I first met Peter in person at the Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay in 1991. The AC Festival was paired that year with the CWA conference. I took the train down from London. There we were met by Peter Lovesey on the platform, maneuvering a 'trolley' to gather our bags. All he needed was a hat and a uniform, and we would have been transported back to Victorian England. I was lucky to meet with him at other times over the years. He was always so warm and genuine.
For me, Peter Lovesey's books were the best of the best. Great characters, wonderful plots, terrific setting, excellent prose, and so much more. Last week my book group re-read and discussed an Inspector Cribb novel to rave reviews, of course. I also just read the monograph he wrote as 'Peter Diamond.' Such fun!
Peter was so supportive of everyone in the mystery community--other writers, fans, editors, publishers. He was so willing to lend his expertise and help in any way. He was so dedicated to the genre.
My heart and sympathy go out to his family and many friends at this time.
I am reeling from the news of his death, but I will update this post at a later time. In the meantime, read a Peter Lovesey in his memory. I'm particularly fond of his Peter Diamond books. His final book in the series, Against the Grain, just came out in January. The end of an era. Rest in Peace, Peter.
Read More here:
https://peterlovesey.com/about
His final article in the Mystery Readers Journal (London Mysteries I): 2024. "The Wobble in the Aggie"
"The World's Oldest Working Cop" in Mystery Readers Journal: Senior Sleuths, Fall 2020.
What terrible news, which I learned from Janet Rudolph’s Mystery Fanfare: Peter Lovesey’s death, right after Kerry Greenwood’s. They are two of my favorite authors.He was a very funny man in addition to being a very good and prolific writer. I remember at a past Bouchercon, during the panel discussions I heard from down the hall several roars of really loud laughter; checking it out, I saw Lovesey regaling the packed crowd. And his contribution to the recent Crippen & Landru collection School of Hard Knox was an epic 7-page poem titled “Knox Vomica” that includes the names of dozens of mystery writers in hilarious couplets.As Janet noted, Lovesey was a truly special writer, as well as person. I liked his series a lot, but enjoyed his stand-alones even more, especially The Reaper, Rough Cider, and On the Edge. But in addition to mourning Peter Lovesey, we have now lost Peter Diamond, just as we’ve lost Phryne Fisher and Corinna Chapman—at least, their future selves. What a sad week.Meredith PhillipsPerseverance Editorial ServicesNow editing/proofing for Crippen & Landru,and freelancing for various authors on request
3 comments:
Peter called me when my husband and I arrived in London back in the early 90s and paved the way for me to join Crime Writers, even though I wasn’t a crime writer but a reviewer for an American magazine. Through him, I met so many wonderful people who enriched our five years in England. He will be missed…
This is vey sad. I too am a huge fan of his books. Really enjoyed rereading Wobble to Death. I met him at the LCC in Bristol. What a treat.
Such sad news. I'm so old that I read Wobble to Death when it first came out, and he wrote so many winners since then. He was the last of the "Class of '36," which also included Reginald Hill and Robert Barnard. I can't remember if I read this or if I actually heard it from Peter Lovesey himself on the street in New York around the corner from the Mysterious Book Shop, where I ran into him and Janet Hutchings of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine one evening. I do remember we had a lovely chat.
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