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ashleylm's review against another edition
5.0
Another terrific volume from Lovesey, whom I have only recently discovered. He's now one of those people that I just accept will do a terrific job—they're allowed to have an off day, but for them that would be unusual—like Diana Wynne Jones, or Lois McMaster Bujold.
He's got everything I want from a mystery writer, and more. My needs are simple (but so rarely met!):
1. Characters I can tell apart. So many books seem to think if you simply name the 9 suspicious grey-haired grey-suited colleagues at the accounting firm, the reader will happily differentiate. No. It's hard. Or at a girls' physical education academy, or a hippie commune, or anywhere where similar people gather, the writer must be especially talented to draw those distinctions. But with Lovesey, I always know who he's talking about and what they're like.
2. A compelling mystery (doesn't have to be a murder) and a twisty plot. If it's not a compelling mystery, why bother writing about that one? But Lovesey succeeds in spades on this point.
3. Fair play. No detectives who mysteriously notice mysterious things but don't mention it because that would give the game away.
That's all I need. Lovesey goes one extra: I think he's a serious bibliophile who is paying homage to different genres through this series. So far each one has been very, very different from the others. The tone is the same, but we've had a Kate Atkinson-ish murder mystery with her characteristic changes in perspective (which he pulls back from in subsequent books, normally interspersing Diamond's view with only one other person, less frequently), then he was off the force and on a international Mission Impossible-esque suspense-thriller, in volume three we're back in Bath where he's in a race against time to stop an escaped killer who's kidnapped the chief's daughter, and now in the fourth book Lovesey's put his spin on the locked room mystery. It's sort of the mystery equivalent of TV's Community, where (by Season 2, for sure) each episode is riffing on one specific aspect of pop culture, whether it's a heist film, a bottle episode, or social media.
But regardless of the specifics of the plot, his voice is there. Confident, slightly humorous (but only at times, not in a pushy "I'm a Comic Mystery Novel!!!" kind of way), and clever.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
He's got everything I want from a mystery writer, and more. My needs are simple (but so rarely met!):
1. Characters I can tell apart. So many books seem to think if you simply name the 9 suspicious grey-haired grey-suited colleagues at the accounting firm, the reader will happily differentiate. No. It's hard. Or at a girls' physical education academy, or a hippie commune, or anywhere where similar people gather, the writer must be especially talented to draw those distinctions. But with Lovesey, I always know who he's talking about and what they're like.
2. A compelling mystery (doesn't have to be a murder) and a twisty plot. If it's not a compelling mystery, why bother writing about that one? But Lovesey succeeds in spades on this point.
3. Fair play. No detectives who mysteriously notice mysterious things but don't mention it because that would give the game away.
That's all I need. Lovesey goes one extra: I think he's a serious bibliophile who is paying homage to different genres through this series. So far each one has been very, very different from the others. The tone is the same, but we've had a Kate Atkinson-ish murder mystery with her characteristic changes in perspective (which he pulls back from in subsequent books, normally interspersing Diamond's view with only one other person, less frequently), then he was off the force and on a international Mission Impossible-esque suspense-thriller, in volume three we're back in Bath where he's in a race against time to stop an escaped killer who's kidnapped the chief's daughter, and now in the fourth book Lovesey's put his spin on the locked room mystery. It's sort of the mystery equivalent of TV's Community, where (by Season 2, for sure) each episode is riffing on one specific aspect of pop culture, whether it's a heist film, a bottle episode, or social media.
But regardless of the specifics of the plot, his voice is there. Confident, slightly humorous (but only at times, not in a pushy "I'm a Comic Mystery Novel!!!" kind of way), and clever.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition
4.0
Good, old-fashioned mystery. Very enjoyable read. Love the Peter Diamond series.
becca_sb1316's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gretchenv's review against another edition
5.0
This is a mystery so not a "literature 5" but a "mystery 5." The central cast is a mystery book club! And I am becoming accustomed to Peter Diamond, who is not as annoying in this one.
bucherca49's review against another edition
3.0
I like the Peter Diamond character, but I thought the plot of this novel was not as well paced as others. He seemed to drag a bit. Then it seemed to head quickly to the conclusion, only to switch up the ending.
howjessicareads's review against another edition
4.0
So much fun Lovesey pays homage to locked room type thrillers like John Dickson Carr's. The discussion of different mystery writers is fascinating, and Superintendent Peter Diamond is at his grumpy, brilliant best. Full review coming soon!
debbie13410's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
British who dun it. A mystery book club gets involved in murder.
stackwoodlibrary's review
4.0
I'm getting crazy, reading books *out of sequence*......
This is 4th in a series, but stands alone fairly well. May read more, will certainly recommend the author to some of our mystery fans.
Especially this title. We need to creat a Bloodhounds group!
This is 4th in a series, but stands alone fairly well. May read more, will certainly recommend the author to some of our mystery fans.
Especially this title. We need to creat a Bloodhounds group!
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