Peter Lovesey

Bertie: The Complete Prince of Wales Mysteries

Bertie: The Complete Prince of Wales Mysteries collects all three of Peter Lovesey’s charming and thrilling Bertie adventures in a single volume for the first time.

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales – Bertie, as he’s known – is the eldest son of Queen Victoria, and future King Edward VII. Bertie is a pleasure seeker, always searching out the best meals, the most beautiful women, and the most lavish parties.

As Prince Regent, Bertie is expected to behave like a proper royal and avoid scandal. Instead, his love of excitement leads him to a decidedly unprincely hobby: sleuthing. Bertie is not the best detective, but that does not stop him from trying to solve every case that crosses his path, including the feverish suicide of the greatest jockey of the century, the mysterious death of a member of the royal hunting party, and the murder of the son-in-law of an old friend.

US Publisher: Soho Crime, 2019 ISBN: 1-64129-049-8

Praise for the Prince of Wales mysteries

“Delightfully humorous . . . No one is more fun than Bertie.”
— Associated Press

“An utterly charming series . . . What a delight!”
— The New York Times

“Lovesey proved himself the world’s foremost concocter of latter-day Victoriana in his series of mysteries built around Sergeant Cribb . . . The rueful, candid voice he gives to the fleshy prince rings true, the details of the horse-racing and music-hall worlds are vivid, and much of the tale is sweetly funny.”
— Time

“An engaging conundrum in the tradition of Agatha Christie.”
— Philadelphia Inquirer

“Seamlessly plotted, populated with a dynamic cast, and often howlingly funny.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer

Beau Death

Launched December 2017 in UK and USA

Beau Death opens with a wrecking ball crashing into the roof of a small terraced house in Bath. When the dust has cleared, a skeleton in eighteenth century clothes is revealed. Can this possibly be Richard ‘Beau’ Nash, the man who by force of personality turned a Somerset backwater into the most fashionable city in Britain? Clues emerge that suggest as much and, more worryingly, that a murder was committed.

Peter Diamond and his team are reluctantly put to work on what seems an impossible historical quest. Then a modern murder is committed in front of a vast audience at the World Fireworks Competition right next to the Royal Crescent. This apparently unconnected killing galvanizes the team but has the unexpected effect of bringing Beau Nash and his death to centre stage.

Through a series of bizarre occurrences, the Beau refuses to be side-lined. Diamond is by turns mystified, angry and close to paranoia. Under such pressure can he solve both cases? Regular readers may guess the answer, but of course Diamond never relies on guesswork.

UK Publisher:
Sphere 14 December 2017 ISBN: 978-0751570687

US Publisher:
Soho Crime 5 December 2017 ISBN: 978-1616959050

The Critics’ Verdict on Beau Death

‘Astonishingly convincing and inventive . . . The two things you need to get you through the winter in one piece are the flu jab and a Lovesey whodunnit.’
Mat Coward in The Morning Star

‘A first-rate mystery. Peter Lovesey rarely puts a foot wrong.’
Barry Turner in The Daily Mail

‘Peter Lovesey – the dean of English mystery novelists – remains as ingenious as ever in Beau Death.’
Michael Dirda in The Washington Post

‘Beau Death is a doozy . . . Lovesey seems to have outdone himself with the labyrinthine maze of multiple murders and mysterious conundrums.’
Robert Alan Papinchek in The Strand Magazine

‘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.’
Margaret Cannon in The Toronto Globe & Mail

‘The book, I am happy to say, is as tightly plotted and absorbing as the best of Lovesey’s long-running series.’
Adam Woog in The Seattle Times

‘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 “the18th-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.’
Marilyn Stasio in The New York Times

‘It’s a mystery that could easily be played for farce, but Lovesey employs his dry, caustic humor to cutting effect.’
Lloyd Sachs in The Chicago Tribune

‘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.’
Doug Childers in The Richmond Times Dispatch

‘Lovesey moves from one dexterously nested puzzle to the next with all the confidence of a magician who knows the audience won’t see through his deceptions no matter how slowly he unveils them.’
Kirkus Reviews

‘The plot is one of Lovesey’s cleverest and the book is full of his trademark wry humor.’
Publishers Weekly

