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Peter Diamond #6
The Vault: Detective Peter Diamond Book 6
A skeletal hand is unearthed in the vault under the Pump Room in Bath, England, near the site where Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein . Then a skull is excavated. The bones came from different corpses, and one is modern. Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond must solve a series of crimes including murder and forgery, requiring a knowledge of history, nineteenth-century art, literature . . . and human nature.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
119 people are currently reading
487 people want to read
About the author
Peter Lovesey
294 books644 followersPeter Harmer Lovesey, also known by his pen name Peter Lear, was a British writer of historical and contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detective based in London, and Peter Diamond, a modern-day police detective in Bath. He was also one of the world's leading track and field statisticians.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
February 2, 2024
The Vault is another solid police procedural in the Peter Diamond series. Detective Diamond has a logical and calm way of working his cases that I find comforting. I feel relaxed knowing that I can rely on author Peter Lovesey to wrap up the mystery by the end of the book.
I also like learning about the rich history of Bath, England as I work my way through this book series. In The Vault, I found out more about Mary Shelley and William Blake.
Audible included this book for free with my membership. The narrator Michael Healy was good except for his attempt to speak in a US American accent for some characters. It was not even close to sounding realistic.
I also like learning about the rich history of Bath, England as I work my way through this book series. In The Vault, I found out more about Mary Shelley and William Blake.
Audible included this book for free with my membership. The narrator Michael Healy was good except for his attempt to speak in a US American accent for some characters. It was not even close to sounding realistic.
June 5, 2014
First Sentence: Some weird objects are handed in at Bath Police Stations.
Bones—contemporary bones, not Roman bones--are discovered in a vault below the house in which Mary Shelly wrote most of her book “Frankenstein.” An American academic and Shelly fan, reports that his wife has gone missing at the time he was in an antique shop trying to buy a letterbox said to have belonged to the author. When the owner turns up dead, D.S. Diamond has to question whether the man is guilty of one murder, two…or none.
The book begins with an excellent hook. There’s no question of putting the book down, once one starts it.
It’s hard not to love the characters, particularly with Lovesey’s humor, bad puns…”The bony hand, resting on its pizza box, was deposited on Detective Superintendent Peter diamond’s desk. “What’s this—a finger buffet?”…”…When’s medieval?” “Later than Roman,”… The dialogue, in general, is wonderful… “Where did you find it.?" "At Hay-on-Wye." This was cause for a smile. "Sooner or later everything of no special distinction seems to end up there.” It’s wonderful to have dialogue that is clever and witty enough to make one laugh.
Diamond is a great character and a bit of a contrast. Although he always describes himself as believing other see him as annoying and a curmudgeon, there’s little actual evidence of that from his actions. He helps a young reporter who wants to join the police. He has a wonderful conversation with a 6-year-old girl. He has a good relationship with his wife. And he sings songs by Queen—how can one not like a character that single Queen? As an investigator, he uses logic and questioning, rather than makes assumptions.
The plot is interesting and contains information on some rather obscure history of Bath, Mary Shelly, and art—including a reference to David Hockney. One intriguing comment was that in all his years as a murder man, the board of crime scene photos had never been of an practical help. There are a couple threads to the plot, as well as some clever twists, and everything is brought together really well at the end.
“The Vault,” although perhaps not my favorite of the series, is a very clever mystery; well written and enjoyable. Lovesey’s Peter Diamond series has become a definite favorite of mine.
THE VAULT (Pol Proc-DS Peter Diamond-Bath, England-Contemp) - VG
Lovesey, Peter – 5th in series
Soho, 1999
Bones—contemporary bones, not Roman bones--are discovered in a vault below the house in which Mary Shelly wrote most of her book “Frankenstein.” An American academic and Shelly fan, reports that his wife has gone missing at the time he was in an antique shop trying to buy a letterbox said to have belonged to the author. When the owner turns up dead, D.S. Diamond has to question whether the man is guilty of one murder, two…or none.
