When a man is showing his young son a building about to be demolished, the boy notices someone sitting in a chair in the exposed attic. The eagle-eyed young chap spotted a corpse, and one dressed in 18th century fashion. As this is in Bath, could it be the corpse of Beau Nash, Bath's favourite character and former Master of Ceremonies. He was said to have been buried at the abbey or in a pauper's grave, no one is quite sure, and if this is the the legendary character it will send historians into a flap. The world fireworks competition is being held at the same time and another murder occurs at the end of a display. With a dramatic scene at the conclusion, this was another terrific story featuring Peter Diamond. What I like about Lovesey's books is that I learn something about history as well as the tantalizing mystery liberally sprinkled with humour. ( )

An interesting and good extension of the series. Some riveting moments here or there. A few dull moments as well. Packed with certain information about a guy named Beau Nash - who, apparently, helped turn a one horse town into a destination city. Or something like that. Back in the 1700s, I mean, he did this. ( )

I bought this book because it's set in Bath in the UK, a city I've just returned to after sixteen years away, which may explain why I've missed the previous sixteen books in this series featuring the career of Police Detective Peter Diamond dealing with crime in Bath.

I dived in to the latest book, without starting at the beginning of the series, because the idea of a skeleton, dressed in what appears to be the style of clothing worn by Beau Nash, being discovered in an attic of a condemned building in Twerton during its demolition was just so Bath I couldn't miss it.

The plot of Beau Death is a pergola supporting an artful display of Bath past and present. Diamond does investigate two deaths in this book and finds the guilty parties through a mix of detailed police work and imaginative insight but these activities seem secondary to exploring Bath, its neighbourhoods, its history, its remarkably diverse and often eccentric citizens and of course, the phenomenon that was Beau Nash.

The book is peppered with humour. One incident that made me laugh was a pet shop owner is giving the police the code to a smart lock. She tells them her mnemonic is "Hampsters". They look blank. She explains that hampsters are cannibals. They still look blank. Then she tells them the code (read it aloud and you'll get the cannibal thing); 181182

I've been living in Bath since 1985 so I remember the Bath that the young police officers in this book think of as olden days. I recognised all the places and I remember how they used to be as well as how they are now. For example, for years Beau Nash's house contained a restaurant called Popjoy's (the name of Nash's mistress), It's been called something else for years now but it's still Popjoy's to old folks like Peter Diamond and me.

There's a lot of close observation of how class and wealth (not always the same thing) work in this town and a firm understanding of how policing here has changed (there is no real Police Station in this town of nearly 90,000 people any more - the old station now belongs to the University and the Police commute from halfway to Bristol when they're needed.

This is a pleasant, easy, entertaining read that works well as an audiobook. If you want to take a slightly unorthodox virtual tour of Bath, I recommend letting Peter Diamond be your guide. ( )

Excellent...NO idea who the killer was up to when it was revealed. Amazing watching a detective solve a "200-year old murder"! ( )

I absolutely love Peter Diamond, and Lovesey's creation is probably the most realistic policeman out there in fiction-land. Lovesey's "tongue-in-cheek" humour and his fantastic writing skills make each of his books a delight and an event to look forward to for me. In this book, we are looking at what appears to be a cold case when a wrecking ball in an old tenement in Bath opens up the top floor of an old abandoned building and a skeleton is revealed. The skeleton is sitting in a chair, for all the world looking like he's waiting for someone to bring him his dinner, and he's dressed in clothes, that though threadbare and filthy, look to be about 200 years old but they are the clothes of a well-to-do man. Diamond's reaction to this discovery is dismay to say the least. - "This is going to eat into our budget," Diamond complained to Halliwell. "it's already a major operation and it isn't even a crime scene." "It could be" comes Halliwell's reply which is quickly answered by Diamond again - "If it is, it's a cold case and they don't come any colder than this." - Chapter 1 - Beau Death by Peter Lovesey
And so begins one of the most bizarre cases in DS Diamond's career. He and his extremely efficient team are trawling through ancient records, uncovering old stories about the glitterati days in Bath in the 18 th century, and digging up gardens. Before they even identify their elderly corpse, another very recent murder occurs in Bath. So, stretched to the limit, the investigation breaks into two what appears to be separate incidents. Diamond follows many leads and red herrings, but eventually all becomes startlingly clear. The way Diamond leads his team and the way he uses his very considerable brain are depicted clearly in this book, and it's all done with Lovesey's signature sly humour. For those of you who have never met Peter Diamond, I urge you to make his acquaintance. This is number 17 in this series, but it's not a bad place to start. You will have Diamond's full measure by the time you finish this book, and then you will want to sift through the backlist of this very excellent series. And I promise you that you will laugh out loud many times while reading. Lovesey's description of Diamond's first "meeting" with the skeleton will have you in stitches for sure. ( )