Category: Peter James

Synopsis: Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, creation of the CWA Diamond Dagger award-winning author Peter James, faces his most engrossing case yet in Left You Dead.

Niall and Eden Paternoster start their Sunday the same way they always do – with a long drive, a visit to a country house and a quick stop at the local supermarket on the way home.

But this Sunday ends differently – because while Niall waits and waits in the car park for Eden to pick up supplies, Eden never returns. She’s not waiting for him at home, and none of their family or friends have heard from her.

Gone without a trace, Niall is arrested on suspicion of her murder. When DS Roy Grace is called in to investigate, it doesn’t take long to realize that nothing in this case is quite as it seems . . .

Kat’s Rating: 3/5

Kat’s Review: Okay I am still really on the fence with these last couple of Roy Grace books. I love this series but I have to say the decisions made in this book I think were a cop out! I don’t want to use filler to pad out a review to make it seem longer, most people will read the synopsis for more details of the storyline. However, a lot of the pull of this series are the recurring characters.

The main storyline around a missing woman to me fell a little flat and it all felt a little unrealistic and forced. However, pushing that to one side you can always rely on character development and Roy Grace’s home life is always the main start of the show. I will not put too much in my review as I cannot bear spoilers. However, what I will say is that the decisions made for certain characters in this book shocked me, I had an idea they may go in a completely different direction as there was so much scope. Sadly, the authors decision in this latest instalment felt like an easy option and not one that sat well with me. I am now wondering where the series goes from here, and the way I am feeling after the last two books I am not entirely sure whether I will continue reading them.

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!

Synopsis: Detective Superintendent Roy Grace exposes the dark side of internet dating in the intriguing crime novel Dead at First Sight, by award winning author Peter James.

A man waits at a London airport for the love of his life to arrive. Across the Atlantic, a retired cop waits in a bar in Florida’s Key West for his first date with the lady who is his soulmate. The two men are about to discover they’ve been scammed out of almost every penny they have in the world – and that neither women exist.

In the same week, Roy Grace is called to investigate the suicide of a woman in Brighton, that is clearly not what it seems. As his investigations continue, a handsome motivational speaker comes forward. He’s discovered his identity is being used to scam eleven different women online. The first he knew of it was a phone call from one of them saying, ‘You don’t know me, but I thought I knew you’.

That woman is now dead. Continue reading “Dead at First Sight by Peter James (Roy Grace 15)”

Synopsis: An ugly duckling as a child, Jodie Bentley had two dreams in life – to be beautiful and rich. She’s achieved the first, with a little help from a plastic surgeon, and now she’s working hard on the second. Her philosophy on money is simple: you can either earn it or marry it. Marrying is easy, it’s getting rid of the husband afterwards that’s harder, that takes real skill. But hey, practice makes perfect . . .

Continue reading “Love You Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #12)”

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: THEY WERE MARKED FOR DEATH. The last words Jamie Ball hears from his fiancée, Logan Somerville, are in a terrified mobile phone call. She has just driven into the underground car park beneath the block of flats where they live in Brighton. Then she screams and the phone goes dead. The police are on the scene within minutes, but Logan has vanished, leaving behind her neatly parked car and mobile phone. That same afternoon, workmen digging up a park in another part of the city, unearth the remains of a woman in her early twenties, who has been dead for 30 years.

At first, to Roy Grace and his team, these two events seem totally unconnected. But then another young woman in Brighton goes missing – and yet another body from the past surfaces. Meanwhile, an eminent London psychiatrist meets with a man who claims to know information about Logan. And Roy Grace has the chilling realization that this information holds the key to both the past and present crimes . . . Does Brighton have its first serial killer in over eighty years?

My Review: <HUGE sigh>, I’m not sure where to start. Peter James is a bit of a Legend in my eyes. He is one of those authors that everybody knows; the man is most certainly one of my favourites. The one small problem I have, and have continued to have with the last few books is the ongoing storyline involving his missing wife Sandy. Now for people wanting to start the series from the beginning and haven’t yet got around to it, please don’t carry on reading my review because it will no doubt contain spoilers (this also applies to people who haven’t read the latest book as things mentioned in my review refer to those events, and I HATE a spoiler.

Roy is back and is dealing with a number of big changes such as a new son, moving house and dealing with the loss of a colleague. To pick up a new Roy Grace feels like meeting up with old friends and this one is no different. Both Roy and Glen (his colleague) make these books along with a few favourites such as Norman Potting, and the ones I can’t stand such as Roy’s new boss Cassian. This new book actually opens with a pretty hair raising and dramatic abduction of Logan Somerville and the pace is pretty frantic in the beginning. In the same afternoon the discovery of remains underneath a path which look to be thirty years old mean that Grace and his team have a lot of work on.

The storyline was certainly woven with enough mystery and intrigue to keep me turning the pages and once again we see flashes of potential closure regarding Roy’s missing/presumed dead wife Sandy. As these parts of the story (albeit small parts) were revealed I was once again hoping that this element of the storyline would be concluded. Sadly, I was mistaken! Back to the main events in the book and it seems that Roy’s work life is overtaking his ability to control his personal life. I love the fact that we see both in this series. The other thing that I think is absolutely brilliant is that you get a real feel for the actual police work that Roy and his team have to go through. There is no magical ‘tah dah’ moment where Roy cracks the case as if by magic. It’s done and the story told with all of the team working and pulling their weight. This gives a real authenticity to the story as well as previous books which I love.

Sadly, I figured out part of the story towards the end but actually liked the way the story was wrapped up. However, the reason for the 4 stars and not 5 is this whole Sandy thing. I’m not entirely sure whether this is a conclusion to it, but am pretty sure it can’t be…can it? It was one of those moments that seem a little bit like a cliff-hanger. Or was this PJ’s way of closing the chapter on it all. Because I’m really not sure I don’t quite know how I feel. If this is PJ’s was of closing it, then I feel cheated. If it isn’t then I am so bored of waiting for it all to go belly up. Either way I am still a little bit confused. That aside, another really solid read once again from the main man!