Wobble to Death

Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Mystery Writers of America 2018 Grandmaster

Praise for Wobble to Death

Winner of the Macmillan/Panther First Crime Novel Prize
One of Mystery Writers of America’s Best 100 Mystery Novels of All Time

““Nobody ever invented it once again better than that.”
—James Crumley
 
“First prize-winner, and a worthy one. The book’s primary fascination lies in the period detail—which is excellently done—and the sheer oddity of it all.”
—Sunday Times, Edmund Crispin

“The Mystery Writers of America named this book one of the 100 best mysteries of all time; half a century later, the magic holds up.”
—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

“A fine case of murder projected against a compelling historical background.”
—The New York Times
 
“Something brand-new in murder settings . . .  really wonderful.”
—San Francisco Examiner Chronicle
 
“Don’t miss this for an outstanding period piece with plummy characters and a killer neatly hidden. It will be on all the best lists.”
—Los Angeles Times, Dorothy B. Hughes
 
“A mystery story about which one might well ask, ‘They poison wobblers, don’t they?’ . . . Even if that notion was not too much for any reader to resist, Lovesey would ensnare him with such trappings as a splendid fog-shrouded chase in a hansom over the cobbled streets of London . . . Best of all, even as the murders are done, the suspects plod plausibly on . . . The result is a good read, as they say.”
—Sports Illustrated
 
“Excellent first novel involving murder at an English “wobble”, or pedestrian endurance contest, in 1879, all done in amazingly authentic style—and with two kinds of suspense: whodunit and who’ll win the race. Recommended.”
—Denver Post
 
“The details of the race are informative; the two murders committed at the event are fictitious and quite shocking.”
—Pittsburgh Press
 
“A gem of a murder mystery.”
—Houston Chronicle
 
“Here are true Victorians, not pious frauds of legend. Sound investigation by Sergeant Cribb rounds out a first-rate story of sustained thrill.”
—Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, John Dickson Carr
 
“The set-up of Wobble to Death is so splendid that many a judge would have given the prize on this alone without more ado.”
—Times Literary Supplement
 
“There is a refreshing originality about Wobble to Death . . .  One is inevitably reminded of that near-classic of the dance-marathons, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? but there is sufficient originality here to let the book stand squarely on its own . . . There is a haunting quality about the book which fixes it in the memory.”
—The Guardian
 
“Every detail chimes bell-true with every other and none is stuffed in for detail’s sake. Add a simple but effective mystery and what more could you ask?”
—The Times, H.R.F.Keating
 
“Prizewinner of a £1000 first crime novel competition and a really worthy one. A brilliant reconstruction.”
—The Observer
 
“A strikingly well-written whodunit in the classic pattern.”
—The Sun
 
“As good as they come.”
—Morning Star
 
“Brilliantly evocative of the sporting London of 1879 and fascinating in its description of one of the six-day pedestrian contests—“wobbles”—of the period. It is long since I came across so original a setting for a novel of mystery.”
—The Spectator
 
“Impressive and absorbing.”
—Library Journal

Praise for Peter Lovesey
 
“I have long loved Peter Lovesey’s books . . . A creative, courageous and gifted writer.”
—Louise Penny
 
“Lovesey is a master of the crime novel.”
—Sara Paretsky
 
“What’ll it be today? A knotty puzzle mystery? A fast-paced police procedural? Something more high-toned, with a bit of wit? With the British author Peter Lovesey, there’s no need to make those agonizing decisions, because his books have it all.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“Mr. Lovesey’s narrative is swift, but he takes time out for local color and abundant humor, the latter springing from the book’s quirky characters . . . Lovesey is a wizard at mixing character-driven comedy with realistic-to-grim suspense. And in a writing career spanning four decades, he has created a stylish and varied body of work.”
—The Wall Street Journal
 
“A treat . . . Lovesey’s restraint, wit, and charming cast ensure him a place in the winner’s circle.”
 —Entertainment Weekly
 
“Extremely stylish, lighter than air . . . utterly surprising.”
—Newsweek