Of all the weird characters Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond has met in Bath, this one is the most extreme: a twenty-first-century private eye called Johnny Getz, whose office is over Shear Amazing, a hairdressing salon. Johnny has been hired by Ruby Hubbard, whose father, an antiques shop owner, has gone missing, and Johnny insists on involving 'Pete' in his investigation. When Diamond, Johnny and Ruby enter the shop, they find a body and a murder investigation is launched. Diamond is forced to house his team in the dilapidated Corn Market building across the street. His problems grow when his boss appoints Lady Bede, from the Police Ethics Committee, as an observer. Worse still, Johnny conducts his own inquiry by latching onto Ruby's stylish friend, a journalist called Olympia. Shootings from a drive-by gunman at key players create mayhem and the pressure is really on. Can the team stop more killings in this normally peaceful city? What happened to Ruby's father? And will Johnny crack the case before Diamond does?

A Nazi prisoner. A daring journalist. An extraordinary secret . . . Rudolf Hess was the most closely guarded prisoner in the world. Forty-five years after his capture in Scotland on a supposed peace mission he was still in Spandau Prison. Why was it necessary to keep him there so long? He was a Nazi -- but one with a damaging tale to tell. If anyone can reach him it is Berlin correspondent Red Goodbody, known for his foolhardiness, but also for his daring and panache. The fear is that the stability of Western Europe may be undermined by what Hess can reveal; and so both the KGB and MI5 move into action to protect the extraordinary secret of Spandau.

Do you remember collecting shrapnel and listening to Children's Hour? Carrying gas masks or sharing your school with evacuees from the city? The 1940s was a decade of great challenge for everyone who lived through it. The hardships and fear created by a world war were immense. Britain's towns and cities were being bombed on an almost nightly basis, and many children faced the trauma of being parted from their parents and sent away to the country to live with complete strangers. For just over half of this decade the war continued, meaning food and clothing shortages became a way of life. But through it all, and afterwards, the simplicity of kids shone. From collecting bits of shot-down German aircraft to playing in bomb-strewn streets, kids made their own fun. Then there was the joy of the second half of the 1940s, when fathers came home and the magic of 'normal life' returned. This trip down memory lane will take you through the most memorable and evocative experiences of growing up in the 1940s.

The fifth crime novel in the award-winning Peter Diamond series, from Peter Lovesey. A young woman emerges from a coma. Who is she, and why was she dumped unconscious in a hospital car park upon a dark night? She is unable to recall anything, even her name. Then Ada Shaftsbury, a boisterous shoplifter she meets in a homeless hostel, takes up her cause and names her Rose. Peter Diamond is already investigating a suspicious death - a woman has plunged from the roof of Bath's Royal Crescent during a party and none of the guests seem to know who she is. Badgered by Ada and galvanised by another gruesome death, Diamond takes on the case, and is soon forced to admit that Rose is the key. But she has disappeared and Diamond's own dark night is just beginning. In a mystery of stunning complexity, Peter Lovesey amply demonstrates his gifts as the grand master of the contemporary whodunnit.

A twisty collection of short stories from the master of classic crime fiction, Peter Lovesey, one of which stars his most popular creation, Peter Diamond. More than fifty years ago, Peter Lovesey published a short story in an anthology. That short story caught the eye of the great Ruth Rendell, whose praise ignited Lovesey's life-long passion for short form crime fiction. More than a hundred stories later, Peter Lovesey has assembled this devilishly clever collection, fifteen yarns of mystery, melancholy, and mischief, inhabiting such deadly settings as a theatre, a monastery, and the book publishing industry. The collection includes that first story that launched his story-writing career as well as three new stories exclusive to this volume. In addition, Lovesey fans will delight in a personal essay by the author about the historical inspirations for his creation - and in an appearance by the irascible Bath detective Peter Diamond, who has, in the author's words, 'bulldozed his way' into this collection.

