Wobble to Death is set in the Victorian world of long distance walking races or "wobbles". I can’t imagine even watching such a thing, much less reading about it, and I’m a serious sports fan; but Peter Lovesey’s vivid, compelling writing and storytelling make even the plodding steps of exhausted contestants as riveting to follow as the crimes and detective work.

The wobble in question, extending over six days, has been set up as a race within a race. England’s snobbish champion, Chadwick, vies against a top competitor named Darrell on an inner track, safe from the elbows and boots of the rest of the competitors, who are of a different class in more ways than one. When Darrell is found dead on the second day, it looks like tetanus poisoning through carelessness... until the autopsy finds him filled with strychnine. Enter Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray to investigate. Their characters and interactions are a large part of the fun. They’re about as distinct from each other as they can be, with a relationship that’s more colleague than friend, but not that simple.

One of the things I particularly liked, especially by comparison with another recent historical mystery read which had me googling things every few pages, is that the book practically oozes with atmosphere—you ARE there—but it’s all done through skillful writing and a deep-seated feel for the time, not through trying to impress the reader with a lot of unfamiliar period vocabulary. The result, paired with a dusting of dry humor, an interesting array of plots and subplots, and the book’s relatively brief length, makes for amazingly easy and enjoyable reading.

Highly recommended.