Peter Lovesey is a marvel. If you love or even like mysteries, he needs to be at the top of your must-read list. He should be a household name in the United States, but is not, despite being critically acclaimed to a stratospheric level in his native England. Thus it is welcome news that his latest novel, DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN, has had the benefit of some pre-publication hype prior to its American release. It is one of those rare books that you will want to read twice: once for the enjoyment, and a second time to fully appreciate its construction.

DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN is part of the long-running Peter Diamond series, and a wonderful installment it is. Put him in any room, and odds are that Diamond is the smartest among the occupants while being tactful enough not to let anyone know it. A Detective Superintendent in Bath, Somerset, Diamond is content enough to do his job and leave it in his desk each evening as he spends time with his cat, and Paloma, his friend with benefits. That satisfying life is shaken up a bit, however, when Diamond finds himself under force of gentle but immutable order to forsake his comfortable and familiar environs in Bath for the rural setting of Sussex. Worse, he finds himself doing so on the orders of his superior, the semi-dreaded Chief Constable Georgina Dallymore, who he is forced to accompany to Sussex at close quarters.

"Lovesey accomplishes much with understatement and subtlety so that the considerable critical acclaim he has received is not at all surprising."

The unlikely duo is tasked with investigating an allegation of dereliction of duty on the part of a Sussex police officer. Several years prior to the events of DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN, a veteran car thief named Danny Stapleton was stopped while driving a vehicle that had been reported as stolen. Upon examination of the automobile, the arresting officers uncovered a substantial amount of money in the car, which Danny knew about; there was also a dead body in the trunk, which was news to him. Off to prison he went, and stayed. It developed that some stray hairs were subsequently discovered in the car and found to have belonged to the niece of the Sussex police officer tasked with the investigation.

In the present, an anonymous letter to the Sussex Police Department alleges that the officer failed to investigate her niece and buried the information. That Diamond knows the officer from a prior investigation is a fact he keeps to himself. There is more to sort out in Sussex, though. People have a tendency to disappear in the area, and Diamond is wondering if perhaps the local constables are ignoring the disappearances or, worse, if they are somehow tied to that long-ago case involving the hapless car thief.

As Diamond begins nosing around, off-track from his original mission, a high school student at a posh local girls school goes missing as she takes it upon herself to conduct her own amateur investigation into the disappearance of an unpopular art teacher from the school some months before. Diamond uses his smarts and a bit of luck to sort things out to a satisfactory, if not entirely happy, conclusion, which is a mixed blessing in more than one way.

There are neither fireworks nor fisticuffs here. The narrative instead relies upon character and plot in equal measure with droll wit and wisdom throughout. Lovesey accomplishes much with understatement and subtlety so that the considerable critical acclaim he has received is not at all surprising. You will want to put DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN, and the author’s backlist, on your must-read card.