Peter Diamond's tenth case is a perfect piece of superbly entertaining crime fiction from a master of the genre. Battle and burial are built into the history of Lansdown Hill, so it is no great shock when part of a skeleton is unearthed there. But Peter Diamond, Bath's Head of CID, can't ignore the fresh corpse found close to the folly known as Beckford's Tower. The hill becomes the setting for one of the most puzzling cases he has investigated, involving golf, horseracing, Civil War re-enactment and the Cyrillic alphabet. Inevitably, Diamond butts heads with the group of vigilantes who call themselves the Lansdown Society, discovering in the process that his boss Georgina is a member. She resolves to sideline Diamond by sending him to Bristol and handing the skeleton investigation to his deputy, Keith Halliwell. Fortunately matters don't pan out as Georgina plans...

The beloved Sergeant Cribb series by Peter Lovesey The year is 1884. London is being terrorised by a series of bomb blasts - even within Great Scotland Yard! Reluctantly, Sergeant Cribb attends a course in the science of infernal machines in a bid to gain expert knowledge of explosives and beat the criminals at their own game. With Constable Thackeray the prime suspect, Cribb feels bound for professional and personal reasons to track down the truth at any cost. And very soon he is abducted at gunpoint by an Irish-American hammer-thrower and finds himself an unwilling but vital member of the Dynamite Party . . .

The sixth mystery book in the award-winning Peter Diamond series, from Peter Lovesey. When a severed hand from the vault of Bath Abbey Churchyard arrives on Peter Diamond's desk, he is delighted to hear that, far from being a medieval relic, it is from the 1980s. But the vault is part of the house where Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was written, and a fanatical American professor is thwarting their investigation. Events are complicated even further when the professor's wife goes missing . . . Highly suspicious of the professor, but unable to prove anything, Diamond concentrates on trying to identify the remains, with shocking result. But before he can get any further, the owner of Bath's largest antique emporium is brutally murdered - and the last person to see her alive was the Professor. With consummate skill, wit and ingenuity, Peter Lovesey has crafted a whodunnit of brilliant complexity.

Shortlisted for the Barry Award. At first everyone presumes that the woman behind the windbreak is asleep. It is only when the tide comes in, lapping at her feet, that the horrific crime is discovered. The woman is identified as Emma Tysoe, top psychologist and criminal profiler. Bath detective Peter Diamond and DCI Hen Millen are desperate for answers: why was she sun-bathing alone so far from home? Where is the murder weapon? What happened to the man who found her? When they discover that Emma was secretly investigating the assassination of a celebrity, the case seems tantalisingly near to a close. But as a cold and calculating killer shakes their grasp, even Diamond struggles to make all the pieces fit.

Of all the weird characters Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond has met in Bath, this one is the most extreme: a twenty-first-century private eye called Johnny Getz, whose office is over Shear Amazing, a hairdressing salon. Johnny has been hired by Ruby Hubbard, whose father, an antiques shop owner, has gone missing, and Johnny insists on involving 'Pete' in his investigation. When Diamond, Johnny and Ruby enter the shop, they find a body and a murder investigation is launched. Diamond is forced to house his team in the dilapidated Corn Market building across the street. His problems grow when his boss appoints Lady Bede, from the Police Ethics Committee, as an observer. Worse still, Johnny conducts his own inquiry by latching onto Ruby's stylish friend, a journalist called Olympia. Shootings from a drive-by gunman at key players create mayhem and the pressure is really on. Can the team stop more killings in this normally peaceful city? What happened to Ruby's father? And will Johnny crack the case before Diamond does?

The beloved Sergeant Cribb series by Peter Lovesey The spiritualist movement has captivated a segment of Victorian London: manifestations, the occult, and 'sensitives' are in vogue. Unfortunately, those ready to believe are vunerable to fraud. When séance sites become targets for theft, Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray are on the case. But then someone murders the medium, and the two find themselves rubbing shoulders with some rather eccentric suspects.

The beloved Sergeant Cribb series by Peter Lovesey It's 1882 and Albert Moscrop, who is spending his holiday in Brighton observing human nature through a telescope, gradually moves into the circle of the Prothero family, who he has been fascinated by - especially the beautiful Zena Prothero, whose husband appears to take her for granted. But through this connection, he becomes involved in a sensational murder. All of Brighton is horrified by the gruesome crime, and the local police seek the help of Scotland Yard's Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray, who soon find themselves challenged by the strangest case of their careers, one as mystifying as it is macabre.