‘It is a wonderful series which rivals in quality the best of Reginald Hill (Dalziel & Pascoe) and Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse). What’s not to like about the irascible and brilliant Peter Diamond? And how in the world does Peter Lovesey come up with the fascinatingly intricate plots based on esoteric subjects and backgrounds? A marvellous read and an extraordinary series by a proven pro.’
George Easter in Deadly Pleasures

‘One of the best entries in a long-running series, this exceptional police procedural is packed with imperfect and engaging characters, sophisticated plotting, and abundantly detailed historical tidbits.’
Library Journal

‘Highly readable . . . Mr Lovesey moves from a hilarious launching of the plot to a delectable collection of vivid characters and an avalanche of clues.’
Muriel Dobbin in The Washington Times

‘There’s plenty of suspense here – action too – all told in Lovesey’s effortlessly elegant manner.’
Booklist

‘Mystery fans who are just discovering Lovesey will no doubt be delighted to find that he has such a rich and deep back catalog to enjoy. His Grand Master award is well-deserved indeed.’
Sue Trowbridge in The Saturday Reader

‘If you like your police procedurals intriguing, solid and well-written, Lovesey’s your man – just as he’s been for dad and grandad.’
Jon Wise in Weekend Sport

‘Beau Death is a delight and an incentive to investigate other Detective Peter Diamond mysteries.’
Toni V Sweeney in the New York Journal of Books

‘He’s a wonderful entertainer . . . For me, Peter Lovesey’s characterisation, humour and plotting are key, and I’m glad to report that these are here in abundance.’
Martin Edwards in Do You Write Under Your Own Name?

‘As Beau Death elegantly demonstrates, nobody is better than Lovesey at mixing puzzle and procedural. Diamond with his mordant humor is, as always, razor sharp and thoroughly engaging.’
Irma Heldman in Open Letters Monthly

‘Lovesey’s signature understated humor, often historical and at times hysterical, finds its way onto pretty much every page.’
Bruce Tierney in BookPage

‘Beau Death is simply terrific . . . The humor is dry, but it is there in spades, as is the clever, puzzling and unforgettable mystery.’
Joe Hartlaub in 20SomethingReads

‘Beau Death is an absolute delight to read . . . There’s a very good reason why he has won lifetime achievement awards: he knows how to tell a tale that will keep you hooked from first page to last.’
Cathy in Kittling:Books

‘Why we really look forward every year to Peter Diamond’s return is Lovesey’s calm, professional mastery of the elements of crime fiction . . . Although there’s nor a sprig of holly, not a flake of snow in sight, Beau Death would make a splendid gift.’
Yvonne Klein in ReviewingtheEvidence.com

‘Peter Lovesey has created an intricate and multi-layered puzzle . . . Fans of Ian Rankin, Peter Robinson and Deborah Crombie are sure to love Beau Death.’
Jessica Howard in Shelf Awareness

Another One Goes Tonight

A Peter Diamond Mystery

Another One Goes Tonight was published in July 2016 by Sphere in the UK and Soho Crime in the USA.

Peter Diamond, the Bath detective brilliant at rooting out murder, is peeved at being diverted to Professional Standards to enquire into a police car accident. Arriving late at the scene, he discovers an extra victim thrown onto an embankment – unconscious and unnoticed. Diamond administers CPR, but no one can say whether the elderly tricyclist will pull through.

But why had the man been out in the middle of the night with an urn containing human ashes? Diamond’s suspicions grow after he identifies the accident victim as Ivor Pellegrini, a well-known local eccentric and railway enthusiast. A search of Pellegrini’s workshop proves beyond question that he is involved in a series of uninvestigated deaths. While Pellegrini lingers on life support, Diamond wrestles with the appalling possibility that he has saved the life of a serial killer. Only a full-on murder investigation will uncover the truth.

