Most books of short stories are usually themed and writen by multiple authors. But when you have an author of Peter Lovesey's stature, you pick the book and dive in. Lovesey's compilation is in celebration of his 100th short story. It's his celebration but we get the gift of his excellent writings. If you've never read any of his titles, this is an excellent place to start. If you've read and enjoyed his stories before, enjoy this collection for the gift it is.

Usually with short story compilations, I find one or two stories a day to be plenty before I go back to whatever full-length work I’m reading. With this collection from the inimitable Peter Lovesey, I kept wanting to read just one more and ended up reading straight through as if it were a novel. These are high quality stories, and they are also fun. There are clever twists, to be sure, but adding to the appeal are the many knowing nods to the genre itself; fans will be delighted to see references to Agatha Christie and mentions of modern mystery authors. Some of the stories feature mystery writers, book conventions, and bookstores—complete with hilariously desperate book collectors offering to pay in unmarked bills. Perfect entertainment for mystery buffs.

Thanks to Netgalley and Soho Press for a digital advance review copy.

What attracted me to this mystery story collection initially, apart from Peter Lovesey’s well known name, was the flippant and fun title. I had to know what laid behind that lead in. It turns out there are many wonderful stories, some straight out mysteries, some crime, a few in the cozy style, all well written, and some surprising.

The settings for most are various places in Britain but one, set at a Crime Writers event, occurs in the U.S. While initially I was concerned that the stories didn’t seem to have much edge or ironic feel to them, I need not have worried. As the collection opened up, so too did the plots and characters and I was more than satisfied. There is even a true crime tie-in with great historical detail. In addition, there is a listing at the end of Lovesey’s writing by novels, stories, collections, anthologies, etc should you wish to check out some more.

Recommended.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A group of mostly very enjoyable short stories by Peter Lovesey, a favorite author of mine. As always with short stories some were better than others. My favorite was the last one, the twist at the end made me laugh out loud.

Reader, I Buried Them & Other
by Peter Lovesey
Pub Date 01 Feb 2022 |
Soho Press, Soho Crime
Mystery & Thrillers



I am reviewing a copy of Reader, I Buried Them & Other Stories through Soho Press and Netgalley:


Peter Lovesey published a short story in an anthology, more than fifty years ago.


That short story caught the eye of the great Ruth Rendell, whose praise ignited Lovesey’s lifelong passion for short form crime fiction.



While working on his one hundredth short story Peter Lovesey has assembled this devilishly clever collection, eighteen yarns of mystery, melancholy, and mischief, inhabiting such deadly settings as a theater, a monastery, and the book publishing industry.




The collection includes that first storythat launched his story-writing career as well as three exclusive new stories. In addition, Loveseyfans will delight in a personal essay by the author about the historical inspirations—and in an appearance by the irascible Bath detective Peter Diamond, who has, in the author’s words, “bulldozed his way” into this volume.


I give Reader, I Buried Them & Other Stories five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Peter Lovesey has much more in his head than Peter Diamond.

This book of short stories introduces other quirky characters. some poignant and some pugnacious. All are intriguing. Surprise endings are assured.

How does an octogenarian do it? Perfectly.

It was a real treat to read these delightful stories. Intriguing mysteries, humor, great characters and great writing. These stories have it all. It's no wonder Peter Lovesey has enjoyed a brilliant career.

On the occasion of his hundredth short story, Peter Lovesey has assembled this devilishly clever collection, eighteen yarns of mystery, melancholy, and mischief, inhabiting such deadly settings as a theater, a monastery, and the book publishing industry. If you haven't read Peter before this, this collection is the perfect place to start. Each of these short stories are more like reading a full length novel...they are comprehensive, clever and so very good. I don't usually read short stories but this book has changed that. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Peter Lovesey started his prolific and award-winning writing career fifty years ago by penning short stories. His latest book includes his hundredth short story. It contains a wide variety of entertaining tales: A would-be romance writer wins a major prize after having forty-five novels rejected. She gets the chance of a lifetime to write best-sellers, but at a cost. A priest at a secluded monastery is devoted to his garden, and is distraught when the order is told to shut up shop and move to another location,
A mystery writer wants to win the hat contest at the Malice Domestic conference in the worst way. As an added bonus, this delightful story name drops several popular mystery writers. A prim young woman meets an older man in a pub, and takes him up on his offer to show her his speckled band. In one of his earliest stories, The Bathroom, a man’s many wives would have been better off by taking a shower.
Mr. Lovesey’s sly, tongue-in-cheek humor is evident in each of the wildly diverse tales. Several famous names in the mystery world make appearances, including Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, Peter Diamond, Miss Marple, and Sherlock Holmes. Highly recommended

More than fifty years ago, Peter Lovesey wrote a short story that got the attention of crime fiction master Ruth Rendell, and her praise ignited Lovesey's passion for short stories.

This collection contains eighteen short stories, including that very first one, three brand-new ones, and even one featuring his well-known Bath detective Peter Diamond. The settings vary wildly: the book publishing industry, a monastery, a theater, the island of Corfu, and a farmer's field containing a scarecrow wearing a checked jacket.

