The Secret Hangman (Peter Diamond Series #9)

by Peter Lovesey

Overview

“Lovesey’s delicate balance of humor and suspense [is] one of the delights of contemporary crime fiction.” —Wall Street Journal

Delia Williamson, a waitress and mother of two young girls, is reported missing. She is soon found in a public park, hanging from the crossbar of a children’s swing set. The postmortem reveals that she has been murdered. Her current partner, ex-husband, and a traveling salesman who frequented her restaurant are all suspects. Before Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond can solve the mystery, more will die. But even as he pursues a killer, he finds himself pursued by a secret admirer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781569474884
Publisher:	Soho Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Series:	Peter Diamond Series , #9
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	462,361
Product dimensions:	4.99(w) x 7.46(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

Peter Lovesey is the author of more than thirty highly praised mystery novels. He has been awarded the CWA Gold and Silver Daggers, the Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement, the Strand Magazine Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Awards, and many other honors. He lives in West Sussex, England.

Editorial Reviews

Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Mystery Writers of America 2018 Grandmaster

Praise for The Secret Hangman
 
An Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Killer Book
 
“When it comes to the classic British puzzle mystery . . . Peter Lovesey is your man. His latest, The Secret Hangman . . . is a special treat . . . Lovesey proves that the traditional puzzle mystery is always a bit of fun and games.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Lovesey’s delicate balance of humor and suspense [is] one of the delights of contemporary crime fiction.”
—Wall Street Journal
 
“Lovesey continues to excel, with clever plotted mysteries filled with detailed behind-the-scenes police work.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review
 
“Lovesey deftly blends suspense and humor in this excellent ninth whodunit to feature Peter Diamond . . . This classic series is still going strong.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
 
“Lovesey, winner of many honors, including a Gold Dagger Award, should be on every British mystery lover’s short list, and this is a fine place to start.”
—Rocky Mountain News
 
“Lovesey has cloaked the classic ‘puzzle’ mystery in a fully realized world of coppers and local landmarks . . . Masterful.”
—Houston Chronicle

Praise for The Peter Diamond series

“Peter Diamond is impatient, belligerent, cunning, insightful, foul, laugh-out-loud funny . . . A superb series.”
—Louise Penny
 
“I’m jealous of everyone discovering Lovesey and Diamond for the first time—you have a wonderful backlist to catch up on. Me, all I can do is wait for the next book.”
—Sara Paretsky
 
“What'll it be today? A knotty puzzle mystery? A fast-paced police procedural? Something more high-toned, with a bit of wit? With the British author Peter Lovesey, there's no need to make those agonizing decisions, because his books have it all.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“Mr. Lovesey's narrative is swift, but he takes time out for local color and abundant humor, the latter springing from the book's quirky characters . . . Lovesey is a wizard at mixing character-driven comedy with realistic-to-grim suspense. And in a writing career spanning four decades, he has created a stylish and varied body of work.”
—The Wall Street Journal
 
“Next to Jane Austen, Peter Lovesey is the writer the tourist board of Bath, England, extols most proudly . . . The enduring draw of the Peter Diamond books derives both from the beguiling Bath cityscape and the brusque character of Diamond himself.”
—NPR

From the Publisher

Writing in a style that accepts no boundary between morbid and merry, Lovesey proves that the traditional puzzle mystery is always a bit of fun and games.
— The New York Times

Marilyn Stasio

British author Lovesey deftly blends suspense and humor in his excellent ninth whodunit to feature Peter Diamond (after 2004's The House Sitter). Diamond, a detective superintendent in Bath, though still traumatized by the murder of his wife, finds himself the object of amorous attention from two women, one an admirer who sends him anonymous letters. The curmudgeonly but astute sleuth also finds himself again at odds with his superior, Assistant Chief Constable Georgina Dallymore, when his investigation into the separate hangings of a woman and her one-time partner suggests that both were murdered, contrary to the ACC's belief that they were victims of a murder-suicide. Fighting to devote precious time and resources to the inquiry, Diamond soon discovers evidence of a history of similar crimes and suspects the serial killer will strike again. While the solution isn't Lovesey's trickiest, its ingeniousness amply demonstrates that this classic series is still going strong. (June)

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Publishers Weekly

Inspector Peter Diamond, three years a widower, gamely accedes to a lady's advances. How's this for a cute meeting? Peter Diamond runs over costume researcher Paloma Kean's groceries in a parking lot and insists on paying, and she reciprocates with an offer of dinner. Paloma, a divorcee, seems smitten with the burly, cantankerous detective, and her son Jerry, a religious fanatic and hospital volunteer, doesn't object. But romance must take a back seat to the latest scourge of Bath, an unknown serial killer who likes to hang his victims from high, very public places. The first to be found is Delia Williamson, followed by her ex, Danny Geaves. But digging by the Murder Squad turns up a prior couple, the Twinings, two years back. Then Jocelyn Steel is strung up. If the pattern holds, her missing husband Martin will be next to go. As if that's not work enough for the bone-tired Diamond, smash-and-grab robbers are looting the stores and half of his squad is reassigned. Worse yet, Paloma's son comes under suspicion, jeopardizing the new romance. Lovesey (The Circle, 2005, etc.), master of the switchback twist, has several in store here, but savvy readers may find them a notch or so below his crafty best.

Kirkus Reviews