UK Publisher: Sphere 7 July 2016 ISBN: 978-0751564655
US Publisher: Soho Crime 5 July 2016 ISBN: 978-1616957582

Paeons of Praise for Another One Goes Tonight:

‘”You’re on your own in this game,” Peter Lovesey gives fair warning in Another One Goes Tonight, his latest impeccably constructed mystery featuring the unpredictable but ever-entertaining Detective Peter Diamond of the Bath Constabulary . . . For all the witty jabs taken at English eccentricities, this is a classic whodunit. As Diamond notes, “Taken as problem solving, plotting a murder could be treated like any other engineering project, constructing a turbine or a tunnel.” The same might be said of deconstructing a good murder mystery.”
Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

‘Edgar-finalist Lovesey’s superior 16th whodunit featuring Det. Supt. Peter Diamond (after 2015’s Down Among the Dead Men) offers fair play fans a delightfully clever puzzle that toys with their expectations . . . Lovesey taunts readers with extracts from what appears to be a serial killer’s diary while building up to an ingenious final reveal that highlights his gift for misdirection.’
Publishers Weekly

‘Lovesey’s fans will be overjoyed to watch his series hero, Diamond – smart, obstinate, slyly funny – back in action and they’ll love just as much being made into chumps by a complex plot that the author takes pains eventually to clarify – just before he lets us know we’ve missed everything. Pacing, dialogue, exposition, backstory – nobody handles them better than Lovesey, who always writes elegantly while spinning a tough-minded police procedural.’
Booklist

‘Another absorbing, resourceful English procedural from one of the best.’
Kirkus Reviews

Peter Lovesey sprang to success when his first book won a crime fiction competition. Since then he has collected almost every prize there is, at home and internationally . . . A series of surprises leads up to a skilful and unexpected solution. Another triumph for the old master.
Jessica Mann in the Literary Review

‘If you’re looking for a perfect summer holiday read, pick up Another One Goes Tonight by Peter Lovesey . . . Marvellous misdirection crowns a cunning story, told with gentle humour.’
Mat Coward, Morning Star

‘The story is engaging from the very first scene. Lovesey’s storytelling is darkly funny, with richly drawn characters, detailed police procedure, brilliant dialogue and impeccable plotting.’
Steve Steinbock, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

‘Peter Lovesey is a master of the intricately plotted murder mystery . . . This is easily one of the best and most entertaining mysteries I’ve read in a long time.’
Joseph Scarpato Jr, Mystery Scene

‘With his ear for authentic dialogue laced with black humour, Peter Lovesey opens a tale that is at once improbable but totally convincing. It takes a five-star crime writer to pull off that trick.’
Barry Turner, Daily Mail

‘Awards, including lifetime achievement awards from Malice Domestic (the Agathas) and the Crime Writers Association (the Daggers) have already accrued to Peter Lovesey; yet he continues to produce mysteries that are entertaining, insightful and witty. Another One Goes Tonight is the sixteenth Peter Diamond investigation, and it showcases the author’s clever plotting . . . brilliantly puzzling story.’
Robert C. Hahn, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

‘Peter Lovesey, where have you been all my life? I just met you in book 16 of your series starring the curmudgeonly Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond . . . My bookshelves sag with British authors’ series, so how the heck did I miss Peter Lovesey? No more, my friends, no more. What can be more delightful than finding a witty and erudite author with a huge backlist to devour like chocolate ganache bon bons?’
Roz Shea, Bookreporter.com

‘Delightful . . . the brilliance of the slightly cantankerous and overweight detective superintendent still shines strong. Bringing the beautiful city of Bath and the political problems plaguing modern police departments vividly to life, Another One Goes Tonight is an irresistible entry in the Diamond series.’
Shelf Awareness

‘The character are colourful and engaging; the dialogue is witty; and Lovesey’s prose carries readers effortlessly along a fairly lengthy book. Plus, his puzzle-making skills are top-notch. Matching wits with Diamond makes for a pleasant night’s entertainment. But you’re unlikely to solve the mystery before he does. Lovesey is a master of the genre.’
Doug Childers, Richmond Times-Dispatch

‘If you love to read a mystery that has a wonderfully convoluted plot with lots of misdirection, get your hands on Peter Lovesey’s Another One Goes Tonight: it is a delight. Fast pace. Marvelous plot. Plenty of humor. Stolen treasures. Good solid police work. Another One Goes Tonight is just plain fun to read.’
Kittling Books

‘Peter Lovesey writes some of the most interesting and intricately complex mysteries published today, and Another One Goes Tonight is no exception . . . An absolute thrill.’
Mysterious Reviews

‘Lovesey lays out a classic British mystery here, full of lively twists. Put this one on the summer reading list for pure enjoyment.’
Kingdom Books

