One of the group's favorite books. We seem to always enjoy English police procedurals and this one was well plotted with interesting characters. Red herrings sprinkled throughout the book kept us guessing. ( )

Reverse the photos on cover for this edition.

#8 in the Peter Diamond series and one of Lovesey's best (although imho he has never written a bad one). "If you were planning a murder and wanted a place to carry it out, a beach would do nicely" - so the first chapter begins. It is not until the tide begins to come in late on Sunday afternoon that the few remaining people on Wightview Sands, busily packing up their belongings, realise that the water is lapping the feet of the woman behind the blue beach shelter. So not only is the crime scene unable to be preserved, but no-one knows who the woman is. Trying to find out who she is leads SIO Mallin into collaboration with Peter Diamond, whose reputation precedes him, and they venture together into highly classified material. Don't worry if you haven't read any Lovesey before - this one will get you looking for more. ( )

A woman's body is found on the beach - the tide has come in an washed away all the evidence, there is no car in the car park. Peter Diamond and Hen don't have much to go on in their investigation. Turns out that the woman, Emma Tysoe, is a high level profiler - and was in the middle of top secret case. One celebrity has been murdered, then a second one is murdered - who is suppose to be in a safe house. Can D.I.'s Peter Diamond and Hen Mallin break through the red-tape and solve the crime before the third victim is murdered.

There are all sorts of red herrings in this story, and interesting side stories. Wonderful characters and a look into why sometimes different branches and levels of police investigation can sometimes hinder in getting results. I changed my mind several times on who I thought the killer was, until I finally settled for the wrong one. I do like a book that keeps me guessing to the end. ( )