The third book in the Sergeant Cribb series, from Peter Lovesey. A practical joker is haunting the popular music halls of Victorian London - but far from being funny, his intentions are deeply sinister. A trapeze artist misses her timing when the ropes are shortened; a comedian who invites the audience to sing along with him finds the words of his song 'shamefully' altered; mustard has been applied to a sword swallower's blade; a singer's costume has been rigged; the girl in a magician's box is trapped. And then the mischief escalates to murder. Or was murder intended all along? The indomitable detective team of Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray dive into the back rooms and dark alleyways of London as they pursue the elusive criminal. A reissue from the delightful Sergeant Cribb series, set in Victorian London.

The eighth book in the Sergeant Cribb series by Peter Lovesey

London, 1888. Though Miriam Cromer has confessed to the murder of her husband's assistant, she is still confident of her acquittal. However, the jury sentence her to hang.

Miriam then says her husband was the killer, but he has an alibi. Can Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray discover what really happened at Park Lodge on that fateful day in March before it's too late?

A nightmare discovery in the boot of a stolen BMW plunges car thief Danny Stapleton into the worst trouble of his life. What links his misfortune to the mysterious disappearance of an art teacher at a private school for girls in Chichester? Orders from above push Peter Diamond of Bath CID into investigating a police corruption case in the Chichester force, and he soon finds himself reluctantly dealing with spirited schoolgirls, eccentric artists and his formidable old colleague, Hen Mallin.

The eighteenth book in the award-winning Peter Diamond series, from Peter Lovesey. As a New Year begins in Bath, Ben Brace proposes to his long-term girlfriend, Caroline. The problem is that she's the daughter of notorious crime baron, Joe Irving, who is coming to the end of a prison sentence. And Ben's father George is Bath's Deputy Chief Constable. But mothers and sons are a formidable force: a wedding in the Abbey and reception in the Roman Baths are set in place before the career-obsessed DCC can step in. Peter Diamond, Bath's head of CID, is appalled to be put in charge of security on the day. Ordered to be discreet, he packs a gun and a guest list in his best suit and must somehow cope with potential killers, gang rivals, warring parents, bossy photographers and straying bridesmaids. The laid-back Joe Irving seems oblivious to the danger he is in from rival gang-leaders, while Brace can't wait for the day to end. Will the photo-session be a literal shoot? Will Joe Irving's speech as father of the bride be his last words? Can Diamond pull off a miracle, avert a tragedy and send the happy couple on their honeymoon? Bath detective Peter Diamond finds himself at a prestigious wedding that ends in murder...

The thirteenth book in the award-winning Peter Diamond series, from Peter Lovesey. Peter Diamond, head of Bath CID, takes a city break in Vienna, where his favourite 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 musical 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 has been hailed by the critics as 'superlative', 'a master of the genre', 'never puts a foot wrong' and the Peter Diamond series as 'one of the most enjoyable police series around'. This new case for the greatly loved detective will bring new praise and much satisfaction for his legions of fans.

The fourth uniquely stylish crime novel, from the award-winning Peter Diamond series. 'Darling, if ever I've met a group of potential murderers anywhere, it's the Bloodhounds.' Thus says one of the members of the Bloodhounds of Bath, a society that meets in a crypt to discuss crime novels. But to their latest recruit, they seem just a gaggle of dotty misfits, until one of them reveals that he is in possession of an immensely valuable stamp, recently stolen from the Postal Museum. Then theft is overtaken by murder when the corpse of one of the Bloodhounds is found in a locked houseboat, with the only key in the possession of a man with a perfect alibi. Burly Peter Diamond finds himself embroiled in a mystery evoking the classic crime puzzles of John Dickson Carr. Winner of the Crime Writers Association Silver Dagger, the Barry Award and the Macavity Award.

