Diamond Solitaire

Read by Simon PrebbleTotal Runtime 10 Hours 46 MinsDescription: Stripped of his Police rank, ex-detective Diamond is working as a Harrods' rent-a-cop, until a young Japanese girl is found hiding in the store during his watch and he receives another pink slip. With time free, he investigates the identity of the youngster, now named Naomi, who remains silent and unclaimed. When she is abducted, Diamond traces her to New York and Japan where a Sumo wrestler agrees to bankroll the ex-copper's highly [...]

I loved Lovesey's The Last Detective, which introduced the character Peter Diamond. This follow-up, while palpably more far-fetched, is even more entertaining. Fired (er, "resigned") from the cops, Diamond is reduced to working as a night security man at Harrods. One night the alarm goes off, and it's discovered an autistic Japanese toddler has been dumped in Diamond's area. Sacked for negligence, he decides to solve the mystery of where the little girl came from, a quest that takes him eventual [...]

Diamond Solitaire is the second book in the Peter Diamond series. Peter lost his detective job in the first book. Diamond Solitaire starts out with Peter being a security guard at Harrods on floor seven. Floor seven is the furniture store and computer security goes off regarding movement on that floor. The police arrive and a small Japanese girl is discovered under the cushions. Peter loses his job at Harrods. He and his wife 's standard of living has gone down considerably since the loss of his [...]

One of my all time favorite mysteries. The final scene has stayed with me for years.

I loved this dang thang. Diamond is such a curmudgeonly old pushover--what is it that reminds me of the best of men? I don't mind someone being impatient with the slowest among us, as long as they have a better idea. And Diamond always does. And not only that: he is kind, and well-meaning, and willing to put his mouthwell, where his mind [read:stomach] is, anyway. This is one mad-cap race around New York and Tokyo. His observations about NYC manners and cops are priceless, and sumo wrestlers als [...]

In the second book in the series, former Detective Superintendent Diamond tracks a missing child wherever the trail leads. This book isn’t exactly a mystery like the first book in the series because there isn’t a case the reader can solve from clues and deductions, but it isn’t exactly a suspense/thriller because, despite the serious nature of the crimes involved, there is a lot of incidental humor. Diamond is an engaging character, but the resolution of the plot had some major holes.

3.5 stars. More of a hopscotched story than others I’ve read in the series. This was distracting for me, and I was more interested in some of the story lines than others. A fairly interesting and loveable detective just manages to hold the book together.

1992, #2 Peter Diamond, ex-CID, London, NYC, Tokyo; professional as amateur sleuth. When an autistic child is found hidden in Harrods, Diamond tries to find her family and winds up in an international brou-ha-ha that includes Mafiosi, pharmaceutical scams and coverups, arson, and murder, and a spectacular star turn by an enormous Sumo wrestler. More thriller than mystery, and extremely well-paced and solidly plotted, but somehow lacks heart. Diamond doesn’t seem “at home” in any of it, and [...]

I loved this book. It was laugh out loud funny in places. Even thought Peter Diamond is no longer with the police, he still is big and intimidating. I especially liked the fact he was trying to help the little girl that was found in Harrods. He really went the distance to figure out why she didn't speak and why she was the way she was. I kind of figured some of the things out before they were revealed, but I still enjoyed how we got there. I have read other books by Mr Lovesey and I don't rememb [...]

It took me quite some time to settle in to this book and decide that I was going to continue reading it. It had been a number of years since I read the first Diamond mystery, and to my recollection, this one just seemed so different. Well, for one thing of course, he's no longer a cop, but a private security guard--and quickly becomes an ex-security guard when a small Japanese child is discovered after hours in the furniture department of the department store he was in charge of security for. Th [...]

First Sentence: An alert shattered the silence in Harrods, a piercing, continuous note.Ex-CID Peter Diamond missed seeing a small Japanese girl hiding in the furniture department of Harrods, resulting in his being fired. He can’t forget the girl, particularly after finding out she doesn’t speak, is being labeled autistic and no one has claimed her. Japan’s top sumo wrestler offers unlimited funds to Diamond for finding the girl’s family, but she is kidnapped by a woman, later found murde [...]

Immediately before this novel I had read the first in the series, The Last Detective which I had enjoyed for a number of reasons ( see my review). I was a little surprised therefore at the first few chapters of this one which appeared to have sacrificed several of these reasons. Away from the familiar streets of Bath this new book features London, Italy, New York and Tokyo and it appeared that there were going to be a larger cast of characters involved.And so a very different book to the first a [...]

