I've been reading mysteries this summer. I came upon a series by Peter Lovesey. So far, I have read three of the eleven in the series. My plan is to read them in the order in which they were written. In the first book you are introduced to the primary character, Peter Diamond, a detective who is highly placed on the Bath, England police force. He solves the crime but in doing so he runs afoul of the senior officer, his boss, and resigns in anger. So, in the second book, he is working odd jobs, very odd jobs, such as a store Santa and a security guard. Still, he manages to solve the crime. In the third book, a convict escapes and kidnaps his former boss's daughter because he wants to force a meeting with Diamond who was the detective who put him away for a previous crime. One he did not commit, so he tells Diamond, and so he wants Diamond to prove he did not commit it by finding the real criminal. This book is called Summons and by the end Diamond has his job back.
Peter Diamond is overweight and speaks his mind and is not easy to get along with. Except with his wife with whom he has a solid marriage. She supported him when he walked away from his job even though it meant relocating to some cheaper digs. She volunteers at Oxfam which came in handy when Peter needed to find cheaper clothing alternatives. Peter is old school, too. He doesn't trust technology and thinks too many good cops are wasting their time in front of computers instead of solving crimes the old fashioned way - by good detective work which involves knocking on doors and following leads and talking to people. And using their powers of observation.
Solving a mystery is way of seeing things. Things that are right there in front of you. Seeing how they fit together. Thinking of other ways the facts can fall into place. Reading mysteries remind us that life is complicated, that things are not always the way they seem at first sight. There's a lot going on in this world. If you want to catch on to what God is doing, you have to keep your eyes open and wait and watch.
