The Finisher

Peter Diamond, Book 19

By: Peter Lovesey

Narrated by: James Langton

On the 50th anniversary of the publication of his first novel, Peter Lovesey, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and titan of the British detective novel, returns to the subject of his very first mystery: running.

Through a particularly ill-fated series of events, couch potato Maeve Kelly, an elementary school teacher whose mother always assured her curvy girls shouldn't waste their time trying to be fit, has been forced to sign up for the Other Half, Bath's springtime half marathon. The training is brutal, but she must disprove her mother and collect pledges for her aunt's beloved charity. What Maeve doesn't know is just how vicious some of the other runners are.

Meanwhile, Detective Peter Diamond is tasked with crowd control on the raucous day of the race - and catches sight of a violent criminal he put away a decade ago, and who very much seems to be up to his old tricks now that he is paroled. Diamond's hackles are already up when he learns that one of the runners never crossed the finish line and disappeared without a trace. Was Diamond a spectator to murder?

©2020 Peter Lovesey (P)2020 Recorded Books, Inc.

Witty, Gritty and fun

I love the series. This one is exceptionally witty on Diamond’s part. Very clever mystery with great character development.

Excellent new reader

Like anyone who has endured a terrible mid-series voice actor recasting, I was quite skeptical about Peter Diamond being taken over by a new reader. How could anyone match up to the great Simon Pebble, right?

Well, what a pleasant surprise this turned out to be! Once your brain has had a chapter or two to adjust, you’ll probably realize that this reader is truly top notch. Such an enjoyable listen! (Dare I say he might even be a bit better?)

Better with age

Wow, Lovesey is 84 and has been publishing to 50 years. He seems to get better with age. I totally enjoyed this book with its plot twists and familiar characters. I hope he continues his book writing.

James Langton does an excellent narration

While we’re all spoiled to have had Simon Prebble narrate so many books in this series, I have to say that Langton does a fantastic job.
And I agree with other reviewers, this is an excellent Diamond book. Very enjoyable from start to finish.

Wonderful anniversary gift for Lovesey’s fans

The Finisher is fantastic. Anyone who has read and enjoyed any of the many Books in the Peter Diamond series will love this book. It has everything one would want—a wide variety of bad guys, not so bad guys, and great detection by a beloved character. There is also Bath, a character in its own right. That this book pays homage to the very first book in this series decades ago makes it even more special. All that being said, I suspect this book would be accessible to first time readers of the series. Lovesey hasn’t lost any of his juice.