Just as the bidding gets exciting in a Bath auction house, three armed men stage a hold-up and attempt to steal Lot 129, a medieval carving of the Wife of Bath. The highest bidder, appalled to have the prize snatched away, tries to stop them and is shot dead. Peter Diamond, head of the murder squad, soon finds himself sharing an office with the stone wife - until he is ejected. To his extreme annoyance the lump of stone appears to exert a malign influence over him and his investigation. Refusing to be beaten, he rallies his team and begins finding suspects and motives. The case demands that someone goes undercover. The dangerous mission falls to Sergeant Ingeborg Smith, reverting to her journalist persona to get the confidence of a wealthy local criminal through his pop star girlfriend. And soon, murder makes a reappearance ...

The new Peter Diamond case has the eminent detective in pursuit of a murderer after a theft at an auction house goes wrong

About the Author
Peter Lovesey was born in Middlesex and studied at Hampton Grammar School and Reading University, where he met his wife Jax. He won a competition with his first crime fiction novel, Wobble to Death, and has never looked back, with his numerous books winning and being shortlisted for nearly all the prizes in the international crime writing world. He was Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and has been presented with Lifetime Achievement awards both in the UK and the US.

Reviews
With more violence than we normally associate with Lovesey, this is well up to his high standard of story telling. It will hold you to the deckchair even if the sun is not shining Daily Mail In his lengthy career, veteran novelist Peter Lovesey has supplied the most diverting (and elegantly written) crime fiction, very much the case in this latest novel...Lovesey admirers need not hesitate Good Book Guide [A] lively, surprise-filled police procedural Wall Street Journal The murder mystery is solved along traditional lines, but it's the wonderful tidbits of Chaucerian scholarship that enliven the novel New York Times Mr Lovesey more than lives up to his reputation as a brilliant wordsmith, he exceeds it. Superintendent Peter Diamond is a warm, witty and wonderful creation by one of England's most talented crime writers New York Journal of Books Peter Diamond is back, embroiled in a mystery that offers a wealth of wit and a true puzzle linked to a historical literary genius ... As always, the character and his team are sharp, funny, and grab the reader's attention from beginning to end Suspense magazine I consider Lovesey to be the reigning king of British crime fiction Deadly Pleasures Well-plotted, with that lovely unexpected twist at the end that makes mystery fiction so fascinating. Highly recommended Mystery People



Book Information
ISBN 9780751554076
Author Peter Lovesey
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Sphere
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 290g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 126mm * 27mm