Books

The Vault (A Peter Diamond Mystery)
Death at Wentwater Court (A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery)
Murder on the Flying Scotsman (A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery)
Wedding Day Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery)
Lords of the Silent
A Noble Radiance
Lady, Lady I Did It
The Last Kashmiri Rose
All Fall Down
The Golden One
Where Are the Children?
Mistress of Justice
The House of the Red Slayer (Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan)
The Summer That Never Was
No One to Trust
The Sanctuary Seeker (Crowner John Mystery)
4.50 from Paddington: Complete & Unabridged (Agatha Christie Signature Edition S.) [AUDIOBOOK]
Guardian of the Horizon
Close to Home: A Novel of Suspense
When Red Is Black
Thrones, Dominations [AUDIOBOOK]
The Bloodstained Pavement: Complete & Unabridged (The Agatha Christie Collection: Marple) [AUDIOBOOK]
Bell, Book, and Scandal (Jane Jeffry Mysteries (Paperback))
Gideon Fell Mysteries: BBC Radio 4 Full-cast Drmatisation. Starring Donald Sinden, John Hartley & Nigel Davenport (BBC Radio Collection) [AUDIOBOOK]
The Sacred Art of Stealing

Average customer rating:

Mostly Fine, But Ending Slightly Weak!
A good police procedural series in a memorable setting
A Solid Entry in the Peter Diamond Series.
Plot plods while characters bore readers.
Great Book

The Vault
Peter Lovesey
Manufacturer: Soho Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Police Procedurals | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Diamond Dust
The Summons
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Diamond Solitaire
Bloodhounds (Soho Crime)

ASIN: 1569472084

Amazon.com

Curmudgeonly Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond (The Last Detective, Bloodhounds, The Summons) is once again suffering fools (to which category he currently consigns Americans, antiques enthusiasts, and his immediate superiors) none too gladly. When a skeletal hand is found in the cellar of the abbey churchyard in Bath, Diamond is inclined to write the apparent crime off as the dusty wages of a long-forgotten sin. But then a skull turns up. And then Joe Dougan, mild-mannered American professor and avid literary tourist, unearths the startling fact that in the early 19th century that cellar belonged to the home Mary Shelley lived in as she was writing Frankenstein. Glorious fodder for the sensationally minded press and a monstrous headache for Diamond, who would prefer to cogitate upon the mystery in peace and quiet.

But it seems that the literary connection is as crucial as it is sensational. When Dougan's wife disappears and Peg Redbird, proprietress of the Noble and Nude antiques store, turns up dead after a heated conversation with the professor (in hot pursuit of Shelley's writing desk and sketchbook), Diamond has to wonder whether a thirst for knowledge also implies a thirst for blood. As Diamond immerses himself in Bath's cultural history, however, more and more suspects pop up, linking the long-dead bones in the cellar to Peg's very recent corpse. Author Peter Lovesey, with a nod and wink toward the conventions of traditional British mystery fiction, paints his characters with broad strokes: like the characters in a game of Clue, the suspects are easily labeled. Is it the spoiled heir who dunnit? What about the up-and-coming reporter? Or the cryptic puppeteer? Or (and this is really giving Diamond ulcers) the suave city councilor, who happens to be good friends with Diamond's boss? Lovesey tiptoes agilely just this side of caricature--and has a great deal of fun doing so.

Diamond himself is an enjoyable enough character, though his grouchiness seems to be missing some of the verve it had in earlier books. One might take issue with the novel's sense of pacing (at times funereal), and with Lovesey's narrative gimmick of switching occasionally to the murderer's perspective (too Gothic a trick for a relatively unexciting plot). These complaints, however, don't detract from an otherwise solid entry in the Superintendent Diamond series. --Kelly Flynn

Book Description

Bath is a town layered with history, from Roman times on. Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is a policeman whose manner is not appreciated by his superiors, though he does solve crimes. When a skeletal hand turns up in the vault of the Pump Room, followed by the excavation of a skull, Diamond is called upon to solve a series of crimes-including murder and forgery-that require a knowledge of history, nineteenth-century art and literature . . . and contemporary human nature.

