If you're in the mood for something to make you smile, chuckle, and occasionally laugh out loud, pick up Peter Lovesey's Diamond and the Eye. Not only are you going to be amused, but you're also going to have fun sorting through all the lies and false trails of this particular investigation.

As the story progresses, readers-- who may once have been firmly in Diamond's anti-Getz camp-- begin to see that Getz isn't quite the simpleton he appears to be. This charming rogue has picked up quite a few useful tips from all that Golden Age crime fiction he's read. But what's even more fun is seeing how Diamond and Getz actually start working together.

Lovesey always finds some interesting facts in Bath's history to weave into his tales, and in Diamond and the Eye, readers will learn about car boot sales, antique dealers, and Bath's most famous artists. I never quite realized how fascinating Bath's history is until I started following Peter Diamond around.

This may be Diamond's twentieth appearance, but Lovesey keeps it fresh. The investigation tied into Bath's history isn't enough, though. Any long-running series needs a good cast of characters, and new officer Jean Sharp is proving to be a valuable addition to Diamond's team. What's even better, Keith Halliwell, Diamond's righthand man, proves that he has the power to shock us all.

From an investigation that kept me guessing to characters whose antics kept me laughing, Diamond and the Eye was the perfect escape. It probably will be for you, too. If you haven't sampled Lovesey's series before, don't be afraid to jump in with this one; there should be little (if any) confusion. After all, that's what I did several books ago. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself going back to enjoy previous books in the series. Peter Diamond can have that effect on you.

Thank you NetGalley and Soho Crime for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. I so much enjoyed reading this book. Happy belated 85th birthday Peter Lovesey. This is not the first book of this series that I read. I was surprised about the writing style. Sometimes I thought it was written by a young accomplished author. So much wit and humor. Peter Diamond meets a private detective Johnny Getz who tries to act like a character taken from a hard boiled detective novel or movie. It all starts with a burglary. Leads to some drive by shootings. A corpse in a antiques store. And ends up with a mysterious painting. You will enjoy the book. Trust me.

What a terrific outing with Inspector Diamond Peter Lovesey has given us! This time it's an art theft, and of course, murder. Diamond gets tangled up in the art world and also has to contend with a private detective on the case. Even worse, this British detective has pretentions, Philip Marlowe style. It's an odd pairing, but one that became more interesting as the plot unraveled. A lot of fun, as always.

I love this series, and enjoyed this latest installment, though perhaps a tad less than other entries - just didn't get as caught up in the mystery itself. A woman hires a PI who has read too many American hardboiled mysteries and fashions himself as Bath's own Marlowe. Her father, an antiques dealer, has vanished, but the missing persons inquiry becomes a murder case when a body - not that of the dealer - is found in his shop. Complications ensue, with the story related through both the usual third person narration and through the voice of the PI, which grew on me after a while - but perhaps at the expense of spending time with curmudgeonly Peter Diamond, who seems to have softened around the edges in an uncharacteristic way. Fans of the genre will enjoy the many allusions to their favorites, though those unfamiliar with the canon might be a bit mystified.