The book begins with an excellent hook. There’s no question of putting the book down, once one starts it.
It’s hard not to love the characters, particularly with Lovesey’s humor, bad puns…”The bony hand, resting on its pizza box, was deposited on Detective Superintendent Peter diamond’s desk. “What’s this—a finger buffet?”…”…When’s medieval?” “Later than Roman,”… The dialogue, in general, is wonderful… “Where did you find it.?" "At Hay-on-Wye." This was cause for a smile. "Sooner or later everything of no special distinction seems to end up there.” It’s wonderful to have dialogue that is clever and witty enough to make one laugh.
Diamond is a great character and a bit of a contrast. Although he always describes himself as believing other see him as annoying and a curmudgeon, there’s little actual evidence of that from his actions. He helps a young reporter who wants to join the police. He has a wonderful conversation with a 6-year-old girl. He has a good relationship with his wife. And he sings songs by Queen—how can one not like a character that single Queen? As an investigator, he uses logic and questioning, rather than makes assumptions.
The plot is interesting and contains information on some rather obscure history of Bath, Mary Shelly, and art—including a reference to David Hockney. One intriguing comment was that in all his years as a murder man, the board of crime scene photos had never been of an practical help. There are a couple threads to the plot, as well as some clever twists, and everything is brought together really well at the end.
“The Vault,” although perhaps not my favorite of the series, is a very clever mystery; well written and enjoyable. Lovesey’s Peter Diamond series has become a definite favorite of mine.
THE VAULT (Pol Proc-DS Peter Diamond-Bath, England-Contemp) - VG
Lovesey, Peter – 5th in series
Soho, 1999
June 10, 2019
Peter Diamond supplies a bounty of chuckles in this delightfully plotted episode of Bath crimes tied to literature of old. I catch a book here and there leading up to release in July of the latest book so to keep his latest embarrassments, challenges and victories in mind.
The action kicks off with the discovery of bones in vault underneath paved churchyard where it so happens that once upon a time Mary Shelley lived whilst writing her Frankenstein. It is a jolly good ride with many colorful characters.
The action kicks off with the discovery of bones in vault underneath paved churchyard where it so happens that once upon a time Mary Shelley lived whilst writing her Frankenstein. It is a jolly good ride with many colorful characters.
January 17, 2025
Lovesey is a classic in British murder mystery and police procedural. Peter Diamond, head of Bath’s Murder Squad, has lost his longtime deputy, Julie Hargreaves. She said she was tired of Diamond’s meathead ways–oblivious when he was asking too much, sexist when making assignment, less of a mentor than tormentor. He misses her, but comes across another young lovely in the form of a local reporter who turns up great clues through her thorough research. It turns out she wants to join the police force.
This is another complicated novel, following the path of Mary Shelley in Bath, the writer of the Frankenstein book in the early 19th Century there. A body in a underground vault is uncovered and discovered to be only 20 years old. Simultaneously a series of paintings are suspected to be drafted by the hand of William Blake, for Mary Shelley’s book.
So many suspects are narrowed to a small number of recurring names and it is still difficult to be sure who the culprit is.
This is another complicated novel, following the path of Mary Shelley in Bath, the writer of the Frankenstein book in the early 19th Century there. A body in a underground vault is uncovered and discovered to be only 20 years old. Simultaneously a series of paintings are suspected to be drafted by the hand of William Blake, for Mary Shelley’s book.
So many suspects are narrowed to a small number of recurring names and it is still difficult to be sure who the culprit is.
