me with the promise of getting to read basically a whole series for free so long as I read, reviewed with a specific sentence in it, sent the link off to this email, and they'd send me it. Probably electronically. So, I thought, what the hell? Could be fun.
I was wrong.
It took me 20% to really get interested into it. It was at ~40% where I realized I didn't know anyone's name and would not be able to answer it if someone asked me. It was at 50% when I thought about killing myself to end this torturous read. I skimmed until I just couldn't do it anymore.
Imagine going over the same day from different points of view over and over again. With very little intrigue. Poirot had more intrigue than this one did. Thanks for the opportunity, Soho (the publishing company), congrats on 25 years being in business, but I picked the wrong series from your options.
Basically, I got this email from Netgalley, teasing me with the promise of getting to read basically a whole series for free so long as I read, reviewed with a specific sentence in it, sent the link off to this email, and they'd send me it. Probably electronically. So, I thought, what the hell? Could be fun.
I was wrong.
It took me 20% to really get interested into it. It was at ~40% where I realized I didn't know anyone's name and would not be able to answer it if someone asked me. It was at 50% when I thought about killing myself to end this torturous read. I skimmed until I just couldn't do it anymore.
Imagine going over the same day from different points of view over and over again. With very little intrigue. Poirot had more intrigue than this one did. Thanks for the opportunity, Soho (the publishing company), congrats on 25 years being in business, but I picked the wrong series from your options.
lucyb's review against another edition
3.0
Elegantly written and plotted, this book lavishes loving attention on the classic elements of the whodunit, making the twists and turns (and red herrings) pleasant to follow. The evocation of Bath and its suburbs is well done, and the commentary on Austen scholarship and popular reception is a bonus for literature nerds.
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