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8797999's review against another edition
4.0
I quite enjoyed this one, a case involving the suspicious death of a Japanese tourist, echoing a memorial/shrine Peter Diamond saw in Vienna, few similarities but coincidence surely?
An interesting case involving the Manvers Street CID department and the World of chamber music and string quartets. Great characters and fun, enjoyable plot. A typical Peter diamond novel with good humour and satisfying conclusion.
An interesting case involving the Manvers Street CID department and the World of chamber music and string quartets. Great characters and fun, enjoyable plot. A typical Peter diamond novel with good humour and satisfying conclusion.
dogtrax's review
3.0
I never got my head around the protagonist here (maybe because this is the first book of this detective that I have read). Something about the rhythm of speaking and writing ... it never resonated with me. But, I had to finish it to see what happened, and I like stories with musical themes (even murder mysteries)
kjovertherainbow's review
3.0
Well crafted narrative, however some of the characters felt oversimplified and unlikeable.
kimgabriel's review
3.0
Much as I loved the musical background, I found the main detective a bit of a bore.
bethnellvaccaro's review
3.0
Another solid installment in the series. Definitely makes me want to listen to some more string quartets.
nonna7's review
5.0
I stayed up MUCH too late finishing this book. However, even though I had nearly 100 pages to go, I just couldn't let it sit quietly on my table! Lovesey has only been on my favorite authors list for about three years, but he has quickly been placed in my "must read" category. In this most recent of his "Peter Diamond" series, we are learning more about the character against the backdrop, of all things, string quartets.
What I know about string quartets could have been in about 3 sentences. Even if the book had not been as wonderful as it was, this book would have been a learning experience. We meet the members of a string quartet who are passionate about their music and just as passionate about their personal privacy.
One of their members disappeared during a tour in Budapest several years before and they have been unable to find a replacement. They approach a young musician and offer him the opportunity to become a member.
The book opens with the young musician having his instrument - a viola - stolen from him one evening. Forward several years later, a young woman's body is found in the river canal. Although the body is in bad shape, they soon learn that she was Japanese. The most striking aspect is that she has a musical note tattooed on a tooth.
As the book progresses, it is obvious that there is a lot more going on here including a factoid that there are ivory objects being carved from mastodon tusks. (Who knew! Check them out. They are exquisite.) Then there is Peter Diamond's personal relationship. He wins a weekend in Vienna. Despite his assertion that he doesn't go to Europe, he and Paloma go. (Although his wife has been dead for a number of years, he still mourns her.)
While on a walk on a bridge, they come across a floral memorial. A young Japanese woman apparently committed suicide there. Paloma is overcome with emotion, while Diamond shuts down. Paloma is outraged. (I have to say that my sympathy was with Diamond. Murder is his job. If he got emotional about every murder, where would he be?) There's a good reason to read this one even if you've never read a Lovesey novel before, how can you miss murder, music, Japanese gangsters and more!
What I know about string quartets could have been in about 3 sentences. Even if the book had not been as wonderful as it was, this book would have been a learning experience. We meet the members of a string quartet who are passionate about their music and just as passionate about their personal privacy.
One of their members disappeared during a tour in Budapest several years before and they have been unable to find a replacement. They approach a young musician and offer him the opportunity to become a member.
The book opens with the young musician having his instrument - a viola - stolen from him one evening. Forward several years later, a young woman's body is found in the river canal. Although the body is in bad shape, they soon learn that she was Japanese. The most striking aspect is that she has a musical note tattooed on a tooth.
As the book progresses, it is obvious that there is a lot more going on here including a factoid that there are ivory objects being carved from mastodon tusks. (Who knew! Check them out. They are exquisite.) Then there is Peter Diamond's personal relationship. He wins a weekend in Vienna. Despite his assertion that he doesn't go to Europe, he and Paloma go. (Although his wife has been dead for a number of years, he still mourns her.)
While on a walk on a bridge, they come across a floral memorial. A young Japanese woman apparently committed suicide there. Paloma is overcome with emotion, while Diamond shuts down. Paloma is outraged. (I have to say that my sympathy was with Diamond. Murder is his job. If he got emotional about every murder, where would he be?) There's a good reason to read this one even if you've never read a Lovesey novel before, how can you miss murder, music, Japanese gangsters and more!
innashtakser's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable detective novel on a member of classical music quarter involved in several murders. The murders were committed to keep the quartet together. It is totally unclear who is the murderer until the very end.
marystevens's review against another edition
4.0
Peter Diamond mystery #13 takes place in Vienna and Bath and involves the famous Staccatti String Quartet, a missing violinist and three young Japanese women, all classical music fans. . The first woman is a cello thief. We meet the other two as corpses, one sporting a tattoo on her tooth of a quaver and the other holding an ivory netsuke. I learned a lot about the world of string quartets and some about the Yakuza, (the Japanese mafia), and the trade in ivory - elephant and mastodon. If that doesn't intrigue you, I don't know what will!
bucherca49's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the musical theme and the incorporation of classical string quartet music. There is just the right balance of material about Bath, Peter Diamond's personal life, and the mystery itself to make this an enjoyable book to read. It probably helps that I have visited Bath and recognized most of the locations mentioned in the book. I liked the mention of chase through Sydney Gardens in chapters 21-22 and the references to Pulteney Bridge and the Royal Crescent. The revelation of the murderer was a bit of a letdown, but not enough to detract from the book as a whole. Nice quotation from Sherlock Holmes at the end of chapter 29.