The Finisher

Bath Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond has been detailed to crowd control at the city's half marathon, which seems like punishment duty until a runner disappears mid-race and one of the finish-line spectators turns out to be a violent criminal Diamond put away a decade ago. Maeve Kelly, a teacher who signed up for the race against her better judgment, finds herself at the center of something deadly before she crosses the finish line. Or does not cross it.

James Langton narrates the Peter Diamond series with the specific quality of affectionate exasperation that suits Diamond's character: a detective who is frequently assigned to situations he considers beneath him and invariably finds himself in the middle of serious crimes. His performance handles both the procedural investigation and the parallel running narrative with equal energy. Langton's voice gives Bath its characteristic atmosphere of Victorian respectability containing genuine darkness.