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Learn moreAt an auction house in Bath, England, a large slab of carved stone is up for sale. At the height of what turns into very competitive bidding, there is a holdup attempt by three masked raiders who are trying to steal the stone. They shoot and kill the highest bidder, a professor who has recognized the female figure carved in the stone as the Wife of Bath from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The masked would-be thieves flee, leaving the stone behind.
Peter Diamond and his team are assigned to investigate, and the stone is moved into Diamond's office so he can research its origins. The carving causes such difficulties that he starts to think it has jinxed him. Meanwhile, as Diamond's leads take him to Chaucer's house in Somerset, his intrepid colleague Ingeborg goes undercover to try to track down the source of the handgun used in the fatal murder.
Peter Lovesey, the author of more than thirty highly praised mystery novels, has won the British Crime Writers’ Association Silver and Gold Dagger awards as well as the Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement and the Strand Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. In the United States, he has received Edgar and Dilys nominations, an Anthony Award and a Macavity Award, and the Ellery Queen Readers Award, among others. In 2018, he was named a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master.
Simon Prebble has worked extensively on British and American television as both actor and narrator.
Reviews
“Dogged police work, nasty revelations about respectable citizens, dollops of suspense, Chaucerian tidbits—all the pleasures you expect from much-honored Lovesey are here.”
“Lively, surprise-filled…Peter Lovesey is himself a master of historical mysteries.”
“Wonderful tidbits of Chaucerian scholarship enliven the novel. And whatever you think of Peter Diamond, he proves himself a ‘verray, parfit, gentil knyght.’”
“Will hold you to the deck chair even if the sun is not shining.”
“Diamond’s short temper and quirky investigative tactics are pleasing, and readers familiar with English literature are sure to love all the Chaucerian allusions.”
“As always, this character and his team are sharp, funny, and grab the reader’s attention from beginning to end!”
“Lovesey once again proves himself a master plotter and one of the most entertaining writers in the field.”
“The characters are brilliantly drawn…This entertaining police procedural-style mystery is another example of why this series is so popular with readers.”
“One of the great things about reading one of Lovesey’s police procedurals…is the natural way Diamond’s cases take the reader into the history of Bath itself. Lovesey’s latest is filled with details on archaeological digs, local museums, auction houses, ancient Roman walls, and, especially, on Chaucer’s Wife of Bath…If you’ve never encountered Diamond before, this is a good place to start.”
“Lovesey is the recipient of a trophy case of literary awards and can keep the action moving at a zippy pace that would make an auctioneer proud. With its assured mix of clues, characters, cleverness, and literary/historical allusions, this title can be highly recommended.”
“The stellar Simon Prebble has narrated many of Lovesey’s Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond books. His rendition of the newest one about the crusty Bath, England, CID investigator is every bit as good as the previous ones. As always, Prebble’s plumy, warm delivery promises a pleasing listen. His narrative pacing works well with the action sequences, and he offers such a range of believable men’s and women’s voices that conversations in the police squad room involving gruff, old Diamond, enthusiastic, young female coppers, and middle-aged policemen from Bath and elsewhere seem to involve a host of narrators instead of one. The mystery involves a death and a stolen stone carving that may or may not depict Chaucer’s Wife of Bath. Believable or not, it’s great fun.”
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