Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Dead Simple/ Looking Good Dead (Roy Grace #1)

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 2,986 ratings · 330 reviews

It was meant to be a harmless stag night prank. A few hours later four of his best friends are dead and Michael Harrison has disappeared.
With only three days to the wedding, Detective Superintendent Grace - a man haunted by the shadow of his own missing wife - is contacted by Michael's beautiful, distraught fiancée, Ashley Harper. Grace discovers that the one man who ough...more

Published November 1st 2008 by pan (first published 2005)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 23, 2010 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime

"Dead Simple" was the title, "Utterly Ludicrous" was a plot that is just about gotten away with. Your mate is a big prankster, so you decide to pay him back on his stag night by burying him alive. Perhaps you can't take a joke lads and therefore the four of you deserved to be wiped out in a tragic accident on the way to the next pub? Yes, with friends like these. As the unfortunately interred yuppie lies whimpering in his grave, his best mate, who has been shagging his fiancé on the side, tries...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 27, 2012 Eric_W rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: police-procedural

The beginning of this book is the creepiest I have ever run across. Anxious to play a prank on their soon-to-be-married friend Michael Harrison, known for his pranks, four of his friends get him drunk and passed out, then bury him in a coffin with only a tube for air, a porn magazine and a walkie-talkie. Then they drive off and are T-boned by a concrete truck. All are killed. The tow truck driver's retarded son (or should I say mentally challenged), finds the walkie-talkie in the grass where it...more

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2012 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dead Simple is Peter James's first novel about the cases of Brighton's best cop, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. While the tale, with the amount and types of twists and turns, may be implausible - it is also a lot of fun! From the crazy start (stag night - guys playing prank on groom by burying him in a coffin - then they all die in a car crash!) it just gets worse for the victim - again, if you just allow yourself to go for the ride and forget about likelyhoods and some such, you'll enjoy t...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 20, 2012 Ian Mapp rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Nov 20, 2011 Rod rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The opening of this book is unusually irritating. Michael Harrison is getting married so his ‘friends’ decide to bury him alive in a coffin, thoughtfully providing a breathing tube and a two-way radio, but with the emergency button glued so he can’t use the emergency frequency. Their intention is to come back at some point, but being wiped out in a car crash makes that difficult. Michael tries to get help using the radio, but his friends’ handset has been found by a young adult called David with...more

like · see review

May 30, 2011 Barb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The beginning of this story was so uncomfortably tense that I almost didn't carry on reading but I am so glad I did otherwise I would have missed a smashing tale.
The mystery unfolds layer by layer, by twists and turns, piling on more tension and urgency all the way. At first I considered some of the twists came a little fortuitously out of the blue. Sometimes I can be a bit thick. It soon sank in that it was exactly how it would have appeared to the two main tellers of the tale. Thank heavens M...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 23, 2012 Patty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This one was a difficult read for me. I really liked Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. I didn't like whole set up of the mystery.

I'll start by stating up front, I HATE practical jokes and think that April Fools Day is a to be ignored at all costs. So, when this book starts with a group of five men (all early to mid-20's) out getting drunk (or pissed since this is a British novel) out of their minds.

(view spoiler)...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 25, 2011 Deepa Swaminathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

Story- Michael and four of his close friends are having a bachelor’s party three days before his wedding. They drink till they almost drop and are not in their senses. The four friends are now all set to take playful revenge on Michael for all the pranks that he has played on them. They put him into a coffin, throw in a walkie-talkie and a beer bottle, nail it down, fix a narrow breathing tube through an opening in the coffin and bury it in the woods. They burst into laughter and drive off to en...more Story- Michael and four of his close friends are having a bachelor’s party three days before his wedding. They drink till they almost drop and are not in their senses. The four friends are now all set to take playful revenge on Michael for all the pranks that he has played on them. They put him into a coffin, throw in a walkie-talkie and a beer bottle, nail it down, fix a narrow breathing tube through an opening in the coffin and bury it in the woods. They burst into laughter and drive off to enjoy at another pub. They keep in touch with the shocked Michael and mention that they would be back in two hours to free him. Is it so ‘Dead Simple’? No sooner do they set off in their car; than they meet with a terrible accident and all of them die. This is just the first chapter! This one sets the ball rolling and there’s no stopping after that.
Meanwhile, Michael tries desperately to reach his friends on his walkie-talkie. He calls out and he curses them. Incessant rain starts bringing up the water level in the coffin. Will he be on time for his own wedding?

