COP TO CORPSE in 2012

Hero to zero.

Cop to Corpse.

One minute PC Harry Tasker is strolling up Walcot Street, Bath, on foot patrol. The next he is shot through the head. No scream, no struggle, no last words. He is picked off, felled, dead.

Peter’s new book appears from Sphere in the UK on 5 April, 2012 and from Soho Press in the USA in June, 2012. Bath detective Peter Diamond takes on the most dangerous assignment of his career when he goes in search of the Somerset Stalker, a killer who is targeting policemen in West Country towns. After a constable from Diamond’s own police station is murdered in the small hours of a Sunday morning a desperate hunt follows. Action, menace and courage in the face of extreme danger are the driving forces of this story laced with the surprises that always lie in wait in a Lovesey novel.

2011: The Stagestruck Year

The publication of STAGESTRUCK was the major event in Peter’s year. Featuring his regular detective, Superintendent Peter Diamond, it is set largely in the 250-year-old Theatre Royal, Bath, in a week when a production of I am a Camera is blighted by maiming and murder. The famous butterfly superstition and the theatre ghost enrich the mystery and suspense. The plot is complicated by Diamond’s theatre phobia. He must conquer his fear of entering the place before he can trap the killer.

STAGESTRUCK was picked by the Daily Mail of 16 December as its top-rated Classic Whodunit of 2011. Barry Turner wrote: "May I be forgiven for describing Peter Lovesey as an old pro? It is truly meant as a compliment. With his ever-fresh reworking of the classic formula he never fails to intrigue and mystify. Stagestruck is one of his best."

STAGESTRUCK was also picked for the New York Times Notable Books of 2011 by Marilyn Stasio, who praised it as a "civilized British detective story."

Marilyn Stasio wrote in the New York Times:

“A brilliantly conceived and smartly executed mystery set in the hallowed Theater Royal of Bath … As always, the plot’s the thing with Lovesey, and the solution to the mystery of Clarion’s disfigurement, while arrived at fair and square, is stunning. But the story also has genuine depth and dimension. Working from the droll premise that most of us are stage-struck hams at heart, Lovesey rolls out satirical character sketches of a flamboyant copper who ‘makes a song and dance out of everything,’ an aristocratic trustee who stages amateur shows on the lawn of his stately home, and Diamond’s own superior officer, anxious about her debut in her opera society’s production of ‘SweeneyTodd.’ The only person immune to the allure of the stage is Diamond, whose revulsion for all things theatrical is another minor but intriguing puzzle to be solved before the lights can go up on this dark mystery and the show can finally go on.”

Tom Nolan wrote in the Wall Street Journal:

“Master of Moods, From Comic to Grim … In Stagestruck, the 11th book in the series, the puzzling events in Diamond’s latest investigation begin with the facial burns suffered by a fading pop singer in the first moments of her debut as an actress … It proves a challenging assignment for Diamond. The gruff detective has suffered a lifelong, inexplicable fear of being inside theatres. The phobia began in childhood, but he hasn’t a clue what caused it. His female boss suggests that he sees a psychiatrist (‘This is in danger of becoming an obsession’); but the investigator takes a more direct approach, tracking down an old teacher who may be able to shine light on a long-ago trauma. … Mr Lovesey is a wizard at mixing character-driven comedy with realistic-to-grim suspense.” Read the article in full on the Articles page.

Publishers Weekly in its starred review wrote:

“At the start of Lovesey’s superb 11th mystery featuring Det. Supt. Peter Diamond, pop singer-turned-actress Clarion Calhoun collapses on stage at Bath’s Theater Royal … After the clever reveal of the main criminal, many readers will go back to the beginning to see how artfully a main clue was planted. Once again, Lovesey proves he has few peers as a crafter of contemporary fair-play whodunits.”

In the UK, the Diamond series has been optioned for television. Peter’s appearance at the Bath Literary Festival was fully booked within a couple of days of being announced. A launch party was held in the Theatre Royal. And Reader’s Digest have bought the rights to produce a special edition.

In America, Peter completed a ten city tour in July, including an appearance at the American Library Association Conference in New Orleans. Two of the world’s best-selling mystery writers have endorsed Peter’s writing. 2011 Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America SARA PARETSKY has written an appreciation of Peter. Author of the brilliant “alphabet” series that began with A is for Alibi, SUE GRAFTON, has joined Peter in a dialogue for Amazon.com. Read both pieces in full on the Articles page.

Peter’s 2009 novel, Skeleton Hill, also featuring Peter Diamond, received the best reviews of his career.

"Diamond is a classic — better catch him while you can."
Marilyn Stasio (New York Times)

"Lovesey’s combination of wit, deduction and great characters is on display in a cunning mystery that would make Agatha Christie envious."
Margaret Cannon (Toronto Globe & Mail)

"Lovesey, who’s won every prize going, deserves another for Diamond’s tenth."
(Kirkus Reviews)

"One of the best opening lines I’ve read in years … Lovesey is famous for the fine craftsmanship of his cunning plots, along with a gentle wit and a clear eye for human foibles, and this 10th book in the Diamond series is a perfect showcase for all those skills."
Mat Coward (Morning Star)

"Thank goodness for Peter Lovesey. When you pick up a book with his name on it, you can always be assured of a good read … he’s a master of it all — characterisation, atmosphere, plot."
Tom & Enid Schantz (Denver Post)

"Peter Lovesey is the real deal."
Adam Woog (The Seattle Times)

"Our hero is rediscovering life, and his company is a joy."
Clea Simon (Boston Globe)

"One of the year’s best novels by a master storyteller."
George Easter (Deadly Pleasures)

"I could have cried when I finished this one — I may not read another mystery this good for a long time to come."
Roberta Rood (Books to the Ceiling)

See a clip of Peter introduced by Barbara Peters at the Poisoned Pen bookshop in Scottsdale, Arizona on YouTube