Another One Goes Tonight is the 16th entry in Peter Lovesey's delightful Peter Diamond series, and the brilliance of the slightly cantankerous and overweight detective superintendent still shines strong.
Two cops, at the end of an exhaustingly long shift, end up crashing in their patrol car, killing one officer and putting the other in critical condition. Peter Diamond is assigned to investigate the accident (a different purview than his usual position in charge of the murder squad).
To the horror of the top brass, Diamond discovers a civilian, barely breathing, who had been lying undiscovered at the side of the road for hours after being hit by the police car. The detective's quick CPR efforts save the man's life, although he now languishes in a coma.
Diamond, discontent with investigating the car crash, can't help nosing a bit into the life of the civilian, and discovers, to his revulsion, that he may have saved the life of a serial killer. Without letting the higher-ups know, he and his team begin their own murder investigation.
Bringing the beautiful city of Bath and the political problems plaguing modern police departments vividly to life, Another One Goes Tonight is an irresistible entry in the Diamond series. The many subplots tie together nicely as Diamond keeps probing, with a final resolution that may surprise even those familiar with Lovesey's writing. And new readers are sure to love jumping right into such a wonderful series. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm