Stormy

Very clever

Revisado: 03-04-24

f you like reading police procedurals and haven’t read any of the Detective Peter Diamond books yet, I highly recommend starting with this one. It’s perfect as a standalone book even though it is the tenth in a series.

I’m enjoying the entire series and this one has of the best plots in my opinion. Author Peter Lovesey creates memorable and believable characters that really remind me of people I have met. Something I especially love about this particular book is that the team dynamics of the crime investigation squad are improving. In previous books, Detective Diamond was inconsiderate, and sometimes outright rude, to his staff. In this book, he’s more self aware and makes a conscious effort to be a much better manager. This makes him significantly more likable for me to read about and I am wholeheartedly rooting for him.

The crime-solving elements of this story are superbly executed. A cold case and a contemporary case are linked, and along the way we learn about race horses, Eastern European immigrants, human trafficking, and battle reenactments.

It’s a terrific read! I got it for free with my Audible subscription and the narration was top notch too.

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DS Diamond is too irritable

Revisado: 02-27-24

I liked The Secret Hangman but not as much as most of the other books in the Peter Diamond series. The plot didn’t thrill me and I took my time reading this one. Detective Superintendent Diamond started off as a surly character in book one, but became more good humored with each subsequent episode, which I liked . Now in this book he’s more irritable than ever and I was put off by that.

I still intend to keep reading the series in order. I got this audiobook for free with my Audible subscription. Narrator Simon Preble was flawless.

I’m giving The Secret Hangman 3.5 stars and I always round up.

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Exciting plot

Revisado: 02-19-24

I loved the plot and pacing and didn’t want to put it down. Detective Peter Diamond teams up with a Detective from the author’s other series, and the two strong personalities have fantastic chemistry. Two murders might be connected, and a murderer has written a manifesto naming additional targets. I was very invested in the police stopping the murderer and protecting the people on the list. This book is full of interesting and memorable characters.

I am enjoying this series immensely and am starting the next book immediately!

I got this book free with my Audible subscription and I suggest you download it too. You don’t need to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one.

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Big shock

Revisado: 02-14-24

I am hooked on the Peter Diamond detective series. If you like police procedural stories, I recommend reading Diamond Dust. It’s 7th in the series but I think it’s accessible to someone who hasn’t read any of the previous books in the series.

Like all the books, it takes place in Bath, England, and the descriptions are vivid and interesting and give the reader a feel for the city.

This book has a few big shocks and lots more character development of Detective Diamond. I bought this book with one of my Audible credits and I liked the narration.

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Powerful and hard hitting

Revisado: 02-10-24

I will be thinking about this gut wrenching book for the rest of my life. The author has deep insights into human nature and every character is completely believable as a real person. The characters’ motivations and behaviors are nuanced and complex. The way this book impacted my emotions and understanding of people is right up there with My Dark Vanessa and I Know This Much Is True.

I loved this book and recommend it highly to anyone who is looking to read something that explores both the darkness in people and their capacity for healing, forgiveness, and change.

The narrator for Trinity was very good and the narrator for Rachel was exceptionally talented. She sounds exactly the age and personality of the character she is portraying and she truly acted the part more than just reading it.

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Smartly written

Revisado: 02-02-24

The Vault is another solid police procedural in the Peter Diamond series. Detective Diamond has a logical and calm way of working his cases that I find comforting. I feel relaxed knowing that I can rely on author Peter Lovesey to wrap up the mystery by the end of the book.

I also like learning about the rich history of Bath, England as I work my way through this book series. In The Vault, I found out more about Mary Shelley and William Blake.

Audible included this book for free with my membership. The narrator Michael Healy was good except for his attempt to speak in a US American accent for some characters. It was not even close to sounding realistic.

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Memorable characters

Revisado: 01-27-24

Peter Lovesey creates such memorable eccentric characters in his books and this book has my new favorite, Ada. I was laughing out loud at the sassy British expressions coming out of her mouth!

As usual, Superintendent Detective Peter Diamond is faced with a complex set of crimes to investigate in and around Bath, England. The novel skillfully weaves interesting tidbits of the local history into the murder mystery. This particular book explores the subculture of “detectorists,” which I am a little familiar with from the British TV show of that name and enjoyed reading more about.

The main person of interest in this book has amnesia, which is also a trope that I like in novels. (Side note, for a different perspective of a person with amnesia who may be a victim or may be a perpetrator, or may be both, read Where You End by Abbot Kahler).

This is the sixth Peter Diamond book that I have read and I am definitely hooked on the series and hope to read every book in it.

I got the book free with my Audible subscription and I liked the narration very much.

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Complex and intriguing

Revisado: 12-19-23

Even though The Elementals came out over 40 years ago, it still holds up as an interesting haunted house story. I didn’t feel scared reading it but I was intrigued. The setting on a beach in Alabama was brought to life and I was able to picture the environment.

The two main families in the story are peculiar and much of the plot focuses on their family dynamics and doesn’t have anything to do with the supernatural forces. It would be a suspenseful story even without the paranormal subplot because the human characters are complex.

I listened to the book on Audible and the narration was excellent. The narrator was believable in both the Northern and Southern accents.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Slow but overall an ok book

Revisado: 12-18-23

British Detective Peter Diamond doesn’t get much sleep in this fourth novel, as he is investigating multiple interconnected crimes in the historic city of Bath. A crime-fiction book club called The Bloodhounds features heavily in his interrogations, and the whole novel is a send-up of the detective story genre.

Much of the plot is clever, yet it was too slow moving and repetitive for me to really enjoy it. I’m going to continue reading this series because I know the later books will be more entertaining.

I listened to this novel on Audible and I liked the narration very much.

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Everglades City, Florida

Revisado: 12-05-23

This Northerner really liked this Southern Gothic tale. I finished it earlier today and I have already sent texts recommending it to three people I know. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

I listened to the book on Audible and thought the narration was very good. The narrator’s southern accent sounded natural.

Half the book takes place in the Florida Everglades and that made it more special to me since I have spent quite a bit of time there and recognized the landmarks such as Smallwood Store, and know some of the history such as the federal raid on drug dealers.

This novel reminds me of The Little Friend by Donna Tartt because of the rural southern setting and the plot. In that book, a young boy is murdered and the family falls completely apart in the aftermath. Here, a young girl goes missing and the family totally disintegrates.

Parts of The Past is Never were slow and I felt a little bored by the repetitive scenes, such as Mama lying in bed chain smoking and drinking sweet tea. Overall I was engaged and invested in the characters and their fate.

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