January 4, 2009
Detective Superintendent Diamond, of Bath, has a peculiar crime on his hands. A pair of hands is discovered by workmen excavating a old cellar that turns out to be the vault of an old house that once had belonged to Mary Shelley, and it appears she had written Frankenstein while in residence there. Professor Joe Dougan from Ohio has found a book of Milton’s poetry with the initials M.W.G. inscribed inside the cover (Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was Mary Shelley’s maiden name when she lived in Bath.) Clearly the book had belonged to the author while she was working on her famous novel. The case suddenly becomes complicated when the professor's wife disappears, and the body of Peg Redbird, owner of the Noble and Nude Antique Shop, washes up at the weir. Dougan had been at the Noble and Nude trying to trace the provenance of his book, and Peg had told him it had originally been found in an old writing box that Dougan hopes might have belonged to Shelley. Another Frankenstein connection appears in the guise of two paintings that may have been done by Blake as illustrations for the original publication. Then Joe Wigman, another detective assigned to the case, is found in a field, the back of his head coshed in. Diamond is a refreshing character, no drinking problem, he loves his wife, but there is enough of the curmudgeon in him to be constantly irritated by his boss, the assistant chief constable (Georgina) and her requests to cater to the councilmen and politicos (one of whom is her boyfriend) and reporters (whom Diamond generally loathes). Valuable clues keep popping up courtesy of one of these reporters who’s dying to become a police detective herself, much to Diamond’s consternation.
February 22, 2020
"Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust"
How I wish I could witness Peter Diamond driving down the road and belting out that song! There was quite a lot going on in this book: the mysterious murder of a shopowner, a missing artifact, a possible forger, a missing wife, bones found underneath number five, Abbey Churchyard, the former home of Frankenstein’s creator Mary Shelley, and more. Of course, Peter Diamond managed to figure everything out in his usual curmudgeonly, but humorous, way!
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust"
How I wish I could witness Peter Diamond driving down the road and belting out that song! There was quite a lot going on in this book: the mysterious murder of a shopowner, a missing artifact, a possible forger, a missing wife, bones found underneath number five, Abbey Churchyard, the former home of Frankenstein’s creator Mary Shelley, and more. Of course, Peter Diamond managed to figure everything out in his usual curmudgeonly, but humorous, way!
September 19, 2019
Good mystery featuring that great lummox Diamond trying to tone down the attitude for a new boss. I was wrong about whodunnit, but sorta right too. Good one.
January 19, 2018
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 inclusions enrich the texts without being excessive. The inclusion of the music of a string quartet in one book was stupefying to this music lover.
The depth of description of the main characters is Just Right: they are rich, real, fully settled in the time and place where they appear. Minor characters reappear and are developed as their roles in each book's situation grows. There are a couple of emotionally shocking developments (no need for suspension of disbelief) one of which made me quite sad on a summer's day.
I was so absorbed by these book (MUST read chronologically) that I was unable to take in any other book in Lovesey's prolific bibliography. Probably my fault. They weren't Peter Diamond books, hence not worthy....
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 inclusions enrich the texts without being excessive. The inclusion of the music of a string quartet in one book was stupefying to this music lover.
The depth of description of the main characters is Just Right: they are rich, real, fully settled in the time and place where they appear. Minor characters reappear and are developed as their roles in each book's situation grows. There are a couple of emotionally shocking developments (no need for suspension of disbelief) one of which made me quite sad on a summer's day.
I was so absorbed by these book (MUST read chronologically) that I was unable to take in any other book in Lovesey's prolific bibliography. Probably my fault. They weren't Peter Diamond books, hence not worthy....
October 23, 2009
"The Vault" was an enjoyable, but not really memorable, mystery set in the 1990's in Bath, England. The main character, Peter Diamond, was interesting, but a bit bluntly rude and overbearing when dealing with people. I did enjoy his low-key humor and word-play jokes, though.
Peter Diamond was neither exceptionally smart or stupid. The reader always had more information than Peter Diamond, so we had the satisfaction of feeling smarter than him because we could figure out parts of the mystery before he did. However, he made good use of the missing information the moment he got it. Since he was the boss of the investigation and knew all the information, he had his turn at looking smart in front of his peers.
