Diamond Solitaire - (Detective Peter Diamond Mystery) by Peter Lovesey (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"The chase, which includes a friendly Sumo wrestler and adventures in Japan, is a pleasure to follow, and Lovesey makes the relationship between tough cop and troubled child wholly beguiling."--Los Angeles Times

Fired from the police force for insubordination, Peter Diamond is reduced to working as a security guard at Harrod's. Turns out he can't even hold that job--he gets fired after finding an abandoned Japanese girl in the store after closing. "Naomi," as he calls her, exhibits strong signs of autism, and he devotes himself to communicating with her in order to glean her identity and return her to her rightful home. Weeks later, a Japanese woman appears out of the blue to claim the little girl, and it appears as though Diamond's job is done. If only that were true. Armed only with only Naomi's drawings as clues, Diamond races to track down her kidnappers and save her life.

Review Quotes

Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Mystery Writers of America 2018 Grandmaster

Praise for Diamond Solitaire

"The chase, which includes a friendly Sumo wrestler and adventures in Japan, is a pleasure to follow, and Lovesey makes the relationship between tough cop and troubled child wholly beguiling."
--Los Angeles Times

"A book that, without gimmickry or cross-genre splicing, delivers superb, unashamedly traditional crime writing. Lovesey's mysteries have won awards in England and France; he has previously been nominated for an Edgar, as he could be again for this fine tale."
--Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review

"Polish up the Gold Dagger, Lovesey's angling for another."
--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Praise for The Peter Diamond series

"Peter Diamond is impatient, belligerent, cunning, insightful, foul, laugh-out-loud funny . . . A superb series."
--Louise Penny

"I'm jealous of everyone discovering Lovesey and Diamond for the first time--you have a wonderful backlist to catch up on. Me, all I can do is wait for the next book."
--Sara Paretsky

"What'll it be today? A knotty puzzle mystery? A fast-paced police procedural? Something more high-toned, with a bit of wit? With the British author Peter Lovesey, there's no need to make those agonizing decisions, because his books have it all."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Mr. Lovesey's narrative is swift, but he takes time out for local color and abundant humor, the latter springing from the book's quirky characters . . . Lovesey is a wizard at mixing character-driven comedy with realistic-to-grim suspense. And in a writing career spanning four decades, he has created a stylish and varied body of work."
--The Wall Street Journal

"Next to Jane Austen, Peter Lovesey is the writer the tourist board of Bath, England, extols most proudly . . . The enduring draw of the Peter Diamond books derives both from the beguiling Bath cityscape and the brusque character of Diamond himself."
--NPR

About the Author

Peter Lovesey (1936-2025) was the author of more than forty highly praised mystery novels, including the Peter Diamond investigations and the Sergeant Cribb investigations. He was honored with the two highest awards in mystery fiction, Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and the Cartier Diamond Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association, as well as many other international accolades. He lived in Shrewsbury, England.