Upon a Dark Night

I listened to an audio version of Upon a Dark Night, the 5th book in the Peter Diamond series by Peter Lovesey and while this isn’t my favorite book of the series, I will certainly be continuing on with the series. I didn’t love the voice of the reader, Michael Healy, finding it too rich and plummy, but after I sped it up somewhat I found I could tolerate it.

The book opens with a young woman who has lost her memory. She has witnessed a traumatic episode that caused her to shut down but someone is still hunting her. Meanwhile Peter Diamond, the head of the Bath Murder Squad is feeling frustrated by the lack of murders and starts to poke his nose into a suicide of a local farmer and is able to prove he was murdered. Then another death show more occurs hen a young woman falls from a roof and Diamond is able to prove she was pushed. Eventually these murders are proved to be connected and Diamond and his squad are able to save the young woman with memory loss.

The author has a light touch and uses lots of humor to keep his story moving along. He manages to twist the various plot lines together into a cohesive story-line that ties the puzzle together. Diamond himself is his usual impatient, belligerent, and insightful self which made for an enjoyable story. show less

Very engaging! Great story, with lots of twists. We really enjoyed this, though the narrator was not the best. He accented weird words and in odd places. We probably wouldn't have finished if the story wasn't so good.

An above average addition to this series. Diamond's character is by now pretty fully developed--he is abrasive, rude, contrary and inconsiderate. But he's a decent man who recognizes merit and has enough insight to make seeing the world through his eyes rewarding and fun.

Love his character as always. Love the way he questions suspects and witnesses. Love the way the author shifts suspicion back and forth, and works in artifacts of English history. And I absolutely loved the character of Ada - I hope he brings her back at some point.

This is the best of Lovesey's Peter Diamond Mysteries that I've read to date. The various parts of the story are clearly defined and are progressively woven into the story. The outcome, as usual, is near the end but not the very end.

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