The Circle: A Hen Mallin Investigation - Softcover

Lovesey, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 156947432X ISBN 13: 9781569474327

Publisher: Soho Crime, 2006

Synopsis

Rare Book

About this title

Review:

Peter Lovesey has a good eye for small worlds devastated by killings: The Circle takes us into the closed yet instantly recognizable world of writers' circles in small towns. A dodgy vanity publisher gets burned alive in his cottage, and the obvious suspect is a writer he had tricked with false promises; other members of the writers' group try to prove his innocence while the police investigate further killings. Lovesey is very good here on the radically different sorts of leg-work carried out by amateurs and the police, to the disadvantage of neither. For a traditional who-dun-it, this is surprisingly perceptive about the investigative process and the different sorts of clues people miss. He also does an intelligent job of exposition by having his main viewpoint character be a widowed parcel courier with a taste for light verse who is far from sure he wants to be hanging around with all these intellectuals anyway. This is a chastened darkish book, but has a light touch that keeps it attractive. --Roz Kaveney.

Review:

Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Mystery Writers of America 2018 Grandmaster

Praise for The Circle

"A treat . . . Lovesey's restraint, wit, and charming cast ensure him a place in the winner's circle."
--Entertainment Weekly

"Wonderfully funny . . . [A] jaunty jape of a mystery."
--Washington Post Book World

"Splendid entertainment . . . How [Lovesey] blends suspense and humor to the detriment of neither remains one of crime fiction's greatest puzzles. This one need not be solved to be enjoyed."
--The Wall Street Journal

"What a joy . . . Its snappy dialogue made me laugh out loud; it delighted me with quotations heading each chapter and with its literary references; it provided a puzzle I was unable to solve. In short, the novel is great fun."
--The Roanoke Times

"A crafty fair-play puzzle."
--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"[Lovesey is] a master storyteller . . . who can out-Christie Dame Agatha when he sets his mind to it, offers a smorgasbord of red herrings, a nifty plot twist, charming bits of doggerel and delicious digs at writers of the unpublishable."
--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Praise for Peter Lovesey

"I have long loved Peter Lovesey's books . . . A creative, courageous and gifted writer."
--Louise Penny

"Lovesey is a master of the crime novel."
--Sara Paretsky

"What'll it be today? A knotty puzzle mystery? A fast-paced police procedural? Something more high-toned, with a bit of wit? With the British author Peter Lovesey, there's no need to make those agonizing decisions, because his books have it all."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Mr. Lovesey's narrative is swift, but he takes time out for local color and abundant humor, the latter springing from the book's quirky characters . . . Lovesey is a wizard at mixing character-driven comedy with realistic-to-grim suspense. And in a writing career spanning four decades, he has created a stylish and varied body of work."
--The Wall Street Journal

"A treat . . . Lovesey's restraint, wit, and charming cast ensure him a place in the winner's circle."
--Entertainment Weekly

"Extremely stylish, lighter than air . . . utterly surprising."
--Newsweek

About this edition

• Publisher: Soho Crime
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 156947432X
• ISBN 13: 9781569474327
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384