Customer Reviews:

Mostly Fine, But Ending Slightly Weak!.......2005-07-24

For me, just about any Brit mystery/ procedural is worthwhile, and I was not disappointed here. The story's many subplots may not always fit perfectly together, but they add historic and bibliophile interest. When a hand is delivered in a pizza box to the Bath police murder squad, it is determined to be about 15-20 years old, and probably the result of harm done during some excavating and building in an old vault near a cemetary, and also very near the spot where Mary Shelley may have written Frankenstein. An American professor-tourist discovers an old book that may also have belonged to Mrs. Shelley 180 years ago.Meanwhile, some interesting art that may be unknown Blakes also make the rounds. A very readable, interesting, and page-turning plot is woven around this, plus Inspector Diamond's investigations. We meet some eccentric Brits, including a middle ages puppeteer, some greedy antiques dealers, and a severely beaten police officer, plus a body in the nearby river. Though Diamond may not be the jolliest or most lovable detective, there's enough clues and action to keep the serious mystery buff page turning. The solution and ending are not quite up to speed, and a slight disappointment, but still a near top notch modern Brit mystery.

A good police procedural series in a memorable setting.......2004-07-03

The resort town of Bath, with its creamy Georgian carved stone and echoes of Jane Austen, makes a pretty fun contrast as a setting to Peter Lovesey's overweight, hot-tempered, and inappropriately joking detective, Peter Diamond. In this entry in the series, a series of events one summer month involving Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (most of which was composed in Bath) begins to unfold: first a hand in discovered in the vault under the Bath Abbey churchyard, then what may be Mary Shelley's edition of Frankenstein is uncovered by an American English professor, and then finally what may be a series of Blake illustrations for an edition of Frankenstein begin to show up. The fun of this book is waiting to see how the smaller mysteries will come together, especially when the American professor's wife goes missing and a woman's body turns up in the river. Not everything is resolved as satisfyingly as possible, but the novel has its pleasures: the professor's obsession with his quest for Shelley's writing box, the atmosphere of fancy Bath antique shops, and Diamond's grumbling and misanthropy.

A Solid Entry in the Peter Diamond Series........2004-03-09

I love Peter Diamond. In this book he seems to be a little less edgy (almost mellow), and that's a bit of a disppointment, but this is still a good story. Mr. Lovesey effortlessy weaves two separate story lines and somehow manages to maintain an interesting plot. The book is deceptively low-key, but as you get into it the sense of urgency surfaces when it appears that a 20-year old murder, a modern murder and an assault and a two-century old puzzle all have something in common. In typical Lovesey fashion, this book appears simplistic at times, but then he masterfully introduces another thread that gets Peter Diamond after the scent like a bloodhound after game. Wonderful!

Plot plods while characters bore readers........2003-11-16

What a disappointment. Being from the colonies (U.S) Perhaps my disdain for this "novel" can be explained by my inability to enter into the depth charge caverns of the British mind. But, since I applaud Rendell, Reginald Hill and some of Rankin, I can not be accused of some kind of prejudice against the mother country. Poor plotting, even worse characterization and s shallow main character make this one of the worst books I have read in many a year. Diamonds, sliamonds, Why doesn't England stop writing suspense novels, until the have absorbed Connelly and Cook. Shallow and poorly written, this story makes the Brit tabloids seem like Austen.

Great Book.......2002-06-15

Peter Lovesey writes an excellent novel where he integrates several story lines into one complete and satisfying whole. In the English town of Bath, bones are found in a vault wall right under the Roman spas. DS Peter Diamond is sent to investigate what appears to be a cold case since the bones have been buried there for over two decades. He is not confident that he will be able to solve the mystery but he is going to try. Joe Dougan, an American English professor, is visiting Bath to fulfill his literary quest. He is so obsessed with literature that he is trying to track down the former home of author Mary Shelley where Frankenstein was supposed to be written. He is relentless in his quest and he attracts unwanted attention. Somebody has been hiding a secret for over twenty years and he is willing to kill in order to keep it a secret.

Lovesey knows how to entertain the reading by bringing in humorous characters that are acting some form of stereotype. The author also provides several red herrings that are meant to distract the police. When the story reaches its unexpected conclusion one can appreciate how well the author structure the plot by leaving no loose ends. Peter Lovesey's book was fun to read. It will not be my last.

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