Sat 19 May 2012
Reviewed by LJ Roberts: PETER LOVESEY – Upon a Dark Night.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[7] Comments
Reviews by L. J. Roberts
PETER LOVESEY – Upon a Dark Night. Mysterious Press, hardcover, 1997. Soho Crime, softcover, 2005. First published in the UK by Little Brown, hardcover, 1997.
Genre: Police Procedural. Leading character: Det. Supt. Peter Diamond; 5th in series. Setting: Bath, England.
First Sentence: A young woman opened her eyes.
An unconscious woman, found in a hospital parking lot, awakens to find she has no memory. Released to social services, she is placed in a hostel and befriended and named “Rose†by Ada Shaftsbury, a good soul with a large personality and a penchant for shoplifting.
The Bath police have their own problems with the apparent suicides of an elderly farmer by shotgun and a woman off a roof. But were they suicides, and how do they link to Rose, whom Ada is pushing the police to find after she’s not seen her for two weeks? It’s up to DS Peter Diamond to figure it out.
There is nothing better than a book that not only has an intriguing beginning but also causes you to wonder what you’d do in a similar situation.
An unusual facet to this story is that Diamond doesn’t begin to play a major role until quite a way into the story, but what a dynamic, and flawed, character he is. I enjoy the relationship he has with his wife, Stephanie, and their cat, Raffles.
At the same time, he is not an easy person for others to deal with, particularly Detective Inspector Julie Hargreaves. Diamond respects her, but releases his frustration publicly on her and it is through his imperfections and some of their interchanges that we get to know Diamond better.
Ada, with all her faults, is a pivotal character and often allows Lovesey to exhibit his delightfully dry humor… “While her old man was refusing to admit to anything, she was singing like the three tenors.â€
What I most appreciate, however, is the plotting. It takes you down interesting, unexpected roads where you learn about everything from film shooting schedules, ancient English history and detectorology and treasure troves. The inclusion and care of such details is only one element that sets Lovesey apart as a writer.
I particularly like that DS Diamond investigates the case by looking for evidence, doing the research, working his team and following the clues rather than working from assumption. There are good climatic twists and a very well done ending. I am delighted that there are many more books in the series waiting for me to read.
Rating: Excellent.
The Peter Diamond series —
1. The Last Detective (1991)
2. Diamond Solitaire (1992)
3. The Summons (1995)
4. Bloodhounds (1996)
5. Upon A Dark Night (1997)
6. The Vault (1999)
7. Diamond Dust (2002)
8. The House Sitter (2003)
9. The Secret Hangman (2007)
10. Skeleton Hill (2009)
11. Stagestruck (2011)
12. Cop to Corpse (2012)
May 19th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
Peter Lovesey, who will turn 76 this year, is another prime example of an author who writes his detective novels faster than I can read them, and I have been reading them since 1970 or so, which is when I read WOBBLE TO DEATH, his first book, and the first of his Sgt. Cribb series.
Of the Diamond books, I have read UPON A DARK NIGHT, among several others, and you can read my review of it here:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=9476
I didn’t know about the most recent two Diamond books until I added the checklist to the end of LJ’s review. I miss Borders for several reasons, but one good one is that they carried the Lovesey books published by Soho Press, and the Barnes & Noble that’s still across the street from the old Borders location does not.
May 20th, 2012 at 3:07 am
I’m always telling people to read the Lovesey books in general, and the Diamond series in particular. DARK NIGHT is a particularly good example of both, with an intriguing central idea, clever plotting, and engaging characters. Some mystery fans say things like ‘Oh, I loved the CRIBB books that he did, but I haven’t read anything that he’s done since. I wish that he’d write some more CRIBB.’ In response, I always point out that the last one was over thirty years ago. He’s written some wonderful stuff since then. For myself, I haven’t caught up with the latest one yet. Still part way through STAGESTRUCK, and judging from the reviews that I’ve read of COP TO CORPSE I’m really looking forward to it.
May 20th, 2012 at 6:45 am
I’ve also read Lovesey since the early 1970’s. I’d recommend his non series stuff as well, including KEYSTONE and THE FALSE INSPECTOR DEW, plus his various short story collections, including a couple from Crippen & Landru.
I’m a number of books behind on the Diamond series.
May 20th, 2012 at 11:58 am
Bradstreet
In all honesty I wasn’t as interested in historical fiction back in the 70s as I am today, so while I enjoyed the Cribb stories back when I read them then, they never knocked my socks off, so to speak.
On the other hand, I read quite a few of them, so they must have held an attraction for me that I can’t really put my finger on now. Good writing and good mysteries, I suppose!
I’ll have to revisit them sometime.
There were two seasons of CRIBB on British TV, I believe. I’ve not seen them, but all of the episodes are available here in the US on DVD. Maybe you or someone else can tell me how good they might be.
May 20th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Jeff
THE FALSE INSPECTOR DEW is probably my favorite Lovesey novel, with BLOODHOUNDS, one of the Diamond books, a close second.
Anyone who enjoys a sly sense of humor in their mystery fiction should not miss THE FALSE INSPECTOR DEW.
May 20th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Steve: I’ve got the complete CRIBB series on DVD, so I can give you a good idea of what they are like. Whether you like them is going to depend on your liking for archive British TV. They’re rather slower in pace than modern TV, though the acting and general production is first rate. Alan Dobie is perfectly cast, and the same goes for the other regulars. Some episodes are film only, others seem to be video only, whilst others are a mix. All of the eight original novels were adapted for the series into hour long episodes, but the remaining six episodes are original scripts written by Lovesey and his wife, based on ideas for the Cribb novels that were never used (the collaboration of the original writer must be more or less unique in a TV adaption). In conclusion, it’s a good, solid TV programme, though it does show its age.
I totally agree with you about THE FALSE INSPECTOR DEW. It’s not exactly like a Golden Age detective novel, but there is that same playful sense of the author toying with the readers expectations. It’s fascinating to see Lovesey producing something so clever and witty like this, but also writing a much darker, more tragic story like ROUGH CIDER.
May 20th, 2012 at 6:57 pm
Six new, unpublished stories of Cribb? That’s all I need to know. Great news! Thanks!