Monday, June 11, 2012

Pierce’s Picks: “Cop to Corpse”

A weekly alert for followers of crime, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Cop to Corpse, by Peter Lovesey (Soho Crime):
Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond has never been even close to the most popular fellow in British police circles. But he comes in for particular derision in Cop to Corpse, the fine sequel to last year’s Stagestruck. A sniper is on the loose around the historic spa town of Bath, and there seems to be only one type of target in his (or her) sights: cops. Police Constable Harry Tracker has just become the third officer to fall in several weeks, killed with a clean shot to the head. Previous efforts to find the elusive assassin and terminate this bloody rampage have been bungled, so Diamond is called in to help. Whilst trampling the toes of a pompous rival who’s claimed the investigation as his own, the caustic but competent Diamond begins to develop some theories about the murders after he talks with the widows of the dead officers. His most controversial suggestion: that the killer might be another policeman. Relegated to crutches after a frightening encounter with an unidentified motorcyclist, Diamond struggles to hold onto the trust and loyalty of his own squad as he races to capture the so-called Somerset Sniper before more deadly shots can be fired.

2 comments:

The Passing Tramp said...

I always look forward to the latest Lovesey.

Patrick said...

I bought this book almost as soon as it came out... and I *still* haven't gotten around to reading it!