Mark, Michael’s business partner and childhood friend, knows all about this prank but will not speak since he has a lot to gain from Michael’s death than from his life - his share in business, more power and Michael’s fiancée Ashley! He just needs to keep shut- ‘Dead Simple’ for him!

Roy Grace starts investigating this case and the way he infers, understands human nature and interrogates suspects is immensely interesting. His wife disappeared under mysterious circumstances 9 years back and he still hopes that she would return soon. He has a keen eye and leaves no stone unturned in his investigations. One of the methods he uses is the lie detection technique- There are 2 parts of the brain- one part is used for remembering facts (memory mode) and the other part is creative which is used for making up fake answers (construction mode). If a person is right handed, while asked a question involving memory usage, his eyes will automatically move to the right side before answering. But if he is lying, eyes move to the left.
He sometimes becomes the ridicule of his peers since he has a strong belief on occult mediums for finding the truth. Will Roy’s vigilance and intelligence save Michael?

My Opinion- Working towards fulfilling my ‘new year resolution’ of reading books of 10 authors that I have never tried, I picked up a book by Peter James this time. The story is gripping, narration vivid and the flow amazing. There is no dearth of unexpected twists in this story. I could almost hear the screeching cars and police sirens in the climax! The meaning of ‘Dead Simple’ changes in each phase of the book as perceived by different characters. Seasoned readers would be able to distinguish the superfluous characters and their details that would not be required in the story later, those parts could be skimmed. ‘Looking good dead’ is a sequel to this story.

I guess teenagers would enjoy it very much. For those who crave for paced and a bit violent fiction, Peter James would be a good choice. His books are a strict no-no for those who look forward to subtle, mature reads of rich literature and for those who look forward to improve vocabulary!(less)

like · see review

Aug 05, 2012 Bruce Snell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book One of the Roy Grace series by Peter James - 3.5 stars. Roy Grace is a Detective Superintendent In Brighton, England; he is assigned to investigate the disappearance of Michael Harrison, who was last seen while out drinking with friends at his bachelor party. The "twist" here is that the reader knows what happened to Michael - his friends put him in a coffin and buried him as part of a prank. Unfortunately for Michael, his friends were so intoxicated that they were died as a result of an au...more

like · see review

Mar 29, 2008 Linda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An outstanding series debut that will have you guessing right to the end. On a stag night the groom is buried alive in a coffin as his stag night prank...but it all goes horribly wrong when the best men responsible, are killed in a car accident before they have had a chance to dig their friend up. just when you think you have worked out what is happening, the story takes another twist and leaves you wondering how it will all end

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 02, 2013 Kunal Bhattacharya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(Declaration: No spoilers.)

A harmless practical joke, a tit for tat turned deadly!

Michael Harrison was a compulsive prankster. His friends, who had been at the receiving end of his cruel practical jokes, decided to give his comeuppance on his stag night a couple of days before his marriage with Ashley Harper. Later in that night, which was a Tuesday night, all four of Michael’s friends were dead and with their death was buried Michael’s whereabouts. To the world at large, Michael had disappeared...more

like · see review

Mar 31, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Carey

Recommended to Laura by: Bettie, Elizabeth Chadwick

Shelves: british-literature, suspense-thriller, e-books, passport-books, read-2013

Even if this is the firs book of the series with Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, I started with book#5 Dead Tomorrow , then I read book#2 Looking Good Dead.

Since I was curious to learn more about Grace's wife disappearance, I decided to read the first book of this series.

Even if this topic is mentioned several times along the book, the mystery remains unsolved and it doesn't bother me any more.

This is the story of Michael Harrison and his fiancee who is buried alive by his friends to play a...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 30, 2012 Migdalia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-pi

It seemed simple enough: Your practical joker friend is getting married, and all of you guys decide that you'll play the ultimate joke on him for a change to get back at him for all the times he got you. Some genius says, "Hey! Rob works at a funeral parlor, and he can get a big van. Let's bury Mike alive for a few hours to scare the crap and practical joking out of him." What could possibly go wrong? Uh-huh.

Don't think it can't happen. Anybody who's seen the Jackass movies or Kardashian show co...more

like · see review

Aug 06, 2008 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great book. First in Detective Grace series. Page turner because you have more information than the detective and are anxious for him to know what you know, plus anxious for him to solve rest of mystery. Wish I had read series in order, but not essential. Can't wait to read books 3 and 4, which are already published in UK but not in US yet.