The pacing was very good, and the details about the town and history of Bath were interesting. There was a minor amount of swearing and some British cussing. There was no sex. Overall, I'd rate this book as enjoyable, fairly clean fun.
Peter Diamond was neither exceptionally smart or stupid. The reader always had more information than Peter Diamond, so we had the satisfaction of feeling smarter than him because we could figure out parts of the mystery before he did. However, he made good use of the missing information the moment he got it. Since he was the boss of the investigation and knew all the information, he had his turn at looking smart in front of his peers.
The pacing was very good, and the details about the town and history of Bath were interesting. There was a minor amount of swearing and some British cussing. There was no sex. Overall, I'd rate this book as enjoyable, fairly clean fun.
May 25, 2014
Lovesey is among the very best writers of the modern British "cozy", and this novel is well up to his usual standards. A skeletal hand is dug out of a vault under the Pump Room in Bath; an antiques dealer is found in the river with her skull bashed in. Add lots of lovely details about Mary Shelley, William Blake, Frankenstein, art forgery and other good stuff, and you have the makings of a hugely enjoyable romp.
December 12, 2015
I am thoroughly enjoying this series.
In this one our author manages to entwine bits of social history/with literature and a bit of Bath history as well.
Without going into the most enjoyable plot, I dint even realise that Mary Shelley or John Milton or William Blake ever lived in Bath.
A nicely weaved tale with the background charactors that we know from previous books.
Another 4.5 scorer
In this one our author manages to entwine bits of social history/with literature and a bit of Bath history as well.
Without going into the most enjoyable plot, I dint even realise that Mary Shelley or John Milton or William Blake ever lived in Bath.
A nicely weaved tale with the background charactors that we know from previous books.
Another 4.5 scorer
July 2, 2018
Quite good. Did you know that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein while living in Bath? Neither did most of the characters in this book and therein lies the motive for the murder.
December 20, 2025
Cosy crime novel with a literary, antiquarian theme.
Did you know that Mary Shelley, having conceived the plot for Frankenstein near Geneva, Switzerland, then did the actual writing in Bath, England? This is the premise for The Vault. Lovesey considers the possibility that Shelley’s monster story was illustrated by the poet-artist William Blake, with his artwork and Shelley’s possessions turning up in the shady world of antique dealers and rare book collectors.
The Vault has a rather old-fashioned feel, being authored when Lovesey was in his mid-60s. We have historic Bath, back-street antique shops, puppet shows, stereotypically wealthy American tourists, scandal-hungry reporters, and the usual details of a police procedural. While there is the occasional drug addict, this could be classed as a “cosy mystery” - no graphic sex or violence, and a generally benevolent view of English culture and its institutions.
This provided ample entertainment for long hours in airports and sardined onto long flights but could hardly be described as gripping. It doesn’t compel me to explore Lovesey’s other works.
Did you know that Mary Shelley, having conceived the plot for Frankenstein near Geneva, Switzerland, then did the actual writing in Bath, England? This is the premise for The Vault. Lovesey considers the possibility that Shelley’s monster story was illustrated by the poet-artist William Blake, with his artwork and Shelley’s possessions turning up in the shady world of antique dealers and rare book collectors.
The Vault has a rather old-fashioned feel, being authored when Lovesey was in his mid-60s. We have historic Bath, back-street antique shops, puppet shows, stereotypically wealthy American tourists, scandal-hungry reporters, and the usual details of a police procedural. While there is the occasional drug addict, this could be classed as a “cosy mystery” - no graphic sex or violence, and a generally benevolent view of English culture and its institutions.
This provided ample entertainment for long hours in airports and sardined onto long flights but could hardly be described as gripping. It doesn’t compel me to explore Lovesey’s other works.
May 26, 2017
The bones from a human hand are found in a "vault" (sounds like a sub-basement, maybe) of a building under construction in Bath. Information comes to light that this is the house author Mary Shelley was living in when she wrote most of the book 'Frankenstein' back in the early 1800's, so of course speculation runs rampant, especially in the press. Only when tests show that the bones are only about 20 years old does DI Peter Diamond's job get a lot harder. And when a woman's dead body is fished out of the river and one of his colleagues ends up in hospital after being coshed on the head, Diamond suddenly has an over-abundance of things to be investigating.
