Peter Lovesey Books: March 2021
Were you thinking I’d given up writing, gone into retirement or been gathered, as a favourite aunt used to express it? No, I’m back to pester my long-suffering readers and friends with news of more books and events. If you receive this, you must have admitted at some time that you picked up a Lovesey novel. That’s enough to condemn you to newsletters for ever more, or as long as I can still use a keyboard. The spring flowers are starting to appear here in Shrewsbury, but we’re still supposed to be in lockdown, as I expect you are, so I’m taking it as my opportunity to badger you again, if only virtually.
SO WHAT’S IN STORE THIS YEAR?
First up, The Finisher appears in paperback in the UK on March 11 and the reviews so far have brought colour to an old guy’s cheeks:
‘A peerlessly plotted mystery.’
Gregory Cowles in The New York Times
‘Masterly, atmospheric . . . On the 50th anniversary of the publication of his first novel, Lovesey is still going strong.’
Starred review in Publishers Weekly
‘There are those among us who would read Lovesey if he took to writing on the backs of cereal boxes. Blessedly this hasn’t happened . . . relentless pacing and magical writing.’
Starred review in Booklist (Don Crinklaw)
‘Mr Lovesey, a veteran master of mayhem and misdirection, laces ominous suspense with wit. The Finisher showcases his enduring abilities in this, his 50th year writing crime fiction.’
Tom Nolan in The Wall Street Journal
‘A wonderfully entertaining and compelling story. His work is the gold standard for UK crime fiction writing.’
George Easter in Deadly Pleasures
‘Peter Lovesey is one of the world’s best crime novelists, and one of the best historians of running . . . Full of surprises, vivid running details and human interest.’
Roger Robinson in PodiumRunner magazine
Lovesey explores everything from police drones, sexual harassment and how the past can never be erased in this thrilling novel.
Andrew Gulli, ‘The Top Twelve Mysteries of 2020’ in The Strand Magazine
‘British mystery fiction’s reigning head of state returns to that sporting setting with his customary wit, humanity and unpredictable turns of plot.’
Mat Coward in The Morning Star
‘Lovesey has stayed enviably fresh throughout his decades-long mystery-writing marathon and once again breaks the tape in fine form.
Air Mail
‘I came away impressed by the storytelling, the relative pace of the plot and of the frequent twists and turns that make this a compelling read.’
Malavika Praseed in The Chicago Review of Books
‘A sheer demonic delight.’
The Providence Journal
‘Peter Lovesey’s storytelling skills, and certainly his gift for creating a fair play puzzle, match those of the finest exponents of Golden Age fiction.’
Martin Edwards
‘A witty, steadily absorbing procedural marked by Lovesey’s customary inventiveness and an unguessable solution.’
Kirkus Reviews
‘The winning formula of The Finisher is an intricate, well-paced mystery set against the beauties of Georgian Bath.’
A.N. Wilson in The Tablet
'An enthralling read with an intriguing plot.'
Carol Westron in Mystery People
AN AFTERNOON WITH PETER LOVESEY
Next up is An Afternoon With Peter Lovesey online on March 23 in an event organised by Bracknell Forest Library at 3.30-4.30 p.m. GMT. This will be mainly a Q&A session with Anne Hayward. Do join us if you can. It’s free and you can book with Eventbrite.
50th ANNIVERSARY GALA EVENING
Incidentally, it’s still possible to catch up on YouTube with the Gala Evening celebrating my half-century of writing, with contributions from Cara Black, Lawrence Block, Liza Cody, Jeffery Deaver, Juliet Grames, Bronwen Hruska, Michael Z. Lewin, Louise Penny and Peter Robinson. For me, it was a humbling but exhilarating night (it went out at midnight our time on December 4 and was hosted by McKenna Jordan, the owner of Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas). More than a thousand viewings of the YouTube recording have been logged so far.
DIAMOND AND THE EYE
Finally, some news of my next novel, DIAMOND AND THE EYE, which will be published later this year, by Sphere in the UK on July 8 and by Soho Press in USA on October 12. A private eye who fantasises about the great gumshoes of hardboiled fiction inflicts himself on Peter Diamond, Bath’s head of CID, in a case involving several murders, a missing father, an inept gunman and the find of a lifetime. I had a lot of fun writing this one and I hope it will entertain, surprise and mystify.
That’s all for now. Keep an eye on my website, peterlovesey.com, and do feel free to share this newsletter with anyone else you think is strong enough to take it.
Take care,
Peter