WOBBLE TO DEATH

By Peter Lovesey

Synopsis

In Victorian London, race-walking, or "wobbles", are all the rage. So on a Monday morning in November 1879 the crowds gather for Islington's bizarre six-day endurance walking race. By Tuesday, one of the contestants is dead. Tetanus from a blister is assumed, but then there is a second death, and this time it's definitely murder. A bemused Sergeant Cribb from Scotland Yard is called in, along with Constable Thackeray, and they soon discover that something foul is at play.

Sample Player

Narrator	David Thorpe
Length	7hrs
Catalogue No.	15133
Publisher	Soundings Audio; 2018

Other audiobooks by Peter Lovesey

BERTIE AND THE TINMAN

When the famous jockey, Fred Archer (known as the Tinman) shoots himself the verdict is suicide, but the Prince of Wales is suspicious. He decides to use his extensive knowledge of horse-racing to help him investigate the death.

BLOODHOUNDS

Peter Diamond is back at Bath CID but doesn't believe his expertise is needed to solve the theft of a rare stamp from the local museum. But when a dead body turns up hours after the stamp, Diamond realizes the victim was a reader of mystery fiction - of the "locked room" variety.

DIAMOND DUST

At the end of a successful court case, DI Peter Diamond is keen to take on another case. When a body is discovered in a park in Bath, he dashes there to take on the case, only to find that the victim is his beloved wife, Steph!

THE FALSE INSPECTOR DEW

It is 1921, and Alma Webster, a reader of romances, is passionately in love with her dentist, Walter Baranov. There is only one foreseeable outcome: the murder of his wife...

THE LAST DETECTIVE

A woman's naked body is found floating in the weeds of a lake near Bath, by an elderly woman walking her Siamese cats. No-one comes forward to identify her, and no murder weapon is found, but sleuthing is Superintendent Peter Diamond's speciality. A genuine gumshoe, practising door-stopping and deduction: he is the last detective.

THE REAPER

Otis Joy is a very good vicar - he attracts record-breaking congregations, is admired and respected by all, and the village of Foxford is delighted to have him. What the citizens of Foxford don't realise, though, is that their beloved parish priest is a murderer. When the husband of his new treasurer is found dead, perhaps he's taken one life too many . . .

SERGEANT CRIBB

Tough, shrewd and determined, Sergeant Cribb is a stalwart of Scotland Yard's newly formed Criminal Investigation Department. Aided and abetted by the loyal, stolid Constable Thackeray, he pounds the fog-shrouded streets of Victorian London, tracking down murderers and bringing them to justice. Waxwork - 1888. Sentenced to death for murder, Miriam Cromer awaits her fate in Newgate Prison. She has confessed that blackmail drove her to kill, but a photograph sent anonymously to the Home Office reveals new evidence and Sgt Cribb must investigate. Starring Brian Cox as Sergeant Cribb and John Cater as Thackeray. Swing, Swing Together - 1889, and Jerome K Jerome's bestselling novel Three Men in a Boat has sparked a craze for rowing on the River Thames. Out for a midnight swim, Harriet Shaw notices an unlikely boating threesome - and when a body is discovered, the trio become murder suspects, and Harriet the key witness... Barry Foster stars as Sergeant Cribb, with John Cater as Thackeray.A Case of Spirits - Spiritualism is all the rage among well-to-do Victorian Londoners, but when thefts follow two séances, Cribb is called in. He suspects the young medium, Peter Brand, but Brand's mysterious death means he must look further afield. Starring Barry Foster as Sergeant Cribb and John Cater as Thackeray. Wobble to Death - During a six-day speed-walking race, one of the pedestrian competitors is found dead, poisoned by strychnine. Enter Cribb and Thackeray, who discover murder is afoot. Timothy Bateson stars as Sergeant Cribb, with William Eedle as Thackeray. Abracadaver - Investigating a series of 'accidents' in the Victorian music-halls, the indomitable detective duo uncover the dark side of these popular entertainment palaces when a murder takes place. Starring Frank Windsor as Cribb and John Hollis as Thackeray. Due to the different ages of the recordings in this collection, the sound quality may vary.

UPON A DARK NIGHT

A young woman emerges from a coma. Who is she, and why was she dumped unconscious in a hospital car park upon a dark night? Peter Diamond is already investigating a suspicious death - a woman has plunged from the roof of Bath's Royal Crescent during a party and none of the guests seem to know who she is. Diamond takes on the case, but his own dark night is just beginning...

THE VAULT

Assuming it to be medieval, Detective Peter Diamond is unimpressed when a severed hand is discovered in a vault. When the hand turns out to be from the early 1980's, Diamond has a thankless investigation to work on.