Love this series and very pleased to have so many more to look forward to yet.
Love this series and very pleased to have so many more to look forward to yet.
February 3, 2018
When workmen uncover two buried skeletal hands in an ancient vault, Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond must untangle a complex chain of events with echoes of the English Romantics, leading to a very modern case of murder. The sixth outing in the series offers an engaging combination of suspense, mystery, literature, and art set in atmospheric Bath with the strong-willed (or should I say stubborn) DS Diamond coping (or should I say, clashing) with a new boss.
April 23, 2021
A good Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond novel. A hand dug up in a vault in the Roman Baths area leads to a linked writing box with connections to Mary Shelly and the Frankenstein novel. The case hots up with the discovery of a body. Diamond is still baiting Chief Inspector Wigfull and misses his deputy Julie Hargreaves who has been seconded to the HQ team. All the usual ingredients of a good crime novel.
4 stars
4 stars
February 10, 2023
An amusing hypothesis that William Blake painted a series of watercolors to illustrate the novel Frankenstein serves as one of the subplots of this sixth mystery in the Diamond series.
October 9, 2024
Well written; interesting premise; was able to follow all the threads.
March 23, 2025
Enjoying these mysteries set in Bath. This one in the Roman baths
June 7, 2025
Enjoyable, inventive detective stories by Lovesey, set in Bath, England. When rating these, I consider the genre, not whether this type of novel is great literature.
August 17, 2019
An enjoyable read with a literary bent. Likeable characters. Would be happy to read more of Peter Diamond investigations.
October 28, 2021
The ever brilliant Peter Lovesey and his superb series with Peter Diamond sorting out fact from fiction in a murder in the crypt! Frankenstein, paintings, red herrings in Bath!
So v v good!!
So v v good!!
June 10, 2015
Peter Lovesey is English, but he is well known in the US. He has won awards for his mysteries in both places. This one takes place in Bath, which dates back to Roman times. The protagonist, Peter Diamond, may be gruff on the surface, but you get the impression he wouldn't hurt a fly. (I'm always amazed at how British detectives go into dangerous situations without even carrying a gun.) A skeletal hand found in the building housing the Roman bath turns out to be modern. Artifacts belonging to Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein, are also involved, because she lived here while she was writing the book. There are also watercolor paintings that may have been painted by William Blake. The Vault is almost a cozy. There are sexual references, but the language is family-friendly and the violence is offstage. The reasoning to figure out who did what to whom is convoluted, but it's an interesting ride.
December 5, 2022
I found this to be a very interesting tale of two cases, one dating back to the 1980s and another in the present. Both linked through Mary Shelley and Frankenstein.
It was very enjoyable to read the case and development of Peter diamond through both the cases and his interactions with people who regard him as a dinosaur and tenacious and skirting the line but he gets results! Not afraid to ruffle feathers to get there.
What I like most about these books is the setting of Bath, its very rare for my fiction reading to be set in places I have visited and locations I have physically been sat in, most of my fiction is set abroad or fictional settings but here for instance the couple sat outside the entrance of the Roman Baths on a bench, exactly where I have sat several times. Just a fun little thing to me.
These books are excellent and I'm thoroughly enjoying them very much, I did read the synopsis to the next and wish I hadn't!
It was very enjoyable to read the case and development of Peter diamond through both the cases and his interactions with people who regard him as a dinosaur and tenacious and skirting the line but he gets results! Not afraid to ruffle feathers to get there.
What I like most about these books is the setting of Bath, its very rare for my fiction reading to be set in places I have visited and locations I have physically been sat in, most of my fiction is set abroad or fictional settings but here for instance the couple sat outside the entrance of the Roman Baths on a bench, exactly where I have sat several times. Just a fun little thing to me.
