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"Good stuff . . . Breezy, British, and as comfy as a Cotswold cottage."—The New York Times Book Review
"Written with energy and style, a masterly performance."—Rocky Mountain News
John Mountjoy has escaped from prison and taken a hostage, and the only person he’ll talk to is Detective Peter Diamond, who arrested him four years earlier for the murder of a young journalist. Diamond must follow a cold trail to find another killer and clear Mountjoy’s name before someone else dies.
Peter Lovesey is the author of 23 highly-praised mysteries and has been awarded the CWA’s Gold, Silver, and Diamond Daggers, as well as many U.S. honors. He lives in West Sussex, England.
Convicted murderer John Mountjoy escape from prison, kidnaps a young girl, and demands to see the policeman who originally arrested him--now-retired Peter Diamond--to proclaim his innocence. Diamond agrees because he thinks Mountjoy really is innocent--and begins a race against time to solve a four-year-old mystery and set an innocent man free.
The Peter Diamond mystery series is a British classic. Diamond, former CID murder investigator, has had his knocks. He is still looking for work and is just considering working as an artists' model (!) when opportunity comes knocking. Diamond is proof positive that one can be very wrong about something important and still make a comeback, if we still needed to be reminded. Once again he has managed to claw his way back to the top of the heap, though one cannot help but wonder how long he'll last. He doesn't always make friends on the way up--in fact he manages to alienate just about everybody. I was just getting used to his switching jobs every couple of months, and here he is...but that would be telling. A busker is kidnapped by an escaped convict, and the kidnapper is willing to negotiate, but only with Diamond. Called back by his old bosses, he sets up an alternate office and investigates an old crime in order to defuse the new one. He manages, sliding into home just as the clock strikes. It is a wonderful finale...heart-poundingly, nail-bitingly close. I love seeing how writers manage to ratchet up the tension level. Maj Sjowall's Roseanna went from zero to sixty in a matter of sentences in the last few pages, making it the book to beat when seeking an example of "breathtaking."
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 2, 2012
Well written, great characters, wonderful descriptions of Bath, humor and lots of suspense.
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Posted February 10, 2012
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Overview
"Good stuff . . . Breezy, British, and as comfy as a Cotswold cottage."—The New York Times Book Review
"Written with energy and style, a masterly performance."—Rocky Mountain News
John Mountjoy has escaped from prison and taken a hostage, and the only person he’ll talk to is Detective Peter Diamond, who arrested him four years earlier for the murder of a young journalist. Diamond must follow a cold trail to ...