Peter Lovesey Novels

Mystery novels have a habit of portraying murder as a discrete affair for the middle class. Nowhere is this more apparent than in English mystery novels, as novel writers in England, being a literate caste, usually manage to present the world through tweed-colored spectacles. Peter Lovesey exemplifies this, as his characters always seem to evoke images of tea-sipping old women sharing a well-loved table at their favorite local haunt and recounting stories of life during the blitz. This is a far cry from the real world of murder, which is often one of drunken and drug-crazed rage, teenage street rivalries, or quiet, festering sexual perversion. Lovesey portrays murder in the sleepy doldrums of polite society in which his demographic spends the majority of its civil, conventional life.

Although the context for Lovesey's murders is presented as one that the reader can relate to, Lovesey is adept at...
[ View Full Essay]