Description:

This is "Peter Lovesey's Short List" of his best ever short stories, including the Crime Writers' Association's best short story of 2007, "Needle Match", and featuring some of his most popular detectives - Bertie, Prince of Wales, Sergeant Cribb and Rosemary and Thyme. Surprises are guaranteed, as elephants appear in a London side street; a gang of geriatrics goes on a hearing aid heist and an underworld boss searches for a harp. Join the author in a brush with Adolf Hitler and take a walk on Beachy Head, the UK's favourite suicide spot... ** ### From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Crippen and Landru's third collection of Lovesey's short mysteries is another triumph that brilliantly demonstrates the British author's range and wit. Lovesey, whose recent novels have been the superb fair-play puzzlers featuring Peter Diamond and Hen Mallin (The Secret Hangman, etc.), revives his earlier sleuths, the dogged Sergeant Cribb (in a Jack-the-Ripper-like whodunit, "Razor Bill") and the clueless Bertie, prince of Wales (in "Bertie and the Christmas Tree"), both of Victorian vintage. "Needle Match," which was chosen by the Crime Writers Association as the best short story of 2007, is a masterful example of misdirection set at Wimbledon in 1981 during a fiercely fought tennis match. Each of the 14 stories offers something to appeal to every mystery reader, no matter what subgenre is his or her favorite. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ### From Booklist Lovesey, one of Britain’s most highly respected and prolific crime writers, offers a collection of short crime stories that perfectly captures the essence of his considerable talent. Incorporating wry humor, startling twists, clever and unexpected plots, captivating characters, and subtle but unmistakable irony, the stories range from the chuckle-producing tale of a violent mobster who wants to buy a harp for his musician son, through the case of two silly men who fall for a get-rich-quick scheme, to the hilarious tale of a gang of oldsters who hatch a plot to steal hearing aids. In an informative preface, Lovesey offers readers an insight into where he found inspiration for the stories. Delightful, witty, and clever, this volume will make an appealing addition to collections with a strong fan base for Lovesey’s many ongoing series starring, among others, Sergeant Cribb, Peter Diamond, Hen Mallin, and Bertie, Prince of Wales. --Emily Melton