The Last Detective (Deluxe Edition) [J0020]

2024 - PB eissue of a book first published in 1991. Nice clean condition "I am so excited for you to be at the very beginning of this trend-setting, beautifully written, vivid series."-from the introduction by LOUISE PENNY The first installment in one of crime fiction's most enjoyable, iconic series-now featuring a rare peek into Diamond's origins and the author's process in bringing him to life. A woman's body has been found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath. There are no marks on her and no murder weapon. No one will identify her. It looks like Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond has his work cut out for him. Diamond is one of the last detectives of his kind, a gumshoe whose heroes solved crimes by question and answer, door stepping and deduction. To unravel this one, Diamond must locate two missing letters attributed to Jane Austen and defy his superiors in order to save a woman unjustly accused of murder. Over thirty years and twenty-one subsequent novels, Peter Lovesey has bewitched his enormous fandom with the wry, stubborn, and fiendishly clever Peter Diamond. The Last Detective started it all, and it is now reissued in a gorgeous deluxe edition featuring an introduction by Louise Penny, an afterword by the author, and fascinating true-crime context describing how this book came to be.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Great start to a series. I'll be reading more of these."; "At the heart of the novel is Peter Diamond himself. He's gruff, old-fashioned, and proudly skeptical of gadgets, computers, and the creeping rise of forensic science. Instead, he trusts people; reading their expressions, catching their inconsistencies, and leaning on instinct honed through years of experience. He is flawed (an understatement!) - grumpy, prickly, opinionated stubborn, and sometimes downright unlikeable... and often at odds with his own team, but his doggedness makes him endlessly compelling. You can't help but enjoy watching him bulldoze through suspects and bureaucracy alike."; "Discovering a new writer is always a pleasure. Even more so, when you know if you like this one, there's an entire series of books to come.

I actually didn't like Peter Diamond at first. To the point of almost wondering if I should bother continuing. You do want to like your detective afterall. Still, that's rather the charm of it. This overweight, loud, impetuous character grows on you. And you like him despite his flaws. The book's crafting, pace, perspective, plot and writing all come together to create detective fiction gold. I may never read a Patterson book again. For this, I truly thank you Peter Lovesey!"