Peter Diamond Series by Peter Lovesey

Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is the last detective: a genuine gumshoe, committed to door-stopping and deduction rather than fancy computer gadgetry. So when the naked body of a woman is found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath with no one willing to identify her, no marks and no murder weapon, his sleuthing abilities are tested to the limit... moreDetective Superintendent Peter Diamond is the last detective: a genuine gumshoe, committed to door-stopping and deduction rather than fancy computer gadgetry. So when the naked body of a woman is found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath with no one willing to identify her, no marks and no murder weapon, his sleuthing abilities are tested to the limit. Struggling with a jigsaw puzzle of truant choirboys, teddy bears, a black Mercedes and Jane Austen memorabilia, Diamond persists even after the powers-that-be have decided there's enough evidence to make a conviction. less

No one saw the small Japanese child hiding in the furniture department at Harrods. She was abandoned and unable to speak, yet she caused a major alert. Spotting any intruder after the store closed had been ex-CID man Peter Diamond’s job. Had been. The oversight has gotten the overweight Diamond sacked...again.Working as a security guard is, at any rate, far below the superior talents of an experienced homicide detective... moreNo one saw the small Japanese child hiding in the furniture department at Harrods. She was abandoned and unable to speak, yet she caused a major alert. Spotting any intruder after the store closed had been ex-CID man Peter Diamond’s job. Had been. The oversight has gotten the overweight Diamond sacked...again.Working as a security guard is, at any rate, far below the superior talents of an experienced homicide detective. Unable to forget the frightened eyes of this strangely silent little girl, Diamond takes on a challenge befitting his skills—uncovering her identity. And when Japan’s top sumo wrestler takes an interest in the case, Diamond is back in the sleuthing business, bolstered by the wrestler’s international influence and his heavy wallet.But Diamond soon discovers he has to throw his considerable weight around when the trail leads to New York and Tokyo, to “smart” drugs and suicide...to the mafia and murder. With the girl’s life in the balance, he needs to tip the scales any way he can, even if it means playing the heavy in a shocking climax that may shatter Diamond’s heart—or cost him his life. less

The corpse of a beautiful woman, clad in only a bathing suit, is found strangled to death on a popular Sussex beach. When she is finally identified, it turns out she was a top profiler for the National Crime Faculty, who was working on the case of a serial killer. And though she was a Bath resident, the authorities don't want Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond to investigate the murder. How strange. What could they be trying to hide?

Detective Peter Diamond goes undercover at a seasonal festival in this delightful and bittersweet conclusion to the multi-award-winning series.Detective Peter Diamond, chief of the Avon and Somerset Murder Squad, is taking a short holiday in the country. His former colleague Julie Hargreaves has invited Diamond and his partner, Paloma, to visit the idyllic village of Baskerville (no relation to the Sherlock Holmes story, so he’s told)... moreDetective Peter Diamond goes undercover at a seasonal festival in this delightful and bittersweet conclusion to the multi-award-winning series.Detective Peter Diamond, chief of the Avon and Somerset Murder Squad, is taking a short holiday in the country. His former colleague Julie Hargreaves has invited Diamond and his partner, Paloma, to visit the idyllic village of Baskerville (no relation to the Sherlock Holmes story, so he’s told). It turns out Julie’s invitation was not without ulterior motives. The woman who owns the village’s largest dairy farm has been convicted of manslaughter following a terrible accident in her grain silo. Julie’s ex-investigator instinct tells her there has been a miscarriage of justice and a murderer is on the loose—but Julie’s been keeping secrets of her own, and can’t take her inquiry any further.Diamond takes the bait; the case is a fascinating one, and he’s quite enjoying his incognito information-gathering, getting to know the villagers as they prepare for their annual Harvest Festival. The deeper into the cow dung Diamond mucks, the more convinced he becomes there was foul play. But maintaining his innocent tourist facade becomes harder as he closes in on his suspects. To protect his alias, he might have to learn how to operate a tractor or drive a herd of wayward cows. He might even be forced to attend a hoedown—not that he’d dance, not even to catch a killer. Or would he? The curmudgeonly detective has plenty to learn about himself as he tries on some new hats: undercover private investigator; village detective; country gentleman.Over 30 years and 21 other novels, Peter Lovesey has bewitched his enormous fandom with the wry, stubborn, and fiendishly clever Peter Diamond. Now he brings his Anthony, Macavity, and CWA Dagger–winning series to a close with this delightful and bittersweet final installment. less