The Last Detective

Rating:
Summary: You cannot go wrong with Lovesey.
Review: Discovered Peter Lovesey's novels two years ago--have read 6 or 7 since then. If you are a fan of mysteries, of detective fiction, I highly recommend his work. Wonderful range--the series with Cribb, the series with Diamond, and the stand-alones are all entertaining, compelling, and original. He is far more interesting than 99% of mystery fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Forced to write a mixed review even though
Review: I couldn't put the book down through 250 pages, thought the multiple-perspectives narration worked and in general thought it was a good detective novel. The problem unfortunately is that the solution is not up to the rest of the book . Sorry - but I won't say more so as not to spoil the book. A middling grade.

Rating:
Summary: You cannot go wrong with Lovesey.
Review: I have always had a love/hate relationship with Peter Lovesey's books for many years. I have a large number of his novels on my shelf, mostly from the Sgt. Cribb series. In looking over them I realized that while they were readable, there were not particularly memorable and were all somewhat unsatisfactory. "The Last Detective" is a bit of a change in pace, in that it really is a notch better than the Lovesey standard.

Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond fluctuates between being interesting and being thoroughly unlikable. While not anti-computer, he is quite distrustful of them, and is unhappy with their effect on police work. As a result he has come to style himself as 'the last detective.' His overall personality is overbearing and a bit egotistical which makes him a bit unpopular with both his co-workers and the top brass. As a reader I found that he had his moments, but I liked his second in command, John Wigful, quite a bit better.

The plot, which centers on a drowned woman who turns out to be a 'retired' soap star with the personality of a rabid mink and the morals of a sociopathic rabbit. Singularly murderable, if I say so myself. The most prominent of the suspects are much more likeable. In a Lovesey novel this usually means that they will be subjected to a fair amount of hectoring by the investigator, and this is no exception. In this case, the police make a highly dubious arrest. Detective Diamond is so disturbed by the process that he resigns his position and resolves to do some investigation on his own.

While the path to the true murderer is a bit complex it does not justify the length of the novel. Pacing is often uneven. Lovesey uses an unusual device in this story, i.e., in addition to the normal third person narrative; two large sections are done in the first person by the suspects. This works fairly well for the narrative done by the victim's husband, Gregory Jackman. Unfortunately, Lovesey does not do as well with Dana Didrikson, the female suspect who is entangled with Jackman. Even if you think it's sexist to believe that women don't quite think like men, you have to concede that it is highly unlikely that Dana's narrative would be exactly like the Lovesey's, but such is the case.

In spite of all this criticism, 'The Last Detective' is readable. Lovesey can craft a plot, and does a decent job with most of his characters. It did win the 1992 Anthony Boucher Award for Best Mystery Novel, so it cetainly has redeeming qualities. People who like Lovesey will find this their cup of tea. Those of us who find him a bit unsatisfactory will find their opinions softened a bit, but still confirmed.

Rating:
Summary: Forced to write a mixed review even though
Review: I read all the Cribb/Thackery series awhile ago, and this is my first of Lovesey's series with Peter Diamond. I'm glad to be reading him again. He is a veteran novelist. Although this series is entirely different than Cribb and Thackery, Lovesey's talent as a novelist is very apparant. His writing is a bit painstaking at first as he sets up the scene for the murder and denouement, but it still keeps your interest. In this first book in the Diamond series we are introduced to Peter Diamond who is a Detective Superintendent in Bath, England. A body of a woman is fished out of the lake and when the body is finally identified it is determined that she was a television star. In trying to unravel the mystery of this death, Diamond finds out that Mrs. Geraldine Jackman was not a particularly nice person. Diamond finds himself at odds with his partner while trying to determine the murderer, and it ends up costing him is job with the police. Diamond still doggedly pursues enquiries on his own and is almost killed himself. Although I had guessed the murderer about halfway through the book, there were enough other surprises that kept coming up to keep my interest. I am very interested in reading other books in this series.

Rating:
Summary: I'm Glad to be reading Lovesey Again!
Review: I read all the Cribb/Thackery series awhile ago, and this is my first of Lovesey's series with Peter Diamond. I'm glad to be reading him again. He is a veteran novelist. Although this series is entirely different than Cribb and Thackery, Lovesey's talent as a novelist is very apparant. His writing is a bit painstaking at first as he sets up the scene for the murder and denouement, but it still keeps your interest. In this first book in the Diamond series we are introduced to Peter Diamond who is a Detective Superintendent in Bath, England. A body of a woman is fished out of the lake and when the body is finally identified it is determined that she was a television star. In trying to unravel the mystery of this death, Diamond finds out that Mrs. Geraldine Jackman was not a particularly nice person. Diamond finds himself at odds with his partner while trying to determine the murderer, and it ends up costing him is job with the police. Diamond still doggedly pursues enquiries on his own and is almost killed himself. Although I had guessed the murderer about halfway through the book, there were enough other surprises that kept coming up to keep my interest. I am very interested in reading other books in this series.

Rating:
Summary: A bit of a drag
Review: Peter Diamond is something of an anachronism on the police force--a stickler for old-fashioned detection in a business that relies almost completely on state-of-the-art computers and genetic engineering to catch crooks. So when he is called in to investigate the death of a woman found floating nude in a river near Bath, he sees it as the perfect opportunity to prove himself as "the last detective." On the way, Diamond repeatedly risks not only life and limb but the most important thing to him--his job.

There are plenty of entertaining moments here. The examination of the fierce backstage politics at Scotland Yard is fascinating, and Lovesey, ever the consummate researcher, weaves in an intriguing subplot involving two mysterious letters penned by the late, great Jane Austen. Unfortunately, he may have heaped a bit too much on his plate; there isn't enough emphasis on what should be the real heart of the novel--the mystery itself.

That, in addition to excessive length, is a real problem. Even Lovesey's crisp, lighter-than-air prose can't overcome a plot this bulky and unfocused. The use of alternating points of view tends to bog down rather than advance the narrative, while other story devices--such as a clumsy attempt at courtroom drama--are just plain unnecessary. The mystery never achieves the level of complexity needed to justify the extraordinary length of time that Diamond takes to unravel it--in fact, it's rather shallow. Not to mention the fact that the identity of the murderer becomes a foregone conclusion well before THE LAST DETECTIVE enters its final pages--don't expect to be surprised.

And finally, the greatest stumbling block turns out to be the detective himself. Peter Diamond may be as pompous as Hercule Poirot and as grumpy as Inspector Morse, but he lacks the endearing charm that made the latter two such enjoyable company--in short, spending so much time with Diamond is an oddly unrewarding experience. And ultimately, that's as fitting a way as any to sum up the experience of reading THE LAST DETECTIVE.