‘A sound professional approach to crime, with clues readers can ponder, red herrings to lead them astray . . . who better to turn to for all this, along with an impeccable style and sly wit, than that consummate professional, Peter Lovesey?’
Reviewing the Evidence

‘Lovesey’s prose is so smooth and economic – no wasted words and no dry spots. Just pure reading pleasure. Another One Goes Tonight is a wonderful homage to the puzzle mysteries of the Golden Age, with the added bonus of characters who are fully fleshed out. . . . Long live Peter Lovesey!’
George Easter, Deadly Pleasures

‘The twists and turns; the multiple plotting that leads Diamond in the end to the right answer is never bullying or inhumane; and it is Lovesey’s humanity which makes him the popular – and admired – author he has been for decades.’
Ruth Morse, Crimetime.co.uk

‘Another One Goes Tonight is the latest entry in Peter Lovesey’s long-running series featuring Bath cop Peter Diamond. And the first thing to say is that it’s a hugely enjoyable read with a discursive but ingenious plot in which a whole bunch of inter-related strands are brought together quite splendidly at the end . . . This novel is an example of Peter Lovesey at his best and I recommend it highly.’
Martin Edwards, Do You Write Under Your Own Name?

Foreword To The Last Detective

by Louise Penny

(This text appears in the 2014 Soho Press edition of The Last Detective)

Welcome to THE LAST DETECTIVE, a novel that changed the face of detective fiction when it was released in 1991. It broke every template, every tradition, every ‘rule’ of the genre. Indeed, not only does Peter Lovesey break the rules with this book, so does his brilliant new protagonist. To say that Superintendent Peter Diamond, of the Bath Regional Police, is unruly would be a gross understatement.

Peter Diamond is impatient, belligerent, cunning, insightful, foul, laugh-out-loud funny, and so engaging that this wondrous book went on to spawn a series. The Peter Diamond books have won major awards for crime fiction internationally, hit bestseller lists, and inspired a generation of crime writers who saw that a novel can be a police procedural, a traditional mystery, an exploration of social issues. It can be literary, terrifying, funny, comforting all at once.

And it all started with the book that you hold in your hands.

As you’ll discover as you read THE LAST DETECTIVE, Peter Lovesey also plays with perspective, with the trustworthiness of the narrator, with your loyalties as a reader. And he does this by engaging not just your head, but your heart. What is crime fiction, after all, without caring?

THE LAST DETECTIVE is not simply a puzzle to be solved. It delves into why we do the things we do. Our choices. The suspect’s, the victim’s, the detective’s choices.

But at it’s heart, at the core, stands the conflicted, human, unpredictable man who will become our companion through the series. Peter Diamond. Who often seems to have a life independent of what his creator might have planned. And such is the mark of a great creation, and a brave writer. Peter Lovesey lets Diamond live and breathe and head off in unexpected, and endlessly fascinating, directions.

I am so excited for you, to be at the very beginning of this trend-setting, beautifully written, vivid series.

On a personal note, I first met Peter Lovesey at a Crime Writers Association awards gala in London, before my first book had even been published. He was hosting a table and I was so in awe of him I could barely look in his direction, never mind speak. But he made the unknown Canadian and her husband feel like the most important and precious people in the room.

I have long loved Peter Lovesey’s books. That day I fell in love with the man.

He went on to read, and endorse, my first book, which was generous beyond description and made a huge difference to my career. In a profession rich with supportive colleagues, Peter Lovesey manages to be in a category all his own. A creative, courageous and gifted writer, who is also a gracious, generous and kind man. A gentleman.

This is a wonderful book. The beginning of a superb series. It is such a pleasure to introduce you to one of the great (and thankfully not the last) detectives in crime fiction.

Down Among The Dead Men

A Peter Diamond Mystery

Starred review in Booklist: “Diamond is a wonderfully rounded character whose lines are witty and whose observations about people’s characters and motives are brilliantly insightful. Vintage Diamond mystery, spiced by his comic encounters with his supervisor: a must for devotees of character-driven British crime fiction.”

Down Among The Dead Men was published in July 2015 by Sphere in the UK and Soho Crime in the USA.

