The Last Detective
ISBN: 9780751537833
Description
Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is the last detective - computers and spreadsheets and technology are not for him. So when the naked body of an unidentified woman is found in a lake near Bath his sleuthing abilities are tested to the limit. While the 'men in white coats' huddle in their laboratories, Diamond is on the streets, following the real clues hidden amongst Bath's historic buildings and intertwined with its literary past, and exposes a very uncomfortable truth.
Reviewed on 6th May 2013
When a body is found in a lake late one night, Superintendent Diamond is called in to lead the investigation, despite a pending review of his handling of a previous case. The first of Peter Lovesey's novels I've read, this is a really interesting way to present a crime novel.
The plot is well paced and makes for addictive reading. Lovesey's style is unique, in that while most of the narrative is told in the third person aligned with his detective, two significant chunks of witness statement are presented in the first-person, which really shows off a talent for capturing the characters' individual voices.
As an investigation it is far from clear cut and the twists and turns keep coming. I had a slight suspicion of how it might end and actually was not incredibly satisfied by the final conclusion. Similarly there was one twist that I didn't see coming and that seemed a little forced, throwing the narrative into a bit of a time warp throughout the later stages of the story.
Overall I was impressed by this novel despite some trepidation I had felt before about starting on another crime series. I'll definitely be following up by reading the sequel in the near future.
