Peter Lovesey’s acclaimed Peter Diamond mystery series is set in Bath, England, where the city’s dark secrets are rooted out by Peter Diamond, the gruff but lovable detective. Lovesey says of his sleuth, “Peter Diamond is an ex-Met cop with a grounding in the tougher areas of London. For him, Bath is too genteel, too middle-class, and his rough methods of policing at first get him into trouble.” He adds that Diamond is “always abrasive,” although he “would say he’s a realist.” Impatient with fools, Diamond is nevertheless a fiercely intelligent and compassionate man.

Lovesey’s many fans love trying to unknot his complex puzzlers and keep on top of his clever “bait and switch” plot twists. Called “a brilliant writer” and a “masterful plotter” by Louise Penny, Lovesey fills his Diamond books with sly humour but also surprisingly emotional storylines, which distinguish them from many other police procedurals.

As Peter Diamond goes through a lot of changes in his personal relationships and his colourful career as a detective throughout the series, it is strongly recommended to read the books in order. That said, starting with The Last Detective (Book 1) and following up with reading a few more of the early books will set you up to enjoy the rest of the series no matter what your reading preferences are. The twenty-second book, Against the Grain (coming December 2024), will be the final Peter Diamond novel.