Bath's top detective, Peter Diamond, doesn't believe in jinxes. So when he's asked to investigate a top TV show plagued by a series of misfortunes, Diamond is unmoved. He's no fan of the show - which glorifies criminals and mocks the police - and the incidents were spread across six years. It's clear this is the press making a sensation out of nothing. So Diamond puts the junior member of his squad on the case. But when young officer Paul Gilbert goes on location with the TV unit and witnesses another near-death incident, Diamond is forced to take an interest. To make matters worse, the press get wind of his involvement and Diamond his under pressure from all quarters. But his troubles have scarcely started. Devastating traps and surprises make this the most baffling case of his entire career.

The first book in the Sergeant Cribb series, from Peter Lovesey. In Victorian London, race-walking, or 'wobbles', are all the rage. So on a Monday morning in November 1879 the crowds gather for Islington's bizarre six-day endurance walking race. By Tuesday, one of the contestants is dead. Tetanus from a blister is assumed, but then there is a second death, and this time it's definitely murder. A bemused Sergeant Cribb from Scotland Yard is called in, along with Constable Thackeray, and they soon discover that something foul is at play. Reissue of Peter Lovesey's first acclaimed book that started his career nearly 50 years ago.

The second book in the Sergeant Cribb series, from Peter Lovesey. Reissue of Peter Lovesey's first acclaimed book that started his career nearly 50 years ago. Forbidden in Victorian England, the grim and violent world of bare-knuckle fighting has gone underground. So when a headless body is found floating in the Thames, his hands 'pickled' for fighting, Sergeant Cribb knows he is facing a challenge. Desperate for information, they select the young constable Henry Jago to infiltrate the gang, subjecting him to a rigorous programme of purging, pickling and training. Cribb is certain that the losing fighters are being killed, or worse, so getting Jago out just in time is crucial . . . A reissue from the delightful Sergeant Cribb series, set in Victorian London

A twisty collection of short stories from the master of classic crime fiction, Peter Lovesey, one of which stars his most popular creation, Peter Diamond. More than fifty years ago, Peter Lovesey published a short story in an anthology. That short story caught the eye of the great Ruth Rendell, whose praise ignited Lovesey's life-long passion for short form crime fiction. More than a hundred stories later, Peter Lovesey has assembled this devilishly clever collection, fifteen yarns of mystery, melancholy, and mischief, inhabiting such deadly settings as a theatre, a monastery, and the book publishing industry. The collection includes that first story that launched his story-writing career as well as three new stories exclusive to this volume. In addition, Lovesey fans will delight in a personal essay by the author about the historical inspirations for his creation - and in an appearance by the irascible Bath detective Peter Diamond, who has, in the author's words, 'bulldozed his way' into this collection.

Diamond Dust is the most difficult case of Detective Inspector Diamond's career, and the seventh book from Peter Lovesey's award-winning series. Shortlisted for the Barry Award When a woman is shot dead in Bath's Royal Victoria Park, it is Detective Peter Diamond who answers the call first. He is able to identify the victim immediately: his wife, Stephanie. Traumatised and angry for justice, Diamond eventually concedes that he cannot take part in the investigation. But when he realises that his colleagues are spending more time checking his alibi than following up on his suggestions, he decides some unauthorised investigation is needed. Soon he is sifting through the dust of his entire career, unearthing startling and unexpected facts which bring him closer to the truth, and to avenging his beloved wife.

The second crime story from the award-winning Peter Diamond mystery series, by Peter Lovesey. Peter Diamond, ex-CID and notoriously difficult to work with, is sacked from his latest job as a security guard in Harrods. Doggedly he turns his sleuthing skills to unravelling the mystery of a little Japanese girl abandoned in London. Naomi, as she is known, exhibits the classic symptoms of an autistic child. Diamond regards her first as a challenge and soon as someone he cares passionately about, and devotes himself to communicating with the child. He is close to a breakthrough when Naomi is abducted to New York. By interpreting clues from drawings left by Naomi, Diamond goes in pursuit and is plunged into a maelstrom of murder and the mafia, suicide and drugs.