MWA Grand Master and CWA Diamond Dagger winner Peter Lovesey here presents a collection of short fiction spanning his 50 year career, from the first story he ever published (the one that got him noticed by Ruth Rendell) to three brand new ones. These eighteen yarns of mystery, melancholy, and mischief inhabit such deadly settings as a theater, a monastery, and the book publishing industry. And to Lovesey's surprise, his irascible Bath detective Peter Diamond even managed to "bulldoze his way" into the collection.

"Crisp dialogue, effortless narration, appealing characters, ingenious plots, and effervescent whimsy…. A thoroughly entertaining compendium of the best of the best by one of the best."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)