A case that has all the ingredients of a first-rate mystery. Peter Lovesey rarely puts a foot wrong * Daily Mail *
An intricate, well-paced murder mystery set against the beauties of Georgian Bath, solved less by cold reason than by
instinct and gut feelings on the part of the amiable old-fashioned copper, with his loathing of modern bureaucracy in the police force, and distrust of technology . . . Cat-loving DS Diamond, with his dog-loving girlfriend, Paloma, is the most amiable copper to come our way since the demise of the immortal duo of Ruth Rendell's Wexford
* The Tablet *
Lovesey brilliantly weaves all these disparate characters and storylines into a wonderfully entertaining and compelling story. His work is the gold standard for UK crime fiction writing * Deadly Pleasures *
'Lovesey moves from one dexterously nested puzzle to the next with all the confidence of a magician' * Kirkus Reviews *
'There's plenty of suspense here - action too - all told in Lovesey's effortlessly elegant manner
' * Booklist *
Threaded through this elegantly written mystery are vivid and timely subplots concerning Russian oligarchs and Albanian fugitives from modern slavery gangs. Peter Lovesey may now be in his eighties, but he tells his tale with all the wit and verve of a much younger man * Irish Independent *
A witty, steadily absorbing procedural marked by Lovesey's customary inventiveness and an unguessable solution * Kirkus Reviews *
'One of Lovesey's cleverest . . . full of his trademark wry humour' * Publisher's Weekly *
'If you like your police procedurals intriguing, solid and well-written, Lovesey's your man' * Weekend Sport *
I loved this book and hope that Lovesey, who is in his eighties, will just keep on writing. I adored my virtual trip to Bath and the time spent with this book and its characters * Joyce's Mystery and Fiction Book Reviews *
An enthralling read, with an intriguing plot...deals with serious issues of modern life in a compassionate but honest way. The dynamics between Diamond and his team are cleverly portrayed and totally believable * Mystery People *
'This is a mystery story complete with clues and red herrings; it is also a crash course in 18th-century manners.
All very enjoyable'
* Literary Review *
'You won't want to put it down' * Peterborough Evening Telegraph *
Masterly, atmospheric . . .On the 50th anniversary of the publication of his first novel, Lovesey is still going strong * Publisher's Weekly *
This is a story firmly set in the present day (or at least the immediate pre-pandemic present day!) but Peter Lovesey's storytelling skills, and certainly his gift for constructing a fair play puzzle, match those of the finest exponents of Golden Age fiction * Martin Edwards *
Peter Lovesey's characterisation, humour, and plotting are key, and I'm glad to report that these elements are here in abundance * Martin Edwards *
Astonishingly convincing and inventive * Morning Star *
In a peerlessly plotted mystery, Lovesey brings back his prickly rule-abhoring detective, Peter Diamond of the Bath police, who's investigating a murder at a half-marathon. As readers who love the Diamond series know, the picture-perfect old British city, honeycombed with sluices, drains and sewers, offers unrivalled facilities for disposing of bodies * New York Times *
It is 50 years since Lovesey's first novel, which also featured running. British mystery fiction's reigning head of state returns to that sporting setting with his customary wit, humanity and unpredictable turns of plot * Morning Star *
Peter Lovesey - the dean of English mystery novelists - remains as ingenious as ever in
Beau Death * Washington Post *
Beau Death is a doozy . . . Lovesey seems to have outdone himself with the labyrinthine maze of multiple murders and mysterious conundrums * Strand magazine *
Throughout, Diamond remains his usual appealing self, and Lovesey retains his knack for tight plotting and supple prose
* Seattle Times *
Mr Lovesey's descriptive passages will have armchair explorers champing at the bit * Pittsburgh Post Gazette *
Peter Lovesey is one author who can grab me on the title page . . . he's very, very good and knows his Bath history inside out . . . This is a great puzzle plot that will keep you guessing. Just what Lovesey does best * Toronto Globe and Mail *
The book, I am happy to say, is as tightly plotted and absorbing as the best of Lovesey's long-running series * Seattle Times *
I came away impressed by the storytelling, the relative pace of the plot and of the frequent twists and turns that made this a compelling read * Chicago Review of Books *
There are those among us who would read Lovesey if he took to writing on the backs of cereal boxes . . . All the signature elements of this acclaimed series are present: the gin-dry humour, the engaging characters, the ending that kills you before you know you're dead . . . Slowly, but with relentless pacing and magical writing . . . the plotlines converge * Booklist (starred review) *
Witty, stylish and a bit of a rogue - that's what people said about Richard Nash, known as Beau, the notorious dandy who transformed the English city of Bath into 'the 18th-century equivalent of Vegas'. The same might be said of Peter Lovesey, whose elegant mysteries pay tribute to the past glories of this beautiful city * New York Times *
It's a mystery that could easily be played for farce, but Lovesey employs his dry, caustic humor to cutting effect * Chicago Tribune *
It's hard to believe that Peter Lovesey has been writing for half a century and reading his latest you'll feel he hasn't missed a step * The Strand magazine *
Peter Lovesey has a knack - to borrow a phrase from the Roman philosopher Seneca - for grabbing readers by the lapels and leading or dragging them on, willy-nilly, through a maze of blind-corner surprises and unexpected plot twists . . . it's hard to imagine a more pleasurable way to read away the long hours of a quiet, wintry night * Richmond Times Dispatch *
