Diamond Solitaire: A Peter Diamond Investigation [Paperback]

Peter Lovesey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Fired from the police for insubordination, Peter Diamond is reduced to working as a security guard at Harrod's. There he finds an abandoned Japanese girl after the store closes. He must identify her in order to save her life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lovesey brings back Peter Diamond, the likable, pudgy London copper introduced in 1991's sparkling and precisely plotted The Last Detective . Stripped of his rank, Diamond is working as a Harrods' rent-a-cop--until a young Japanese girl is found hiding in the store during his watch and he receives another pink slip. With time free, he investigates the identity of the youngster, now named Naomi, who remains silent and unclaimed. When she is abducted, Diamond traces her to New York and Japan where a Sumo wrestler agrees to bankroll the ex-copper's highly unofficial investigation. Lovesey's grip on the plot never loosens as Diamond, with gentle humor, bluffs his way past authorities by feigning a clout he no longer possesses. At the beginning of the book, a drug company is rocked by both the death of its president and an explosion at an Italian chemical plant. The ensuing corporate power struggle suggests to ever-observant organized crime factions that a buck might be made, and a murder is arranged. How this fits into the moving tale of the mute girl who draws diamonds on paper to symbolize her new friend is clarified only near the conclusion. It's a powerful moment in a book that, without gimmickry or cross-genre splicing, delivers superb, unashamedly traditional crime writing. Lovesey's mysteries have won awards in England and France; he has previously been nominated for an Edgar, as he could be again for this fine tale. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This Peter Diamond title follows The Last Detective (Doubleday, 1991), which introduced the policeman-turned-security guard. Because a small Japanese girl is found asleep in Harrod's during Diamond's night shift, he loses his job. When he then attempts to establish her identity, someone kidnaps her.
Copyright 1993 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: 327 pages
• Publisher: Soho Crime (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569472920
• ISBN-13: 978-1569472927
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.9 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,626 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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Love Peter Diamond., September 14, 2003

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diamond Solitaire: A Peter Diamond Investigation (Paperback)

I didn't think that I'd find a more likeable detective than Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' Bill Slider, but Peter Diamond is right up there. He's quirky, funny and just tough enough. And Lovesey's other characterizations are just as good. In this book we have a Janpanese Sumo wrestler that engages Diamond to help find a small autistic Japanese girl. She has been abducted from her group home in unexplainable circumstances. With any other author, this plot might appear farcical, but in Lovesey's hands it is inventive, warm and endearing. Of course the character of Peter Diamond makes it that way, but his other characters are wonderfully drawn as well. Diamond is my new favourite!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

G. D. Fuller (Mechanicsburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Diamond Solitaire: A Peter Diamond Investigation (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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Diamond Solitaire is a gem!, August 21, 2007

By 

Foleyscale (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diamond Solitaire: A Peter Diamond Investigation (Paperback)

This was my first introduction to Peter Diamond. I was very puzzled by the plot of this novel. While it was entertaining and well written, I couldn't imagine how it would all hang together. I kept reading and was richly rewarded by Lovesey's brilliant and satisfying conclusion. He managed to tie in all the disparate elements together and provide resolution. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.