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Peter Lovesey
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Waxwork (A Sergeant Cribb Investigation Book 8) Kindle Edition

by Peter Lovesey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 155 ratings
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“At once charming, chilling and convincing as if it had unfolded in the Police Intelligence column of April, 1888.” —TIME

London, 1888. Though the beautiful Miriam Cromer has confessed to the murder of her husband’s assistant, she is still confident of her acquittal. But then she is sentenced to hang. She blames her husband, but he has an alibi. Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray must discover what really happened at Park Lodge on 12th March, 1888, and quickly.
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  1. Book 8 of 8
    A Sergeant Cribb Investigation
  2. Print length
    225 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Soho Crime
  6. Publication date
    June 1, 2010
  7. File size
    1381 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

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

Praise for Waxwork

Winner of the CWA Silver Dagger for Best Crime Novel

“At once charming, chilling and convincing as if it had unfolded in the Police Intelligence column of April, 1888.”
—TIME

“Peter Lovesey triumphs again.”
—Sunday Express

“Marvelously authentic.”
—The Washington Post

“As good a crime entertainment as you could wish for.”
—The Times

“I couldn’t put it down. I read it at a sitting—or rather, a lying, for I was in the garden at the time and got so absorbed I didn’t notice the sun had burnt the skin off my back! Waxwork is quite the best novel of detection I have read for a long time.”
—Ruth Rendell

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

About the Author

Peter Lovesey is the author of more than thirty highly praised mystery novels. He has been awarded the CWA Gold and Silver Daggers, the Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement, the Strand Magazine Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Awards, and many other honors. He lives in West Sussex, England.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004HW7E7O
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soho Crime; Reprint edition (June 1, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1381 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 225 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 155 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Peter Lovesey

Peter Lovesey

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Peter Lovesey was born in Middlesex and studied at Hampton Grammar School and Reading University, where he met his wife Jax. He won a competition with his first crime fiction novel, Wobble to Death, and has never looked back, with his numerous books winning and being shortlisted for nearly all the prizes in the international crime writing world. He was Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and has been presented with Lifetime Achievement awards both in the UK and the US.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
155 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Freeman Gilbert
5.0 out of 5 stars Sgt. Cribb Scores Again!
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
Peter Lovesey's Sgt. Cribb comes through again. The reader is taken into a sphere of those times and moves around in it. Cribb grows on you with the first book you read, no matter which one, I've read them all.
One person found this helpful
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Chares G. Muhle
4.0 out of 5 stars Waxworks
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2010
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The book was received promptly and in great shape. Excellent vendor.

Charles Muhle
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marshall Simmons
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovesey
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2013
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Hits the bullseye yet again. I have read everything he has written, and I am already looking forward to his next one.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
One of his best
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regular customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2014
Verified Purchase
Another good sergrant Cribb mystery.
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Marshall Lord
4.0 out of 5 stars Clever if macabre mystery, last in the Sergeant Cribb series
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2013
This beautifuly crafted Victorian murder mystery is the last of the eight novels featuring Detective Sergeant Daniel Cribb who was portrayed by Alan Dobie when the series was adapted for TV. Sadly this novel, set a few years later than the others, does not include his sidekick, the popular character Detective Constable Thackeray (William Simon). Nonetheless it is a clever and interesting if somewhat macabre story.

The book begins as the public hangman, James Berry, is preparing to exercise his unpleasant duty in the case of a beautiful young woman, Miriam Cromer, who has confessed to murdering her husband's assistant and been sentenced to death. Part of the book describes the process by which notorious criminals in the Victorian era progressed from conviction through sentence and the condemned cell to the scaffold and the appearance of a new waxwork in the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussauds.

Under that process there were between two and three weeks between sentence and execution unless a reprieve or pardon came through in the meantime. Several of those days have already gone when Sergeant Cribb's former superior, Inspector Jowett (now a Chief Inspector,) comes to see him. Evidence has been sent to the Home Secretary which casts doubt on whether Miriam Cromer's confession could be true, and there are just eleven days available to investigate that evidence before the morning set for her execution,

Jowett has nominated Cribb to look at the case again and establish whether an innocent woman has been sentenced to death. What's more this investigation has to be carried out in secret, without informing the head of C.I.D (the Criminal Investigation Department) and is likely to prove a particularly thankless task ...