A nightmare discovery in the boot of a stolen BMW plunges car thief Danny Stapleton into the worst trouble of his life. So what links his misfortune to the arrival of charming art teacher Tom Standforth at a private school for girls in Chichester? In the local police, a senior detective is accused of misconduct and another force is called in to investigate. Orders from above propel Peter Diamond of Bath CID into a situation that has him reluctantly dealing with spirited schoolgirls, eccentric artists and his formidable old colleague, Hen Mallin.
Multi-award-winning author Peter Lovesey returns with a twisty tale that will delight fans of the series and draw in anyone who loves pitch-perfect traditional British crime fiction.

UK Publisher: Sphere 2 July 2015 ISBN: 978-0751558876
US Publisher: Soho Crime 7 July 2015 ISBN: 978-1616956264

Praise For DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN:

“What’ll it be today? A knotty puzzle mystery? A fast-paced police procedural? Something more high-toned, with a bit of wit? With the British author Peter Lovesey, there’s no need to make these agonizing decisions, because his books have it all . . . a resolution that is technically brilliant, subversively funny and – quite brave of him – rather cruel.”
Marilyn Stasio in the New York Times

“This is the best mystery I’ve read in the past few years, and one of Lovesey’s best.”
Joseph Scarpato Jr in Mystery Scene

“Lovesey’s style is pure joy. He tells a rattling good story without ever resorting to the literary pretensions that bedevil so much crime fiction. His characters are never less than believable.”
Barry Turner in the Daily Mail

“Diamond fans will be delighted by this instalment in the long-running series, which sees Lovesey on absolutely top form.”
Mat Coward in the Morning Star

“Lovesey is a masterful plotter, and that alone would earn him praise and fans, but his characters are memorable, and Diamond is a glittering gem among them. In addition to those strengths Lovesey adds wit, humor, and finely structured prose.”
Robert C Hahn in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

“Vintage Diamond mystery, spiced by his comic encounters with his superior; a must for devotees of character-driven British crime fiction.”
Booklist

“Practice makes perfect, as evidenced by the latest Peter Lovesey novel . . . a fine beach read – heck, a great fireside chair read, a straphanger commuter read, a stolen-moments-during-a-busy-day read, an anytime read.”
Carolyn Haley in New York Journal of Books

“The Diamond-and-Dallymore” pairing is a devilishly inspired bit of story crafting, and it generates enough tension to fuel a handful of entertaining books.”
Doug Childers in Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Master craftsman Lovesey weaves his threads to make a spider’s web of theories, evidence and incidents that he finally spins together into a silken bow of a present for us all at the finish.”
Stephen Thornley in Shots

“Simply delicious . . . Peter Lovesey is a master of the police procedural. His high quality writing is always a joy to read. I especially liked this one.”
George Easter in Deadly Pleasures

“This is a wonderful and compelling read crafted by a master of mystery and intrigue and I urge you all to read it. Highly recommended.”
Maggie Hayes in Mystery People

“I had trouble putting the book down. Just had to keep reading and putting life on hold until the last page. Great plotting and exciting action!”
Audrey Lawrence in Fresh Fiction

“Peter Lovesey is a marvel. If you love or even like mysteries, he needs to be at the top of your must-read list.”
Joe Hartlaub in 20SomethingReads

“Lovesey’s plotting is smart, his style engaging and drily funny.”
Steve Steinbeck in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

“I really enjoyed this very gripping book which had such an unusual plot . . . Extremely well recommended.”
Terry Halligan in Eurocrime

“Another terrific book in this series . . . Highly recommended.”
Betsy in Mysterious Reviews

“This is the kind of clever densely packed puzzle we don’t see much these days and it’s neatly plotted by the award-winning master of the British police procedural.”
Janice Okun in the Buffalo News

“An excellent entry in a consistently good series.”
Barbara Fister in Reviewing the Evidence

Every step of the way, the plot becomes more fascinating and compelling, complicated and wonderful in the way the threads are finally joined . . . a wonderful, satisfying read.”
L.J.Roberts in Booksaremagic

“Diamond is always witty, erudite and thoroughly engaging. Here, the verbal jousting between Dallymore and Diamond adds a delightful dimension. Peter Lovesey’s Down Among the Dead Men gives us Diamond at his best.”
Irma Heldman in Open Letters Monthly

“When you finish reading Down Among the Dead Men, you’ll have a smile on your face, knowing that you’ve just been given a lesson in deduction by a master.”
Cathy in Kittling:Books