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8797999's review
4.0
Another enjoyable case, a bit complicated but quite imaginative. not my favourite but not the worst either.
Very interesting to see how it all came together, quickly becoming one of my favourite series.
Very interesting to see how it all came together, quickly becoming one of my favourite series.
mg_in_md_'s review
3.0
My FirstReads copy arrived today! :)
This review is based on the FirstReads Advance Unedited Edition that I was fortunate enough to win. Although I have not read previous offerings in the Peter Diamond series, I've been eager to try this series out ever since I heard the author speak at a mystery book conference in 2012. He participated in a panel discussion on mysteries involving art, and I found him to be an engaging speaker. Like the previous book in the series ([b:The Tooth Tattoo|15799413|The Tooth Tattoo (Peter Diamond, #13)|Peter Lovesey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388761991s/15799413.jpg|21522385]), [b:The Stone Wife|18465944|The Stone Wife (Peter Diamond #14)|Peter Lovesey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391446768s/18465944.jpg|26124062] also has an art aspect to the mystery. The story begins at a Bath auction house, where a Chaucer scholar is bidding on a stone carving believed to be Chaucer's Wife of Bath. During the auction, the scholar is killed by masked would-be thieves who flee the scene without the stone wife they had seemed so intent on stealing. Although Diamond is overseeing the investigation (and begins to think the supposedly cursed carving may be jinxing him), his intrepid colleague Ingeborg plays a leading role in this tale as she goes undercover to track down the source of the handgun that was used in the murder. Much of the book focuses on her role in the investigation and her past life as an investigative journalist. There are quite a few red herrings and the tale takes so many twists that I sometimes felt that solving the murder was secondary to the other plot lines. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book overall and liked the characters of Diamond and Ingeborg quite a bit. While I normally prefer to read a series in order, I found this book to be an excellent introduction to the Peter Diamond series and look forward to reading earlier offerings. Thanks again to the FirstReads program for giving me an opportunity to read a mystery series that has been on my "to read" list for far too long!
This review is based on the FirstReads Advance Unedited Edition that I was fortunate enough to win. Although I have not read previous offerings in the Peter Diamond series, I've been eager to try this series out ever since I heard the author speak at a mystery book conference in 2012. He participated in a panel discussion on mysteries involving art, and I found him to be an engaging speaker. Like the previous book in the series ([b:The Tooth Tattoo|15799413|The Tooth Tattoo (Peter Diamond, #13)|Peter Lovesey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388761991s/15799413.jpg|21522385]), [b:The Stone Wife|18465944|The Stone Wife (Peter Diamond #14)|Peter Lovesey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391446768s/18465944.jpg|26124062] also has an art aspect to the mystery. The story begins at a Bath auction house, where a Chaucer scholar is bidding on a stone carving believed to be Chaucer's Wife of Bath. During the auction, the scholar is killed by masked would-be thieves who flee the scene without the stone wife they had seemed so intent on stealing. Although Diamond is overseeing the investigation (and begins to think the supposedly cursed carving may be jinxing him), his intrepid colleague Ingeborg plays a leading role in this tale as she goes undercover to track down the source of the handgun that was used in the murder. Much of the book focuses on her role in the investigation and her past life as an investigative journalist. There are quite a few red herrings and the tale takes so many twists that I sometimes felt that solving the murder was secondary to the other plot lines. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book overall and liked the characters of Diamond and Ingeborg quite a bit. While I normally prefer to read a series in order, I found this book to be an excellent introduction to the Peter Diamond series and look forward to reading earlier offerings. Thanks again to the FirstReads program for giving me an opportunity to read a mystery series that has been on my "to read" list for far too long!
angengea's review
3.0
I picked this book up because of its connection to Chaucer. It was a cute murder mystery and the Chaucer connection was kind of fun. I wouldn't say I liked it enough to go back and read any of the other Peter Diamond stories, because the main cast of police characters seemed pretty boring and flat to me. But I'm glad I read this one.
bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition
2.0
I usually love Peter diamond mysteries, but I found this disappointing. The whole undercover subplot was ridiculous.
nonna7's review against another edition
3.0
I usually enjoy Peter Lovesey and his character, DI Peter Diamond. However, this one not only featured a lot of loose ends, but it really annoys me when some "clues" are held back. This is the usual complicated story that I love though. A large stone with a carving of the Wife of Bath is being auctioned off. The bidding is heated and the price goes much higher than the original valuation by the auction house. In the middle of the bidding, three armed men break and in attempt to stop the bidding. The man who is winning the bidding war so far, a Chaucer expert at a local university, is shot after protesting. The attempted robbery is aborted, and they get away. However, the shot that should have been a serious wound turns out to be a fatal one. Soon Diamond and his team are checking out every possible motive as well as trying to track down the guns used. Because of tight British gun laws, it seems that most crooks just "rent" guns from illegal gun dealers. Diamond suspects that the guns may have come from a well known dealer who has been very slick over the years. Ingeborge Smith, a former journalist, now police officer and recently promoted to Detective Sargeant, goes under cover to see what she can find out. One review I read said that the plot suffered from the main character not being in every part of the story. I don't agree with that. What surprised me was the lack of explanation when a major player in the story supposedly commits suicide. It may have been a handy way to get rid of him, but I think I would have found a different method. Still, it is an entertaining story and certainly worth reading. If nothing else, you'll brush up on your Chaucer!
bucherca49's review against another edition
4.0
Peter Diamond and his team investigate the murder of a Chaucer scholar at an auction where he is attempting to buy a stone engraving of Chaucer's "Woman of Bath." Something goes terribly wrong at the auction. Ingeborg goes undercover in Bristol. Paul Gilbert goes missing. Lovesey works in bits and pieces about Chaucer, especially his connection to Bath and the West Country.
harrietnbrown's review against another edition
2.0
I normally love Lovesey's work, but this one didn't quite come up to the usual mark. It's got an interesting premise (if you like Chaucer, which I do), but the plot never quite gelled.
howjessicareads's review against another edition
3.0
I was so excited to get an ARC of this since I usually adore Lovesey's books.
It started out with an interesting premise: an attempted robbery of a medieval stone carving (the Wife of Bath) goes awry, and a Chaucerian scholar is killed.
But it quickly devolved into the absurd when one of Superintendent Diamond's team goes undercover to try to figure out who supplied the gun to the murderer. I still liked the main Chaucer-related plot line, Diamond's eccentricities are always pure gold; but the secondary plot line was patently ridiculous and impossible and annoying.
It started out with an interesting premise: an attempted robbery of a medieval stone carving (the Wife of Bath) goes awry, and a Chaucerian scholar is killed.
But it quickly devolved into the absurd when one of Superintendent Diamond's team goes undercover to try to figure out who supplied the gun to the murderer. I still liked the main Chaucer-related plot line, Diamond's eccentricities are always pure gold; but the secondary plot line was patently ridiculous and impossible and annoying.
clambook's review
2.0
Someone must like this series, there being more than a dozen, but not me. Predictable, and not nearly as clever as its author thinks it is. Reads like a treatment for yet another BBC cop show.
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