Books like Bloodhounds by P Lovesey

Peter Diamond, head of Bath's murder squad, is in for a jarring case that leaves him far from his usual routine of bodies and investigations. A high‑profile heist, signaled by a rhyming riddle sent to local radio stations, leads Diamond to consider stepping beyond his precinct. But just as he prepares to intervene, a corpse surfaces in his court, concealed inside a padlocked houseboat. The victim belongs to the elite Bloodhounds, a club of mystery aficionados, and the only key to the houseboat rests in the pocket of a man with an ironclad alibi. Puzzle after puzzle unravels: no one seems capable of committing the crime, yet the victim is definitely not a suicide. Diamond must untangle whether the heist and the verse are a distraction or the core of a larger labyrinthine scheme by an unseen mastermind. As Diamond digs deeper, the stakes rise: is someone within the Bloodhounds capable of pulling off the perfect crime, or is there a darker motive at play that ties bleeding mystery to a broader conspiracy?

First publish date: 1996