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 01, 2011 Steve rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, roy-grace

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Jan 17, 2011 J.R. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries

A get-even prank on the stag night before his wedding has Michael Harrison, a wealthy property developer, buried alive in a coffin and fighting for his life as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace leads the search for the missing young man.

Despite the bride-to-be’s displays of grief and concern, Grace has a gut feeling she isn’t being entirely truthful with him.

James’ interest in the paranormal is brought in early on and there’s a car chase, if you like those things. Overall, it’s an okay thrille...more

like · see review

Apr 21, 2010 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-in-a-series, mystery-thriller

Simple this story was not! This mystery, the start of a series, involved complex characters, a well-layered plot and quite a riveting premise: a bachelor party prank (or, more properly, a stag night stunt) gone horrible wrong leads to a twisty plot that keeps getting crazier and crazier. I certainly did not predict where the story went. And the main character, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, was likable with an interesting backstory that I hope will continue to develop throughout the series....more

like · see review

Aug 04, 2012 Laura Thompson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After seeing that Peter James' Dead Simple had been rated an average 4.0 score on Good Reads, I was eager to pick it up and read it myself. I have been craving a good crime novel for some time now and having read the reviews on this one, felt that it would be a good place to start.

The storyline of Dead Simple was... dead simple, In my opinion and quite an amateur attempt at a crime novel. If I had not known Peter James had had a series of novels published, I would have imagined this was somebod...more After seeing that Peter James' Dead Simple had been rated an average 4.0 score on Good Reads, I was eager to pick it up and read it myself. I have been craving a good crime novel for some time now and having read the reviews on this one, felt that it would be a good place to start.

The storyline of Dead Simple was... dead simple, In my opinion and quite an amateur attempt at a crime novel. If I had not known Peter James had had a series of novels published, I would have imagined this was somebody's first novel which had somehow wriggled its way through the publishing nets. Only a few chapters in, I managed to find plot holes which shouldn't have been there if the writer had done his research properly. Some of the storyline did not even make sense and a lot of the time, it felt like the author didn't know where to go and therefore made things up along the way. There were no twists in the story, at least none that I couldn't have predicted chapters before they came along, and I'm not one to think of this as an achievement. I was only able to hang on until the end on the sheer hope that there would be a really strong twist in the end that would change the book all together. No such change occurred.

From the very start of the novel, I felt that the characters were hollow. Barely any description was given into their personalities or appearances, other than the cliche'd 'tall, blonde and classically beautiful Ashley Harper'. I found every conversation with Ashley Harper incredibly tedious. For some reason, James has made this character incredibly argumentative in every conversation she ever finds herself in. She argues for no apparent reason and rather than focusing on creating effective, tight dialogue, James has wasted a lot of space making her argue over nothing.Throughout the book, I found it hard to differentiate between the different characters, even though names were given. The characters of Michael Harrison and his friends are relatively indifferent. None of them have much of a personality at all. I do also wonder how much experience James has in the crime detection, because although Detective Superintendent Roy Grace's character was the strongest (not by far), he was unable to grasp things which I thought a detective would easily be able to figure out. At times, we were given all the information before Grace figured it out and we then had to sit and read his thought process and wait until he finally clicked. It truly weakened Grace's character.

One thing that really puts me off a book is published writer's low standard of English language. I find it disgraceful when I read a bestseller and there are grammatical errors, wrong punctuation, mis-spelled words etc. in almost every chapter. I do wonder whether James even had an editor and if he did, I'd like to know how much they're paid to do their job, because it hasn't been done in this case. I know that this doesn't bother a lot of people, but I don't understand why it should be ignored. It is a huge part of the novel and completely takes away from the atmosphere that the author is trying to create.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book at all and struggled to rate it 2.0. However, it was an easy read and I did fly through it pretty quickly. I think it's quite difficult to get the balance right in crime novels between the factual and tedious element of police investigation and the action, and I think that James did this quite well. I'd say that if you're not that bothered about a twist, or about strong characters, or in fact a good storyline - then read this book.

