I am a great fan of Peter Lovesey but this is probably his weakest book to date. It still has some of his trademark elements with the odd neat plot twist and some flashes of humour. The main plot twist is rather reminiscent of an Agatha Christie but it is literally incredible. I know that crime fiction is often rather beyond belief (the multiple murders in Morse being an example) but this just doesn't work for me. I had guessed the name of the villain from about half way through and although the key clue was (fairly enough) given quite early on I was disappointed that it was, relatively speaking, pretty obvious. And the personal demons which Diamond faces also seem rather forced and pretty unconvincing.

So, much as I admire Mr Lovesey's work, I have to confess to being disappointed by this one.