Killing with Confetti

July 1, 2019
Edgar finalist Lovesey tries the patience of whodunit fans by delaying the murder for much of his tricky 18th novel featuring Bath CID Supt. Peter Diamond (after 2017’s Beau Death). When Deputy Chief Const. George Brace learns that the father of his son’s fiancée is notorious gang lord Joe Irving, who’s about to be released from prison, he worries that Joe’s freedom will make him a target for his underworld rivals. Brace taps Diamond to ensure that the wedding comes off without Joe being assassinated at either the ceremony or the reception. Scenes from the perspective of an unidentified sniper trying to get Joe in his sights raise the tension. Eventually, blood is shed, transforming the plot from a cat-and-mouse yarn into an impossible crime mystery. A prologue, set three years earlier, depicts a sophisticated scheme to break prisoners, including Joe, out of their high-security facility. Its relevance eventually becomes chillingly clear. Lovesey connects the dots plausibly and, as always, lightens the mood with dry wit. Even at less than his best, Lovesey satisfies. Agent: Jane Gelfman, Gelfman Schneider.

July 1, 2019
Fans of adorable sourpuss?and brilliant detective?Peter Diamond of the Bath, England, constabulary's Criminal Investigation Division will have to wait nearly 80 pages for the old charmer to show up. Lovesey, of the urbane wordplay and sucker-punch plotting, has some grim business to get out of the way first. A woman governor of a hard-case prison is kidnapped, in a wrenching scene that ends with "metal on metal. Shattered glass." Then we meet the daughter of an especially vicious crime lord, announcing her engagement to the son of Diamond's boss, who fears this development will end his career. The situation worsens, though the opportunity for Loveseyan high comedy flowers, when Diamond is commanded to provide wedding security. He visits the firing range. He buys cool clothes. He's not ready for what happens as the ceremony begins. As the tensions crank up, we're treated to Lovesey's enchanting style: "Crosswinds were twisting the rain into shapes like folds of fabric." Then the killer is exposed. Don't believe anyone who says, "I knew it all along."(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

February 1, 2019

The daughter of criminal kingpin Joe Irving is marrying the son of Deputy Chief Constable George Brace, and with the just-released Irving's life threatened, Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond is tasked with security at the wedding and feeling cranky. From Mystery Writers of America grandmaster Lovesey, also recipient of a Crime Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.