Return to Previous Page Frontlist






Peter Diamond tracks a serial executioner targeting couples.





Soho Crime
Fiction/Mystery
April 2008
$13 Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-56947-488-4

Visit Author Site

Advance praise for The Secret Hangman:
“The Bath setting always delivers.”
—Booklist

“Lovesey [is the] master of the switchback twist.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Peter Lovesey:
“A treat.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“[A] master of the classic puzzle.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Lovesey’s delicate balance of humor and suspense [is] one of the delights of contemporary crime fiction.”
—Wall Street Journal
“A crafty fair-play puzzle.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A master storyteller.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The winner of the Crime Writers Association Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement, Lovesey continues to excel, with cleverly plotted mysteries filled with detailed behind-the-scenes police work. Patrons who like Reginald Hill, Ian Rankin, and Stephen Booth will snap this one up." – Library Journal Starred Review
"British author Lovesey deftly blends suspense and humor in his excellent ninth whodunit to feature Peter Diamond…this classic series is still going strong." – Publishers Weekly Starred Review  




Widowed Inspector Peter Diamond is being pursued by a secret admirer even as he pursues a serial killer. Delia Williamson, a waitress and the mother of two young girls, is first reported missing by her own mother. She is found in a public park, hanged from the crossbar of a children’s swing set. There seems to be no reason for her to have committed suicide and the postmortem reveals that she was murdered. Her present partner, her ex-husband, and a traveling salesman who dined at her table in the restaurant where she worked are all suspects. And then her former husband is found in a cave, also hanged. A remorse suicide? Diamond doesn’t think so. When a well-to-do couple is found dead, both hanged, a suicide pact is suggested. Diamond is dubious; too many couples are dying by the same method. Before he can figure out what is going on, one more person will die.






PETER LOVESEY has been honored with the British Crime Writers Association Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement as well as with American awards such as the Edgar. He is an acknowledged master of the mystery form. This is his tenth Peter Diamond mystery set in Bath, England.

Back to top




Search the web Search sohopress.com