An intriging mystery with a significant amount of period detail and which reminded me of some of the Agatha Christie classic detective stories such as " Lord Edgeware Dies ."

The full series of Sergeant Cribb novels consists of

1)  Wobble to Death
2)  The Detective Wore Silk Drawers (Sergeant Cribb Mysteries)
3)  Abracadaver
4)  Mad Hatter's Holiday: A Sergent Cribb Mystery
5)  Invitation to a Dynamite Party
6)  A Case of Spirits
7)  Swing, Swing Together (Sergeant Cribb Investigations)
8) This book, "Waxwork."

Although "Waxwork" was the last of Peter Lovesey's books, it was used as the first episode for the successful TV series " Sergeant Cribb - The Complete Series " e.g. the 90 minute pilot episode which was first broadcast in 1979.

Indeed, the first half-dozen TV episodes came out in almost exactly the opposite order to the corresponding books, which suggests that this is one series in which it really doesn't matter in what order you read them.

I mention, because I know that some fans of the books were very disappointed when this was the last one, that although there were only eight Sergeant Cribb books there were a total of 14 TV episodes over the two series, all of which were co-written or written by Peter Lovesey. All are now available on DVD, so if when you have read all eight novels you are suffering from Cribb withdrawal symptons, there are another six stories available to watch, five with Cribb himself as the central character and one featuring his superior Inspector Jowett.
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Woof
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic British Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2022
Another entertaining mystery in the Victorian era Sergeant Cribb of Scotland Yard series. Sergeant Cribb has only a few days to investigate a poisoning death before the accused, a beautiful young woman, is hanged. Is she innocent or guilty as Cribb races to discover the truth?
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ian wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars worth the read.
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2022
I really liked this book. I’m working my way through the Sargent Cribb books. Always hooks me into the story.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Falke
4.0 out of 5 stars Solider Krimi
Reviewed in Germany on June 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
England 1888. Die Todesstrafe ist noch in Kraft.
Miriam Cromer gesteht den Giftmord an einem Mann, der sie erpresst haben soll. Das Gericht verurteilt sie zum Tod durch den Strang.
Der Polizei fallen einige Ungereimtheiten in der Aussage der Verurteilten auf und Sergeant Cribb wird beauftragt, der Sache auf den Grund zu gehen,

Peter Lovesey ist ein herausragender Vertreter des klassischen englischen Kriminalromans. Er bietet spannende Unterhaltung mit teilweise skurrilen Charakteren. "Waxwork" (1978) weist einige Logiklöcher auf, deshalb nur vier Sterne.
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Robert Carr
5.0 out of 5 stars a very good read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2014
Verified Purchase
Sergeant Cribb stories are quite unlike any other "who-done-its" and this one is no exception. Cribb has a no-win job to do, and because of the internal politics of the police force, no assistance, limited time with a literal dead-line. The twists in the narrative are many and impossible to predict. All in all, a very good read.
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C. J. Tindall
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Period Detective Story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2018
Verified Purchase
A murder mystery where the murderer has confessed.....
There's bound to be more than a simple murder and the book does not disappoint. The cameo by the public hangman was a good touch. For those that don't know, the botched hanging at Exeter refers to the case of Babbacombe Lee 'the man they couldn't hang'. His sentance was commuted after the third attempt. Four stars as some of the characters were a little sketchy.
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addy
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it. A great read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
Took me 3 years to get the dvds and this was not ton them, so I bought it. Loved it. A great read.
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Ian Edmundson
3.0 out of 5 stars Last in the series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2019
Verified Purchase
The last Cribb in the series, more subdued than the other delightful books. No Thackery!
Tell Lovesey we need more Sergeant Cribb !
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