Anyone who watched British murder shows will enjoy this behind-the-scenes murder mystery. Delighted to include it in the December edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction, for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

Nothing spells reading enjoyment like a Peter Diamond mystery with its wit, humor, clever plots, and iconic main character. Think you know all about backseat drivers? If you haven't been graced with Peter Diamond as a passenger, think again. Moreover, no one can ignore technology like he can. Fortunately, he has a team that works like a well-oiled machine, a team that's aware of this man's quirks and can deal with them without even blinking an eye. Diamond may enjoy teasing members of his team, but he's also quick to praise them when a job is well done.

In Showstopper, Diamond and his team get a real workout as they try to discover why so many things are going wrong on the set of the hit television series Swift, and I have to admit that I had to wait for Diamond to work his magic because I was nowhere close to solving the case myself. 

I enjoyed the devious plot. I enjoyed the interactions between the characters. I enjoyed the backstage look at filming a hit TV show. And I certainly enjoyed Lovesey's knack for turning a vivid phrase ("an ancient wisteria with vines like petrified pythons"). If you haven't made the acquaintance of Peter Diamond, feel free to start right here with Showstopper. Yes, the characters do grow as the series progresses, but Lovesey is a master at treating each book as if it's a standalone. I jumped in about six or seven books ago and have never felt lost. However, I've also gathered together several of the earlier books to read at my leisure because Peter Diamond is one of those very addictive characters whom you just can't ignore.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Soho Press for an advance copy of this entry in the long-running Peter Diamond series.

Success has many masters, and just as many detractors. A whisper here, calls to the press there, a mysterious fire, a murder or two, or three and counting. When does bad luck or a possible jinx become something much more, something insidious? And how many more people might die? This is the dilemma faced by Inspector Peter Diamond of the Bath, England Police Department in his latest case Showstopper, the twenty-first entry in the series by Grand Master Peter Lovesey. A popular television show is considered jinxed from numerous small accidents, and problems, but soon people begin to disappear, die or both, and the police are faced with a very large cast of suspects.

Swift is one of the most popular shows on television, winning awards, kudos and ratings, though most admit the show isn't as good as it was during the first two seasons. The show follows the adventures of a female thief, her unique family and lots and lots of bad behavior, with smart writing and plenty of action. The show has a very large following, and a lot of very bad luck, which the press loves to report on. Problems with casting, arson, the death of the show's creator, the disappearance of a producer, and now another missing crew member, this time with blood left in an empty apartment. People are calling the show jinxed and cursed, but what if he truth is much worse. Peter Diamond and his colleagues are investigating, but how does one arrest a curse, or find a killer in a show with hundreds of actors, crew and more. Diamond needs to solve this case not only for the safety of the people on the show, but for his own well-being, as forces in his own department are looking for an excuse to make this case Diamond's final step in the spotlight.

Lovesey is very good with his characters giving each member of Diamond's team a chance to shine, and with enough tics and foibles to make them unique and different. Diamond is an old school copper, uncomfortable with technology, bureaucracy, budgets, classes, or DNA testing. Diamond solves his cases with his brain, and his ability to read and understand others. Sometimes the outside world gets in the way, the fear of retirement is strong in this book, and makes Diamond jump to a lot of odd conclusions. However the characters are strong, describing the behind the scenes life of television production is interesting, and Lovesey's descriptions of the Bath area are very enjoyable, and add nicely to the story. There is a little cheating at one part of the story, but it makes sense near the end, so I am willing to forgive.

I've long been a fan of Peter Lovesey. His The False Inspector Drew is a classic story, and his series featuring Prince Albert the Prince of Wales, the Bertie series, are very funny and well plotted. Recommended for fans of Peter Diamond and the author, or for people looking to start a new series featuring a very interesting sleuth solving some very clever mysteries.

Peter Diamond's boss is making noises about his retirement, which throws him into an uncharacteristic panic. When a missing persons case presents itself, he's ready to seize on it to show he's still a sharp investigator. As usually happens, the plot thickens as the team learns another member of the same television production crew also vanished a few years earlier. Are they related? And could they have anything to do with the death of an elderly and popular cast member, who surprised a burglar at her home and was shocked into a fatal heart attack.

Diamond digs in, and suspicions grow, especially when the leather belt a vagrant picked up at the airfield where the missing man was last seen turns out to be stained with blood. Could the vagrant, a strangely erudite and assertive man, be the killer? Or could it be down to rivalries among the fractious company, many of them well-equipped to lie with conviction?

I didn't find this as strong as other entries in this long-running and usually top-notch series. Diamond, in particular, seemed far too quick to spin up elaborate theories as soon as he fastened on a suspect, which seemed unrealistic for a seasoned detective, even if he was rattled at the thought of retirement. The television setting was, as usual, richly drawn, and some of the red herrings were nicely diversionary, but the passages devoted to hashing out the possibilities and, too often, seeming convinced of a perpetrator on slim evidence slowed the pace down. Maybe when Diamond returns, he'll be back on his game and less distracted by shiny objects and fear of retirement.

A nice cozy mystery with lots of red herrings an interesting cast of characters and a well crafted plot. While I wasn’t familiar with the series it was was easy enough to read as a stand alone.