For readers unfamiliar with Peter Lovesey, these stories would be a good introduction. Since I am no stranger to this talented man's writing, I enjoyed each setting, each twist and turn, each clue illustrating the deviousness of Lovesey's mind.

Now, after feasting on these stories, what I'm really in the mood for is Peter Diamond solving another puzzling case in Bath.

• A copy of this book was given by NetGalley in return for an honest review •

Rating: 3.5 Stars

The Review

Let me preface this by stating that I haven’t really read crime and mystery stories in this short story form before and this book has me wondering why I haven’t done so sooner.

The title was what first drew me in – Reader, I Buried Them. Wasn’t that interesting, I thought and it got me to turn the page.

Each short story in this collection holds within it a crime and manages to balance the suspense, intrigue, and reveal of it well, foreshadowing without being too obvious and, at times, pulling the rug from under you. This more than anything is really what impressed me: a good twist without being obvious in a story 30 or so pages long.

With various unlikely protagonists distinct to their tale, from beekeepers to monks, to a fancy hat contestant, the stories make for an engaging, quick read. The characters from each tale also felt distinct in a way I appreciated – I could tell by their dialog and their characterization that they could only be who they were, if you get what I mean. I particularly liked Sweet and Low and Formidophobia.

All in all, a delightful short story collection. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a little intrigue.

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Sigh! What a delightful book of short stories. I was disappointed it wasn't a massive tome. The collection here of Lovesey short crime stories is gathered from various sources and previous mystery collections. This is an excellent variety by Soho Books. Want a holiday crime, a story based on real life criminality, a murder, a poisoning, a hanging? This book has it all. Enjoyable way to spend a few hours with a good mysterious collection. With articles by author, this will be a sure favorite in the genre.

I have long been a fan of Peter Lovesey’s Peter Diamond mysteries. I started with the first, The Last Detective, many years ago and am about to read the twentieth, Diamond and the Eye. I was first attracted to these novels by their setting in Bath and have grown to love the irascible Diamond and those around him. I have not yet read the Bertie mysteries but am sure that one day I will.

Cause for celebration is that Lovesey has written his 100th (!) short story. A number of these have been compiled into this collection by Lovesey himself. Lovesey begins with an introduction, where he notes that his first short story is from almost fifty years ago. Much to his surprise, Ruth Rendell complimented it. He has written so many since then. Lovesey describes short story writing as a gift that he gives to himself between his longer works.

Readers will enjoy seeing which stories are included here. I am glad to report that there is one Peter Diamond story, A Three Pie Problem.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this collection. All opinions are my own.

My first question was, "Who could resist that title?" and with Peter Lovesey as the author, who would want to? Peter Lovesey has had a long and distinguished career as a crime novelist, telling stories in the classic puzzle vein. I am a great fan of his contemporary series, set in Bath and featuring the overweight, irascible Peter Diamond. I was unaware of his Victorian series and many short stories.

The stories in Reader, I Buried Them include characters both high and low-born, rich and poor, good and evil, and those caught in situations, not of their making. I found And The Band Played On heart-wrenching and The Homicidal Hat hilarious. Each of the stories is a small gem, many with a touch of macabre humor. Anyone who knows Peter Lovesey's work will be delighted by this collection, and those who aren't familiar will have a pleasant introduction.

Thanks to NetGalley, SoHo Crime, and Mystery and Suspense Magazine for an advance digital copy.

"Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Peter Lovesey presents a collection of short fiction spanning fifty years, including the first story he ever published and three brand-new stories.

More than fifty years ago, Peter Lovesey published a short story in an anthology. That short story caught the eye of the great Ruth Rendell, whose praise ignited Lovesey’s lifelong passion for short form crime fiction.

On the occasion of his hundredth short story, Peter Lovesey has assembled this devilishly clever collection, eighteen yarns of mystery, melancholy, and mischief, inhabiting such deadly settings as a theater, a monastery, and the book publishing industry.

The collection includes that first storythat launched his story-writing career as well as three exclusive new stories. In addition, Loveseyfans will delight in a personal essay by the author about the historical inspirations - and in an appearance by the irascible Bath detective Peter Diamond, who has, in the author’s words, "bulldozed his way" into this volume."

Never before have I loved a book title more.

This is an interesting mystery I really enjoyed reading. The story was simple and the characters engaging.

Reading more stories by Peter Lovesey was a real treat. Although I had read some of these long ago, they were worth reading again and the new ones were just an added pleasure to my enjoyment of this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Reader, I Buried Them & Other Stories.

I love the title of this anthology as well as the short story itself.

I've heard of the author, Peter Lovesey, but have never read any of his work before.

That's amazing considering how much I love mysteries.

This collection of short stories is diverse, featuring angry couples, a retired detective, gangs and thieves, mistresses and duped wives.

I enjoyed how straight to the point nearly all of these stories are; someone dies, someone figures out whodunit and the end.

There are some good twists, most are obvious, others not really, especially if you're not paying attention.

This was a great introduction to Mr. Lovesey's work as well as authors I'm not familiar with.

I liked most of the stories, which I don't say often since usually a collection of shorts means I typically only like a few.