I always enjoy Peter Diamond; but this case was particularly clever.

First: there is a prison riot/attempted break-out.

Then, several years later, the daughter of Joe Irving, a mob boss, & the son of a high ranking police official get engaged.

When the bride chooses high profile Bath Abbey as the wedding venue, Superintendent Diamond is given the unenviable & ironic task of protecting Joe Irving. The police department is worried that if news of the wedding gets out, a rival criminal gang will put out a hit on Irving, making the police look bad.

Funny, irreverent, and with a really engaging crime, KILLING WITH CONFETTI is a great whodunit. It kept me guessing, (I was wondering for ages how the prison breakout would tie in) and I’m glad I received a copy on Netgalley!

First Sentence: the two short words Warren doesn't wish to hear: "It's on."

Ben Brace, son of Deputy Chief Constable George Brace, and Caroline Irving, daughter of professional criminal Joe Irving, are getting married as soon as her father is released from prison. Besides their son marrying a criminal's daughter, Brace is worried the rivals may see this as a perfect opportunity to remove Irving. In order to ensure everyone's safety, Senior Detective Peter Diamond is assigned to see that all goes well. A missing policeman and a body found in the hypocaust of the Roman baths are not what Brace had in mind.

Lovesey creates the unexpected. There is certainly nothing ordinary or predictable about the way the story begins or continues forward. Yes, there is a not-named-as-such prologue set in 2015, but it is a great entry into the story and captives one's interest immediately. Just hang on, and its purpose does become clear.

Shifting quickly to present day, Lovesey's description of Carolyn's first-ever visit to her father in prison is so well done. Her emotions are clearly conveyed. At the same time, Lovesey knows how to start a story slowly, allowing one to become familiar with, and invested in, the characters. Before one realizes it, the tension begins to mount as the intent becomes clear.

If one has not previously read a Peter Diamond book, he may quickly become a favorite character. He is curmudgeonly, tight with money, and private about his life. He is also observant and intelligent. His wry humor is expressed perfectly—"They finally reached Camden Crescent, built on a slope so steep that parts of the planned structure collapsed at an early stage in the construction and were abandoned, … where another 175 properties collapsed in a landslip in 1881. Reader, if you ever think of moving to the northern slopes, hire a surveyor." As well as conversations with his cat, Raffles, there is lovely irony—"'We want their day to pass off peacefully, don't we?' ' Like Romeo and Juliet," Leaman said, 'Lovers from two warring families.' "Let's hope not,' Ingeborg said. 'Romeo and Juliet ended up dead.'

The plot has very good twists, plenty of suspense and a well-done tie-back to the beginning.

"Killing with Confetti" is an excellent traditional police procedural. It is such a pleasure to read. Lovesey doesn't take one down blind alleys. He plays fair and brings all the strings together with a great reveal and final twist.

KILLING WITH CONFETTI (PolProc-Peter Diamond-Bath, England-Contemp)- Ex
Lovesey, Peter – 18th in series
SOHO Crime – July 2019

Killing with Confetti is Peter Lovesey's latest Peter Diamond (his eighteenth!) mystery. Intertwining the story of a prison break and the Romeo and Juliet pairing of a deputy chief constable's son and a gang boss's daughter, Lovesey manages to keep you guessing the whole way through about what exactly what crime is going to be committed and who the culprit will be.

The main thread of the story concerns the wedding of Ben Brace - the aforementioned deputy chief constable's son - and Caroline Irving, only daughter of notorious gang leader Joe Irving. With Joe freshly out of prison to attend, the wedding seems like an ideal opportunity for a rival gang to try to gun him down. This is when Peter Diamond is dragged - reluctantly, in a wrinkled suit, the worst shooting bodyguard of all time - into the case. (When he receives the invite, Peter despairs over the "handsome invitation to his shittiest invitation ever.") He's sent to the the wedding in order to make sure that nothing goes wrong ...

... and he nearly succeeds, but a body is found at the Roman Baths reception - and it's up to Diamond to figure out who was killed, by whom, and why. There is a kitten, a dog, and Diamond's fashion faux pauses aplenty in the process, until Diamond stages an Hercule Poirot-esque reveal at the site of the crime to unmask the killer, and the story hurtles to a satisfying and hilarious confusion.

Overall: 4.5 Sherlocks. Above all - Lovesey is funny ("You're used to plainclothes." "None plainer.") and Diamond is a charming sleuth, delightfully bewildered by distressed jeans but razor sharp on crime. This mystery is well plotted, moving between various viewpoints and spending just the right amount of time at each point, with clues sprinkled in very fairly for the reader to have a sporting chance at figuring out the solution before the final reveal.

Best enjoyed with a a large latte and slice of banana and chocolate chip cake. (As Lovesey reminds us: "Useful tip from Peter Diamond: if you need to blend in with the crowd make sure it's the section of the crowd who eat well.")

Just meh. The plot was intriguing: the son of a police chief and the daughter of a crime boss decide to marry, causing a security nightmare for the Bath police force since it seems like everyone wants to kill the crime boss. Detective Peter Diamond finds himself an unwilling bodyguard at the wedding. A lot of time spent in the first half of the novel with characters who don't actually figure into the plot. However, the final twist was clever, so 3 - 3.5 stars.

Another Peter Diamond enjoyable mystery. The story begins with a prison riot in order to break out a major criminal Joe Irving. The blame for the riot is put on Peace who gets three years added to his sentence. He is bitter and out for revenge. Ben Brace and Caroline Irving want to be married. Caroline is the daughter of Joe Irving. Ben is the son of George Brace the DCC. Will both families reconcile to their wedding? What kind of revenge is Peace plotting? Enter Peter Diamond who is tasked with covering the wedding and protecting Irving. A murder does occur on the day of the wedding. Who dies? Who is the killer? How is it done? All answers rest with Peter Diamond.
Peter Lovesey writes another Peter Diamond mystery with surprises, dry humor and smart detecting. The ending is a little too surprising but on the whole this is a great read.

I have been reading the Peter Diamond series ever since The Last Detective, was published. The protagonist, Peter Diamond, is irascible and capable. The setting of the series is Bath, England; as this is a city that I love, the setting adds to the joys of the novels for me.

Killing with Confetti is the latest in this long running series. In this one, the son of a high ranking police officer is set to marry the daughter of a former prisoner and crime king. Diamond is enlisted to ensure the security of all, especially the former prisoner, over the course of the wedding in the Abbey and the reception at the Roman Baths. Can this be done? What will happen? Where is the twist? Read this entertaining and, at times, funny book to find out.

I enjoyed spending time with Diamond and his team yet again and think that you will too!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e galley in exchange for an honest review.

Entertaining detective fiction by British master Peter Lovesey — the 18th in the Peter Diamond series. Peter Diamond is Old School — crusty, gruff, preferring action to data mining, and leaving modern contrivances like cell phones in their preferred “off” position more often than not to the dismay of his more modern staff.

In an unusual start, this book starts with Peter assigned to personal protection duty — for Joe Irving, a recently-released crime boss, at the wedding of his daughter to the son of the Deputy Chief Constable (George Brace). Massive irritation ensues as he is faced with wedding planners, obnoxious relatives, and the sneering subject himself. However, things are not as straightforward as they seem and the plot convolutions start taking frequent and crazy turns until the end. Plenty of great ambiance as the action takes place primarily in the Abbey Church and Roman baths in Bath.

You can read this as a standalone novel — but the entire series is worthwhile (I’ve been keeping up since the launch in 1991!)