Skeleton Hill, written by Peter Lovesey, is the first Peter Diamond novel I have read, but it won't be the last. I was unfamiliar with Lovesey's work until this book was presented by my book club as a suggested read. I was entertained from the first page.
As 2 English Civil War re-enactors are digging for some stashed cold beer, they discover a leg bone in the Landsdown area of Bath, in the English countryside. They both initially suspect that the leg bone is a 400 year old specimen that belonged to one of the original fighters in the Civil War that they are reenacting, so they rebury it. One of the re-enactors, however, is a Historian at the local university, so he comes back later to retrieve the bone, thinking he has made a significant historic find. He is brutally attached from behind and struck on the head. The injury leaves him without memory of his status, address or name.
Local dogs find the bone and Peter Diamond and his team are called in to investigate. The bone is soon discovered to be only 20 years old, not a 400 year old specimen buried near a battlefield. The skeleton is headless which makes it more difficult to investigate, but soon it is revealed to be that of a young Ukrainian female who ran away from London, where she was trapped in a sex trafficking ring. Two weeks after the initial skeleton discovery, the young historian's body is found in a graveyard with his skull bashed in.
Peter Diamond thinks the crimes are connected to each other and wants to pursue the murders simultaneously, while his boss thinks the crimes are unrelated and wants to pursue separate investigations.
Lovesey's characters are genuinely likable and are well described by the author. The plot is a wonderful one and I did not guess who the "bad guys" were. There is terrific visual description of the West Country area of England. There is some English slang that I was unfamiliar with but I could look the words up on my Kindle so this did not present a problem. There is some wonderful humor, as well.
This great book makes me want to read the other "Diamond's in the Series."
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Top reviews from other countries
Iscamaid
Another Diamond to add to Lovesey's crown.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2009
Stephen
Advertised and Priced as "New". Delivered copy had yellowed pages (water-damaged?)
Reviewed in Canada on June 27, 2021Christian T.
Contemporary murder mystery with an ancient twist.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 25, 2013