Synopsis: Detective Superintendent Roy Grace unearths a powerful criminal network in the sinister crime novel Find Them Dead, by award winning author Peter James.
Ending his secondment to London’s Met Police, Roy Grace gets a tip-off about a drugs mastermind operating out of Brighton. On his first day back in his old job, he is called to a seemingly senseless murder. Gradually, Grace’s investigation draws him into the evil sphere of an utterly ruthless drug dealer on trial. A man prepared to order the death of anyone it takes to enable him to walk free from court.
Sitting in the jury is Meg Magellan, whose daughter’s life is being threatened by a stranger who tells her that if she ever wants to see her alive again, it is very simple. At the end of the trial, all she has to do is make sure the jury says just two words . . . Not guilty.
Kat’s Rating: 3/5
Kat’s Review: This book left me feeling a little bit meh, it just felt lacklustre to me. The last book in the instalment was enjoyable but it too lacked something, this book even more so. I recall a time when I first read Dead Simple and was blown away. At 16 books into a series, I can imagine it must be tough to keep things fresh but this book just left me feeling disappointed.
The storyline had potential as a juror is being threatened and blackmailed, however even this failed to capture my attention. The writing seemed very padded out and ‘fillerish’…yes I know it’s not even a real word…but you know what I mean. The characters fell flat and there were things that I never understood about certain things within the storyline (such as how were the bad guys watching Meg?). Small details like that kind of bug me and it gave me an overall sense of dissatisfaction. I really hope that Peter James ups his game with the next Roy Grace as something needs to change!
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