Beau Death

October 2, 2017
Det. Supt. Peter Diamond has a very cold case to crack in Edgar-finalist Lovesey’s fine 17th novel featuring the Bath police detective (after 2016’s Another One Goes Tonight). The demolition of a condemned house reveals a gruesome find in the attic: a male skeleton, dressed in 18th-century clothes and seated in a chair. Despite the age of the remains, Diamond’s officious boss, Asst. Chief Constable Georgina Dallymore, insists that he devote his team’s resources to investigating the circumstances of the man’s death. The corpse’s garb suggests that it might belong to Beau Nash, a legendary local rake, who became known as the King of Bath after a suspicious death in a duel elevated him to the position of master of ceremonies for the city’s Vegas-like entertainment and gaming. The prospect of identifying the cause of Nash’s death almost three centuries earlier is daunting, and the stakes rise when the autopsy shows that the dead man was fatally stabbed. The plot is one of Lovesey’s cleverest, and the book is full of his trademark wry humor. Agent: Jane Gelfman, Gelfman Schneider.

October 1, 2017
DS Peter Diamond's 17th outing may be the coldest cold case he's ever seen.When a wrecking crew demolishes a block of 18th-century flats to make room for a new supermarket in the unfashionable Bath neighborhood of Twerton, they make a grisly find: a corpse seated in an armchair in an attic loft. It's a real challenge for Diamond (Another One Goes Tonight, 2016, etc.) to have the remains safely removed from their half-demolished habitat without reducing them to 206 separate bones, and the situation is complicated still further by the discovery that the skeleton's attire is as old as the buildings. Its coal-black wig and white tricorn hat were the trademarks of Richard Nash, the dandy and womanizer widely known as Beau Nash, the first citizen of Bath in his heyday (1674-1761). But what are his remains doing here, far from the site of his recorded death? And is it really Beau or a victim far more recently deceased? Diamond, both daunted and exhilarated by "what promised to be the most sensational murder case of his career," is at first overwhelmed by the historical minutiae he's required to master. Even after his lover, period costume expert Paloma Kean, and Estella Rockingham, Beau's latest biographer, bring him up to speed, his inquiries are obstructed rather than assisted by the long-windedness of pompous forensic pathologist Dr. Claude Waghorn, the unwelcome news that a cocaine-addicted stager of fireworks has been shot to death in the middle of a display honoring Jane Austen and Beau, and Assistant Chief Constable Georgina Dallymore's insistence that Diamond attend a meeting of the Beau Nash Society in full period regalia.Through it all, 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. Next up, presumably: the Avon and Somerset CID investigate the extinction of the dinosaurs.

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November 1, 2017
Here's another of Lovesey's classy entertainments featuring the put-upon, slyly funny, and usually dead-on right Peter Diamond, detective superintendent of the Bath police. This time Diamond shares the spotlight with a chap who's been dead for 300 years, eighteenth-century slick Richard Beau Nash. It was Nash's talent for promotion that turned Bath into a world-class city, though it earned him a pauper's grave. Or maybe not. A headache ball flattening a building has exposed a skeleton wearing Nash-style clothes and bearing marks that point to murder. Diamond dreams of having some fun with conventional Nash scholarship, but a fresh murder claims him, and he must investigate the killing of a modern-day promoter. In hilarious scenes, which have become Lovesey trademarks, the cops traipse about, straining their patience while they interview witnesses who misunderstand the questions or would rather talk about themselves, until Diamond's eye for detail catches the tiny incongruity that brings the solution. There's plenty of suspense hereaction, tooall told in Lovesey's effortlessly elegant manner.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

Starred review from December 1, 2017

A demolished English townhouse reveals a skeleton dressed in 18th-century period clothing; could the body be that of that famous dandy and Bath master of ceremonies Beau Nash? In their 17th outing (after Another One Goes Tonight), Chief Inspector Diamond and his unit dig deep into Bath history to resolve the intriguing case. Also on Diamond's plate is the death of an addict who had staged a fireworks extravaganza honoring Jane Austen and Nash. Diamond is aided--and annoyed--by friend and lover Paloma Kean, ACC Georgina Dallymore, and his stalwart team members. The Bath setting is almost a character in its own right. The wry humor (including scenes of the potbellied Diamond in 18th-century attire attending a social event related to Beau Nash) adds charm to the story line. VERDICT 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. A surefire recommendation for fans of Christopher Fowler's "Bryant and May" series, which is quirkier but has many of the same appeal factors, and J.M. Gregson's crime novels.--ACT

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2017

A demolished English townhouse reveals a skeleton dressed in 18th-century period clothing; could the body be that of that famous dandy and Bath master of ceremonies Beau Nash? In their 17th outing (after Another One Goes Tonight), Chief Inspector Diamond and his unit dig deep into Bath history to resolve the intriguing case. Also on Diamond's plate is the death of an addict who had staged a fireworks extravaganza honoring Jane Austen and Nash. Diamond is aided--and annoyed--by friend and lover Paloma Kean, ACC Georgina Dallymore, and his stalwart team members. The Bath setting is almost a character in its own right. The wry humor (including scenes of the potbellied Diamond in 18th-century attire attending a social event related to Beau Nash) adds charm to the story line. VERDICT 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. A surefire recommendation for fans of Christopher Fowler's "Bryant and May" series, which is quirkier but has many of the same appeal factors, and J.M. Gregson's crime novels.--ACT

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017

After a two-year absence, Chief Inspector Peter Diamond is back, proof that Lovesey is not resting on laurels that include the Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger and Strand's Lifetime Achievement Award. Here, the demolition of some townhouses in Bath yields a skeleton dressed in 1760s clothing, including the distinctive white tricorn hat of notorious rake Beau Nash. Could this be a very cold case that will rewrite history, or are the remains of more recent vintage?

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.