The Tooth Tattoo

By: Peter Lovesey

Narrated by: Clive Anderson

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Peter Diamond, head of Bath CID, takes a city break in Vienna, where his favorite film, The Third Man, was set, but everything goes wrong, and his companion, Paloma, calls a halt to their relationship. Meanwhile, strange things are happening to jobbing musician Mel Farran, who finds himself scouted by methods closer to the spy world than the concert platform. The chance of joining a once-famous string quartet in a residency at Bath Spa University is too tempting for Mel to refuse. Then a body is found in the city canal, and the only clue to the dead woman’s identity is the tattoo of a music note on one of her teeth. For Diamond, who wouldn’t know a Stradivarius from a French horn, the investigation is his most demanding ever. Three mysterious deaths need to be probed while his own personal life is in free fall.

©Peter Lovesey (P)2013 AudioGO

High flyer quickly falls to earth

Bath, England's head homicide detective, Peter Diamond, isn't known for his interest in anything other than work, a pint and a pie. His girlfriend, Paloma, has to pull out all the stops to get him to take a weekend tourist trip to Vienna, tempting him by reminding him that it's the setting for his favorite film, The Third Man. A somber note is introduced when they come across the scene of an impromptu memorial to a young, Japanese woman found dead in the Danube canal; an apparent suicide.

Back home in Bath, Diamond's team is called in to investigate when another young Asian woman is found dead in a local canal. One of the very few clues to her identity is a "tooth tattoo" of a musical quaver, or eighth note, on her incisor. This musical connection brings the investigation to interview the members of the Staccati String Quartet, who are in residence in Bath.

The quartet's story is a parallel plot thread. The members are irascible first violin Ivan; earth mother and queen of the double entendre, cellist Kat; music-obsessed autistic, second violin Anthony; and new violist, Mel Farran. Mel is new because his predecessor, Harry, disappeared several years earlier in Budapest, when the group was on a central European tour, and is presumed dead.

Strange events in Mel's past, a mysterious new patron, and what looks to be a stalker put a dark cloud over Mel's joy at becoming a member of the prestigious quartet and collaborating with them at a higher musical level than he's ever known. The two plot threads--the quartet's story and Diamond's investigation--intertwine, as Diamond delves into the quartet's history to try to find out if there might be a connection between the two women's deaths, and maybe even Harry's disappearance. This history is complex and presents many avenues for exploration; there are even some subtle allusions to The Third Man in Diamond's quest for answers.

Unfortunately, the complexity of the plot unravels suddenly and leads to a fairly disappointing resolution. I can't say more without spoilers.

I've been a fan of Peter Lovesey's work since his first mystery, Wobble to Death, way back in 1970. The Peter Diamond series blends the best of old-fashioned fair-play mystery with the modern police procedural. I appreciate that Lovesey hasn't fallen into the ultra-violent and serial killer plots that have become so prevalent. He sticks to more realistic murders, which are explained by human emotions and circumstances, which I find far more satisfying---even if, in this particular case, I was underwhelmed by the conclusion.

I wouldn't recommend this as one of Lovesey's better efforts, but it won't prevent me from continuing to read Lovesey books as soon as they come out and recommending him to anyone who enjoys fair-play mysteries and low-violence police procedurals.

ABOUT THE READER: I was disappointed in Clive Anderson's performance. He had a mushy tone and didn't enunciate clearly, though his enunciation improved. He had odd hesitations in his dialog reading for almost all the characters, but especially the Mel Farran character. I thought he read Farran as being too hesitant and wimpy for the ladies' man Lovesey describes him as being. And the reading of the Kat character was awful. In the book, she's given to frequent double entendres and teasing, but Anderson voices her as some sort of nonstop Mae West, but with an absurdly deep, husky voice.

9 people found this helpful

I miss Simon Prebble!

I enjoy Peter Lovesey mysteries; this story may not be his best but still held my attention. However, I really missed Simon Prebble - who captures Diamond and his team's voices perfectly.

4 people found this helpful

Terrible reader; not the best Lovesey story

I'm guessing -- I'm hoping -- it was only that Simon Prebble was committed to another project for them to have brought in Clive Anderson to read this. Please make it a temporary replacement. Anderson, flat and painfully slow and slurry, can't measure up to Prebble's crisp voice work in the other Diamond novels. Dialogue exchanges here feel like walking against a current; too many pauses and weird intonations. Anderson is especially bad with women. One in particular, as another reviewer noted, he reads with an inexplicably low drawl, yet she is written to be a witty, savvy Irishwoman--she should have a bright, quick way of speaking. I found myself dreading it every time that character wandered back into the story.
As for the story, it needed an editor. There are several spots in the narrative where information is needlessly repeated. For example, we are told four or five times that top musicians are able to play priceless instruments because they get them on long-term loan from wealthy benefactors. I noticed several repetitions of certain information, but I can't list them without revealing too much of the mystery. There are other flaws in the storytelling. At one point, Diamond confronts a character with a "oh you know about that, do you?" when only a few chapters earlier Diamond was present when the character learned the fact. Some threads started at the top of the novel dangle neglected at the end. None of these are deal-breakers, but together they're indicative of sloppy writing in what should be a tight detective story. It's atypical of Lovesey, who is usually more careful. He was off his game here.

2 people found this helpful

Long Time Peter Lovesey Fan

I've been reading and enjoying Peter Lovesey novels since the 1970's. This one is very good, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I have earlier Peter Diamond stories.

There are some rather long and detailed passages about string quartet music and performance. I don't have a keen interest in classical music or string quartets, so I tended to be a little disinterested in these portions of the book.

Peter Diamond is an interesting character for me. He's cranky and closed minded about some things, yet I still like him. Maybe that's because as I get older, I find I'm a little more cranky and closed minded myself.

Though it wasn't quite as satisfying for me as earlier Peter Diamond stories have been, I still believe it is a very good book. It's a solid police procedural. It does not include excessive, graphic descriptions of violence.

2 people found this helpful

A reader, not a performer

Terrible narration that literally sucks any enjoyment out of the story. For the first time, I ordered the book from Barnes & Noble and read it instead.

Lovesey always great but...

...no one performs Diamond like Simon Prebble. Please bring him back. He truly brings Diamond to life.

Different narrator please!

Would you be willing to try another one of Clive Anderson’s performances?

No

Any additional comments?

We love the Peter Diamond series. But this narrator......he is very slow and deadpan, and the sound quality is uneven (he whispers when doing Paloma's voice, and speaks very loudly when doing Diamond's, for example, which makes it difficult to listen). A different narrator, please!

Horrible narrator.

The narrator seemed too "posh" for a Diamond novel. The voice he used for Cat was monotone and so soft you could hardly hear it.

The narrator is really very poor...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Half way through and will stay with it because I am fond of this series...but the narrator is killing the production!

Would you be willing to try another one of Clive Anderson’s performances?

Nope

Nice to pass the time

Fun to listen to. Needed more clues along the way so not just summed up at the end but always enjoyable, I love the Peter diamond Mysteries