Peter Diamond has been fired from the police force and cannot even keep his job as a Harrod’s cop. A young Japanese girl is found hiding in the store during his watch and, since he has nothing better to do with his time, he becomes determined to discover her identity. This is not so easy since the girl is mute and tentatively diagnosed as autistic. When she is kidnapped and taken to New York, Diamond follows and gets to match wits with the NYPD as well as the criminals. Still on her trail, he [...]

Peter Diamond returns from "The Last Detective'' as an unemployed homicide detective. He and his wife have been forced to move from the lovely Bath to live in a shabby London apartment while Peter unhappily works as a security guard in Harrods Department Store. One night when the alarms go off, he discovers a young Japanese girl who will not speak. Peter is sacked for missing the breach in security. Concerned about the girl, who hasn't been claimed, he begins on his own to investigate who she is [...]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Peter Diamond, ex-Chief Superintendent in New Scotland Yard, has been fired from his job as security guard in Harrods when he neglects to spot an autistic Japanese child hiding in his section. No one come forward to claim her and no one knows who she is. Diamond is moved by her plight and takes it upon himself to attempt to discover her identity. His investigation leads him into an international web of mystery, a murder, a run-in with the Mafia, and an auspicious relat [...]

Far fetched but frilling. I have rarely read such a compelling story when at times I wished I was watching a film as my eyes couldn't move fast enough through the words.Really, by this point in the series, we still know very little about Peter Diamond. But we know enough to understand why a little girl who loses him his job should steal his heart and have him racing round the globe to protect her. For all the ludicrously implausible access Diamond gains almost wherever he goes, there seemed a lo [...]

Peter Diamond, former police detective, while in Harrods, finds a Japanese child hiding in the furniture department. To learn the identity of the child and the reason she was abandoned, Diamond would have to follow the clues from London, to New York then to Tokyo. Diamond Solitaire is a book you’d want to listen to on a quiet night. Simon Prebble’s storytelling made the characters come to life.

It's taken me forever to get hold of this second book in the series - it's been out of print and I only found out about this omnibus edition (with The Last Detective that I've already read) by accident. Definitely a series to read more of if a bit far fetched at times.

Odd & intelligent plot & a clean read (author's usual - kudos). Pleasantly (& clearly) narrated. The info on the public's response to autism was helpful. Recommended.

I read Peter Lovesey's WHOLE Peter Diamond series (16 books in all) in June and July of 2017, sequentially and without an iota of boredom. Forgive me for posting this as a comment/review into each book's space: I didn't think to do it as I was reading morning to night with no intervening literature.The main detective, Peter Diamond, a few other police types, and a couple of non-police characters are incorporated into a series of crimes set in and around Bath, England. Historical and literary inc [...]

Highly improbable story, but interesting for the character development. Peter Diamond has failed as a police detective and as a security guard, but he is becoming a better person in spite of himself: kinder, gentler, more human that he ever thought possible. His involvement with a little autistic girl takes him to New York City and Japan, and into the worlds of sumo wrestling and the pharmaceutical industry. Suspension of disbelief is essential here but it's a book that's hard to put down and it [...]

Delightful! Peter Diamond, ex-CID Superintendent, ex-Harrods Security Guard, savior of small children and part-time sumo wrestler, rides to the rescue of a nameless and possibly autistic Japanese child in London. Before all is resolved he flies to New York and Japan and involves himself in a case of securities fraud. Couldn't put it down and I'm moving right on to #3 in the series. Highly recommended if you're a mystery fan.

I am enjoying this series. I found elements of this a bit unbelievable, especially the sumo master getting involved, but truly enjoyed the truth of the situation and the little girl at the center of the mystery.

Despite the murders this book is gently written. Get a peek at the drug manufacturing business, Japan and Diamond’s wife. I will get the third book in the series as soon as I read the 3 books I just requested and received from the library.

I loved the story. The sumo stuff was an added bonus.

Very good mystery told by Peter Lovesey. This story has many twists & turns that take you to several different continents. I highly recommend this book.

I didn't care for the plot of this one. I like the characters, and want to find out what happens to Detective Diamond - read book #1 - but found myself skimming this book.

Enjoyable detective story. Overweight (already I like him) detective forced off the force, soft spot for little child, who is kidnapped, and he decides to do what's necessary to retrieve her

Bounced around too much

This is my second "Peter Diamond" book. I really enjoyed the story and will look forward to reading more books in this series.