Bloodhounds: A Peter Diamond Investigation (Soho Crime) [Paperback]

Peter Lovesey (Author)

Book Description

Series: Soho Crime | Publication Date: December 1, 2004

“Peter Lovesey tosses off a real brain-banger in Bloodhounds, the fourth book in a challenging series. . . . I am mad for these pyrotechnic teasers, and this one had my head spinning.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“A perfect blend of psychology and technique.”—Boston Review

“In a witty takeoff on the always titillating ‘locked room’ mystery, Lovesey’s wise but beleaguered hero Peter Diamond confronts a homicide case as perplexing as any he’s faced.”—Booklist

“Lovesey gives us his laconic Bath policeman Peter Diamond in full dazzle. . . . With this especially effective conclusion, Lovesey demonstrates that his embrace of crime fiction reaches from John Dickson Carr to Andrew Vachss as he skillfully pays homage to the old style whodunit in this thoroughly modern mystery.”—Publishers Weekly

“Lovesey, always something of a Golden Age writer out of his time, provides some ingenius variations on the old ‘locked room’ mystery formula, while gleefully lecturing the reader on genre lore.”—Kirkus Reviews

A rare stamp and a corpse are discovered in Bath within hours of each other. As he investigates, Inspector Peter Diamond discovers that both the person who found the stamp and the victim belong to the Bloodhounds, an elite group of mystery lovers, who now urge Diamond to bring the murderer to justice. But there’s a hitch: the body lies inside a padlocked houseboat and the only key is in the pocket of a man with an airtight alibi.

Peter Lovesey is the author of 24 highly praised mysteries and has been awarded the CWA Gold and Silver Dagger, as well as the Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. He has also been the recipient of an Anthony Award and numerous other US honors. He lives in West Sussex, England.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Peter Diamond of the Bath Police returns in the fourth installment in this marvelous detective series. The plot for this mystery is well thought-out and cleverly developed with puzzling turns that keep you guessing. A rare stamp is stolen from a museum, only to appear between the pages of a mystery book under consideration by a group of wing-chair sleuths known as the Bloodhounds. The intrigue deepens when one of the mystery buffs winds up dead. The cat-and-mouse game plays out with plenty of twists and turns. Mystery lovers will enjoy the debates over classic mystery plots that the Bloodhounds engage in, and the careful reader will wisely follow them to glean clues to solving the mystery. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The Last Detective (1992) inaugurated this series with a bang. It was followed by Diamond Solitaire (1993) and 1995's Edgar-nominated The Summons. With this fourth installment, veteran English author Lovesey gives us his laconic Bath policeman Peter Diamond in full dazzle. The Bloodhounds are a diverse group of mystery fans who meet in a dark crypt and talk. One night before the subject of locked-room puzzles is brought up, Milo, one of the group, opens a prized book and finds the rare Penny Black stamp recently stolen from a nearby museum. Milo is suitably puzzled. A little later, Milo is found dead in his tightly locked riverboat. The coppers have two perplexing puzzles to solve, and Diamond's sharp temper is soon sorely tested by the thief/killer, who sends the police and the media cute riddles. Diamond comes up with a perfectly workable scenario for what happened, which readers are given just enough time to swallow before Lovesey reveals the real thief and killer. With this especially effective conclusion, Lovesey demonstrates that his embrace of crime fiction reaches from John Dickson Carr to Andrew Vachss as he skillfully pays homage to the old style whodunit in this thoroughly modern mystery.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Soho Crime (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569473773
• ISBN-13: 978-1569473771
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 1 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

PETER LOVESEY is the author of the Peter Diamond mysteries, well known for their use of surprise, strong characters and hard-to-crack puzzles. He was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2000, the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere, the Anthony, the Ellery Queen Readers' Award and is Grand Master of the Swedish Academy of Detection. He has been a full-time author since 1975, and was formerly in further education. Earlier series include the Sergeant Cribb mysteries seen on TV and the Bertie, Prince of Wales novels. The Diamond novels, set in Bath, England, where Peter lived for some years, feature a burly, warm-hearted, but no-nonsense police detective whose personal life becomes as engaging to the reader as the intricate mysteries he solves. His team in Bath CID includes the ex-journo Ingeborg Smith, the long-serving Keith Halliwell and the meticulous John Leaman, all involved in what is essentially a fair-play procedural mystery series. Peter and his wife Jax, who co-scripted the TV series, have a son, Phil, also a teacher and mystery writer, and a daughter Kathy, who was a Vice-President of J.P.Morgan-Chase, and now lives with her family in Greenwich, Ct. Peter currently lives in Chichester, England. His website at www.peterlovesey.com gives fuller details of his life and books. "Try him. You'll love him," wrote the doyen of the mystery world, Otto Penzler, in the New York Sun.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A playful homage to the classic whodunit, June 12, 2000

By 

Sheila L. Beaumont (South Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bloodhounds (Paperback)

The Bloodhounds of Bath are a group of eccentric mystery readers with disparate tastes: Shirley-Ann, who reads all sorts of mysteries, "even the dreadful ones"; Miss Chilmark, who is obsessed with Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose"; Milo, who likes the classic puzzle story; Jessica, who specializes in female-P.I. novels; Rupert, who's into hard-boiled, noir crime fiction and sneers at cozies as fairy tales for grown-ups with arrested development; Sid, an extreme introvert who's a John Dickson Carr fan; and Polly, the tactful group chairwoman. One of the members is found dead in a locked-room situation on a houseboat called the Mrs. Hudson. And somebody has carried off a major heist after sending a cryptic riddle message to the news media challenging the police to stop the crime. Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond, who has been yearning for a puzzling case to work on, has reason to believe the murder and the theft are related. "Bloodhounds" is replete with playful references and allusions to a wide range of detective fiction. It's a very well-written and cleverly plotted mystery, with lots of interesting characters, that will appeal to readers who like traditional whodunits. And for John Dickson Carr fans, it's one that definitely should not be missed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Negative reviews notwithstanding, this was a lot of fun., September 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bloodhounds (Paperback)

This is the first Peter Lovesey novel I've read, and it was done well enough that I'd willingly read others. The attraction for me was the locked room aspect, as this is my favorite variety of classic puzzler, or "cozy" if you will. Although the puzzle itself fooled me, I admit it's not up to the level of the master, John Dickson Carr. Even so, it was grounded in a greater procedural realism than you find in Carr, and that in itself lent greater plausibility to the story. Locked room mysteries at their best are pretty far-fetched, but Bloodhounds contains one that's more believable than most. The discussions of classic mystery novels are appealing but, despite another reviewer's comments, do not overshadow the story itself. The characters are well-drawn if not necessarily explored in depth, and the pace is very good. I have no qualms about recommending this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Have enjoyed the entire series!, August 18, 2008

By 

G. D. Fuller (Mechanicsburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bloodhounds: A Peter Diamond Investigation (Soho Crime) (Paperback)

I came upon Lovesey quite by accident & have been pleasantly surprised & entertained. I have now read all 8 of the series featuring the curmudgeonly Inspector Peter Diamond & they make for a quick, enjoyable romp. These are not taunt thrillers but tongue-in-cheek good old fashioned murder mysteries, set in Bath, England. Diamond & his team solve their puzzles one piece at a time in the way good Policemen do. I heartily recommend these engaging stories.