19th in the series featuring Peter Diamond another episode in this series.Well written entertaining the books always draw me in keep me turning the pages.I recommend this book and the whole series.#netgalley #littlebrownuk

The Finisher is the nineteenth instalment in the critically-acclaimed and multiple award-winning Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond series; On the 50th anniversary of the publication of his first novel, Peter Lovesey, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and titan of the British detective novel, returns to the subject of his very first mystery—running.

A killer strikes in the Bath half-marathon. No one in the local CID understands at first why DS Peter Diamond is so agitated when he sees Tony Pinto paying unwanted attention to a young woman soon after the start. But Diamond remembers putting Pinto away for a vicious attack on a student, and now the man is on parole after years of good behaviour. Diamond’s fixation with this ex-convict will bring him into trouble from every side, including his boss Georgina and police headquarters.

Unknown to anyone at this stage, a murderer is known as the Finisher has already been active in the city. Will the next victim be Maeve, who is running to salve her conscience after accidentally destroying a valuable item intended for charity? Olga, a rich Russian determined to shed weight and streamline her figure? Belinda, a painfully shy IT expert taking part in memory of her mother? Or Spiro, an Albanian fugitive on the run from modern slavery? First, Diamond must prove that murder has been done and then discover where the corpse is hidden, a dangerous quest that leaves him with a crippling injury. Only he can unmask the Finisher...

The inimitable Peter Lovesey returns with another masterfully plotted mystery that had me completely riveted from the very beginning. Immersive from first page to last, this is a book that is every thriller lovers dream. Putting it down was not an option and so I devoured the whole thing within hours. As always with his books, there are a number of strands to the plot but it never becomes confusing even though the story is a complex one. This is a page-turner in every sense with dry humour throughout, expert plotting, a vivid setting in Bath and excellent characterisation. If you enjoy gritty and original thrillers then this is a must-read. Many thanks to Sphere for an ARC.

I have loved this series since the very first book, not only are they riveting mysteries, but an homage to the beauty and secrets of the Bath area. This book is as good as any in the series. Peter Diamond is one of the best, most realistic, fictional detectives. He is written so well that I feel I know him and his team. A five star winner of a book.

The book was one that once started was almost impossible to put down and I read it very quickly as it was a real page turner. Peter Lovesey has published many books apart from this series but there is a freshness to his writing which makes it truly exceptional and I was totally absorbed until the final page.

Through a particularly tragic series of events, couch potato Maeve Kelly has been forced to sign up for the Other Half, Bath's springtime half-marathon. What Maeve doesn't know is just how brutal some of the other runners have been.

As race day draws closer, an Albanian refugee named Spiro makes a run for freedom on the other side of town, escaping the chain gang that has held him hostage and its murderous foreman, who is known to his charges as The Finisher. The Finisher has killed for disobedience before, and Spiro knows there's a target on his back as he tries to lose himself in the genteel medieval city of Bath.

Meanwhile Detective Peter Diamond is tasked with crowd control on the raucous day of the race - and catches sight of a violent criminal he put away a decade ago, and who very much seems to be up to his old tricks now that he is paroled. Diamond's hackles are already up when he learns that one of the runners never crossed the finish line and has disappeared without a trace. Was Diamond a spectator to the prelude to a murder?

On the 50th anniversary of the publication of his first novel, Peter Lovesey, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and titan of the British detective novel, returns to the subject of his very first mystery namely running..
This is the nineteenth book by the author about Peter Diamond and mainly set in and around Bath, where he used to live, but he has many more titles to his name and that of his pen-name Peter Lear. He writes both contemporary detective police procedural stories and historical mystery books and was a story consultant for the Rosemary & Thyme gardening detective series with Felicity Kendall and Pam Ferris.

I really enjoyed this very gripping book which had such an unusual plot, or should I say plots as there were so many different elements going on but it all turned out right in the end. Extremely well recommended.
(Advance copy from the publisher in exchange for a fair review).

Murder is only the beginning. The real question is how do you get rid of the corpse? That’s the job of the finisher: tidying things up when they start to get nasty. As the most recent of Peter Lovesey’s DS Diamond series begins the finisher’s immediate task is overseeing a group of illegal Albanian immigrants, a job which includes disposing of the bodies of any who try to make a break for freedom. When Spiro and Murat take their chance to get away they know that their only hope is to run as fast and as far as they can. They are not the only people with running on their minds, however. The Bath alternative half marathon, known as the Other Half, is on the horizon and Maeve Kelly is out training for it. This is not Maeve’s preferred way of spending her time but a series of unexpected events mean that she is using it as a way of raising money for the British Heart Foundation. Her self-appointed trainer is a fellow teacher from the primary school where she works, Trevor, a man who appears to have an interest in more than Maeve’s running style. Also in training for the race is Belinda Pye and when she fails to record a finishing time and is subsequently not to be found in her lodgings, Diamond’s interest is piqued, especially when CCTV footage shows her to have been pestered by Tony Pinto. Diamond put Pinto away several years previously after he took a Stanley knife to a woman who had complained about his behaviour. The DS is horrified to know that Pinto has been released and given his presence in the proximity of the missing woman he automatically becomes the chief subject. But Pinto has gone missing as well and the search leads Diamond into the underground caverns left by decades of stone quarrying in the area where the race took place.

I’ve only recently discovered Peter Lovesey’s work. I was given the first of his novels this time last year. I wasn’t completely convinced by that and now I’ve decided to try a second, I’m not sure that I’m convinced by this either. Lovesey starts too many hares for me and I’m not sure that all the strands come together as well as they might. I’m also not sure about the tone. At times there is a sense of irony which doesn’t sit well with the subject matter. However, if you have read his work in the past and enjoyed it then this one does seem to me to be fairly typical and I’m sure you will relish it as well.

With thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK Sphere and NetGalley for the review copy.

Thank you to netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the arc of the finisher by Peter Lovesey.


50th anniversary novel for Peter Lovesey, the 9th in his Peter Diamond series,
This is a classic mystery book which is set within a vivid setting,
Not going to spoil what happens.. so you have to read to find out yourself in which it was such a hooking, gripping and amazing novel had me gripped start to finish.. bit confusing at times but a great book

3 stars

I was very grateful to receive an advance copy of this through netgalley. I have read every one of this excellent series featuring Peter Diamond of Bath CID and have always enjoyed them immensely, this being the 19th in the series was no exception, it was very good. Humorous, twisty plot, and the detail and history surrounding Bath well researched as always. Cranky, short tempered Diamond is a delight, and why this series has never been televised, I don’t know.
Highly recommend.