The Tooth Tattoo

When a body is pulled from a canal in Bath, the only clue to her identity is a tiny tattoo on one of her teeth — a single musical note. For Detective Peter Diamond, already bruised by the collapse of a promising relationship, this strange detail opens a case that spirals into the rarefied and rivalrous world of professional chamber music. The missing woman may have connections to a celebrated string quartet, and Mel Farran, a young musician newly arrived in Bath, finds himself drawn into something far more dangerous than a residency gig. Lovesey builds dread quietly, letting the beauty of the setting and the world of classical performance mask something genuinely sinister underneath.

Lovesey writes with the ease of someone completely in command of his form — the pacing is unhurried but never slack, and the Bath setting is rendered with affectionate precision rather than tourist-brochure gloss. What distinguishes this entry in the long-running Diamond series is how thoroughly the music world is woven into the mystery's logic, not just its backdrop. Readers who appreciate procedurals with real texture and a protagonist whose personal life complicates his professional instincts will find this one quietly absorbing.