These books are excellent and I'm thoroughly enjoying them very much, I did read the synopsis to the next and wish I hadn't!
February 1, 2011
This is the first Peter Diamond mystery I've read but certainly won't be the last. Lovesey's style proves more lighthearted than Peter Robinson but just as compelling. This book has several real puzzles that are satisfactorily resolved with characters and places bear names almost Dickensian with wit. The setting, Bath England, with its multilayered history promises to provide many opportunities.
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December 30, 2019This is the book that introduced me to the Peter Diamond series and Peter Lovesey as an author around a decade ago when I checked this out from my school library.
Despite being the 6th book in the series, I wasn't lost (but definitely knew I was missing background) and I've gone on to not read the series in any real order.
Despite being the 6th book in the series, I wasn't lost (but definitely knew I was missing background) and I've gone on to not read the series in any real order.
October 13, 2022
The writing style was breezy and interesting for sure but some of the police conclusions as they worked to find a killer were absolutely absurd. The actual killer was so ridiculous, I could not suspend disbelief about the entire situation, even after it had been explained. Absurd. I will not be reading any more books by this author, that's for sure.
November 1, 2023
Clever and as entertaining as ever.
March 5, 2024
I continue to be impressed. He fires on all cylinders (I think, I'm not a car person so my car metaphors are only so-so), with nary a mis-step. In a mystery, ideally, I want a compelling narrative (check) with interesting characters I can tell apart from one another (check, check), a surprising but satisfying and fair resolution (check), and if possible some sense of fun (not silly fun, e.g. Blotto and Twinks, but more the fun to be had from Murder on the Orient Express or The Magpie Murders), which he has in abundance, check. He also gets credit for extra difficulty, as he normally navigates the perilous shores of more-than-one point of view, which I normally detest, and he sticks the landing each time.
Setting aside gymnastics and car metaphors, neither of which pertain to this tale of William Blake's artworks, Mary Shelly's taste in poets, and a mysterious discovery in the Bath bath, it's just one of those books where I began reading and couldn't wait to continue whenver I had to stop. That's all I want in a book, really: the necessity to return to it.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
Setting aside gymnastics and car metaphors, neither of which pertain to this tale of William Blake's artworks, Mary Shelly's taste in poets, and a mysterious discovery in the Bath bath, it's just one of those books where I began reading and couldn't wait to continue whenver I had to stop. That's all I want in a book, really: the necessity to return to it.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
April 17, 2020
In Bath, England, workers unearth a skeletal hand in a vault below the streets, and Inspector Peter Diamond is put onto a 20 year old case, such as it is. Meanwhile, an American professor has discovered that the house where Mary Shelley wrote 'Frankenstein' in Bath was demolished, but the vault was part of it. He's asking around about Shelley and 'Frankenstein' because he purchased an era-appropriate Milton with her initials and Bath address in it. As he traces the book's provenance, it leads him back to a Bath antiques shop, and the possibility that the book was in a portable writing desk that the shop might still have. Meanwhile, the press have made the connection between Frankenstein and the skeletal hand investigation, giving Diamond no end of headaches. But then, a woman's body is found in the river, and it seems the American professor might have been the last to see her...
I quite enjoyed this mystery with its literary and Bath connections. The clues were doled out at just the right places, and I didn't guess the murderer, which is a good thing. There is lots of great setting detail, and the characters are vivid (if sometimes offensive). The one thing that really bothered me was the outdated, sneering attitude towards a chronic drug addict. Otherwise, a good mystery.
I quite enjoyed this mystery with its literary and Bath connections. The clues were doled out at just the right places, and I didn't guess the murderer, which is a good thing. There is lots of great setting detail, and the characters are vivid (if sometimes offensive). The one thing that really bothered me was the outdated, sneering attitude towards a chronic drug addict. Otherwise, a good mystery.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews