I’ve read quite a few Peter Diamond books and my favourite is ‘Bloodhounds’, Lovesey’s (very good ) attempt at a locked room mystery tribute to John Dickson Carr.
‘The Crumpled Knave’ is a Boucher worth reading.
I like Anthony Horowitz but find the conceit in these pseudo-autobiographical books a bit self-indulgent.
One more note on Dew: the connections to real-life events and people are very rich, and parts of them are something of a precursor to Anthony Horowitz's toying with identity and the mental identification process behind the suspiction of disbelief when attending to fiction. Lovesey handles this with a light touch, having fun with the conventions and renewing and enriching them instead of trying to undermine or destroy them.
Very nice reviews. My favorite Lovesey book is The False Inspector Dew. It is a non-series novel set during the Golden Age of Detection, and it takes place on the Mauretania ocean liner on an Atlantic crossing. It is twisty, comical, inventive, well-paced, entertaining, insightful, and quite brilliant.
I actually have a Vaseem Khan on my TBR shelves, direct from India! I bought it at Delhi airport last year but haven't read it yet. It's Murder Under a Red Moon.
I have read most of Lovesey's books over the decades. My memory is hazy but I remember enjoying the Bertie series at the time. The headhunters sticks in my mind too. And from Diamond "Another one goes tonight" is my favourite more recent one of his. Enjoy!
I read a number of historical mystery authors and generally really enjoy them. Current favourite is Alis Hawkins - a Welsh writer. Her first series was set in 1850s Carmarthenshire. Her new series is late Victorian Oxford!
I’ve read quite a few Peter Diamond books and my favourite is ‘Bloodhounds’, Lovesey’s (very good ) attempt at a locked room mystery tribute to John Dickson Carr.
‘The Crumpled Knave’ is a Boucher worth reading.
I like Anthony Horowitz but find the conceit in these pseudo-autobiographical books a bit self-indulgent.
Ooh, Bloodhounds sounds interesting. I might have to make that my next Lovesey read. Thanks for the Boucher recommendation too.
I understand your thoughts on Horowitz - I enjoy the self-indulgence, but I can see why others might not.
One more note on Dew: the connections to real-life events and people are very rich, and parts of them are something of a precursor to Anthony Horowitz's toying with identity and the mental identification process behind the suspiction of disbelief when attending to fiction. Lovesey handles this with a light touch, having fun with the conventions and renewing and enriching them instead of trying to undermine or destroy them.
Very nice reviews. My favorite Lovesey book is The False Inspector Dew. It is a non-series novel set during the Golden Age of Detection, and it takes place on the Mauretania ocean liner on an Atlantic crossing. It is twisty, comical, inventive, well-paced, entertaining, insightful, and quite brilliant.
That sounds very interesting! I'll add it to my Lovesey TBR list.
Final historical recommendations. India setting - Abir Mukherjee (1920s) & Vaseem Khan (1950s). Ovidia Yu - 1930s Singapore.
I actually have a Vaseem Khan on my TBR shelves, direct from India! I bought it at Delhi airport last year but haven't read it yet. It's Murder Under a Red Moon.
I have read most of Lovesey's books over the decades. My memory is hazy but I remember enjoying the Bertie series at the time. The headhunters sticks in my mind too. And from Diamond "Another one goes tonight" is my favourite more recent one of his. Enjoy!
Thanks! I haven't normally got on well with historical mysteries, but maybe I should try one of the Bertie novels next.
I read a number of historical mystery authors and generally really enjoy them. Current favourite is Alis Hawkins - a Welsh writer. Her first series was set in 1850s Carmarthenshire. Her new series is late Victorian Oxford!