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 23, 2008 Edmund rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-dectective-fiction

The venue/setting for the book, Brighton, happens to be where I grew up. That, plus the fact that this police procedural novel is well written/suspenseful makes it a winner with me. I look forward to reading others in the series.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 28, 2011 Donna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I thought that I would give this author a try. But if this is a good example of his writing, then I doubt I will be reading any more of his books. First of all, for me to be interested in a criminal mystery book, I require that the investigator be reasonably good at what he does, not to mention that he be devoted to his profession. Instead, I have been reading about Roy Grace, who spends every break in his case having drinks with his potential girlfriend, or he is on the court with his sports bu...more

like · see review

Aug 02, 2011 Tanja Seppä rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: murder-mystery

Michael is a succesful business entreprenuer who is getting married to a beautiful woman. During his bachelor's party his friends decide to get back at him and pull a dreadful prank: they put him in a casket and bury him. They intend to leave him for a couple of hours, but then all four of them get killed in a car accident. Michael's best man and parnter Mark misses the bachelor's party because of a delayed flight. He knows the plans though, but does nothing to help the police.

This book is inter...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 18, 2012 Bettie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: britain-england, brighton, autumn-2012, mystery-thriller, eye-scorcher, published-2005, series, paper-read, one-penny-wonder, revenge

So far, apart from just a couple of hitches, Plan A was working out fine. Which was fortunate because they didn't really have a Plan B.

Liked it so much that I'm heading straight into #2

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2013 Villager rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book had a beginning that I've never seen before in movies, television or books. A prank gone horribly wrong ... one guy placed in a coffin and buried out in the country for a couple of hours ... but, his mates get killed in an auto accident and nobody knows that he was buried in the first place.

Add the complexity that the guy in the coffin was scheduled to get married later that week.

The twists and turns in the plot are just beginning. However, the best part of the book is the hero of our...more

like · see review

Nov 02, 2012 Jade Walker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Dead Simple" launches the Roy Grace series of mysteries, and from the very first page, I was completely hooked. The story is tightly plotted, the characters are multifaceted and the writing just sings. Although each chapter is super short, they're also action-packed. Just when you think to yourself, "I'll simply finish this chapter and stop," the author throws another plot twist or cliffhanger at you, and you're utterly compelled to keep going.

Needless to say, I am so thrilled to have stumbled...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 22, 2007 Lily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: onlythebest

Great page turner...imagine being buried alive in a coffin. I love/hate suspense books and finished this one in 2 days.

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 21, 2008 Keiran Broadhurst rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone

A great book, not just for crime fans. Good suspense and interesting detective methods? 8/10

1 like · like · see review

Feb 09, 2013 Joe Stamber rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, read-2013

Despite on the surface being a reasonably straightforward start to a mystery series, I find Dead Simple difficult to rate because of a confusing mixture of positives and negatives I felt while listening to it. As a prank on his stag night, Michael is buried in a coffin (with breathing facilities) with his mates going back a couple of hours later to dig him up. Unfortunately they don't make it, and Michael is left abandoned with no one knowing his whereabouts. Maybe.

The most realistic thing about...more Despite on the surface being a reasonably straightforward start to a mystery series, I find Dead Simple difficult to rate because of a confusing mixture of positives and negatives I felt while listening to it. As a prank on his stag night, Michael is buried in a coffin (with breathing facilities) with his mates going back a couple of hours later to dig him up. Unfortunately they don't make it, and Michael is left abandoned with no one knowing his whereabouts. Maybe.

The most realistic thing about Dead Simple is that the police don't know their arse from their elbow. They are so far behind the "bad guys" that they should have been issued with binoculars to keep an eye on them. But this is fiction, and surely James could have allowed the feds to be a bit smarter than real life. Perhaps that would have made it too short.

I liked Roy Grace. He's almost impossible not to like. As with all protect and serve protagonists he's familiar with the shitty end of the stick. He knows when something's not quite right, has hunches, notices pretty women and is as organised as a dog in an unattended butcher's shop. His massive heart is definitely in the right place and it's impossible not to love him.

To be fair, all the members of the forces of law and order are well represented in this book - at least as far as their personalities and dedication goes. The same can't be said of the other characters. The salvage guy's son, Davey, is just about the most annoying character that I've experienced in an audio book. Several of the other characters are very whiny and irritating and I'm not such whether James intended them this way or the audio narrator makes them thus.

Dead Simple is certainly an entertaining novel. The plot relies on several coincidences which seem outrageous until the end is in sight when at least some of them make sense. The story comes alive towards its conclusion and on audio at least it is an exciting finale. The only thing that keeps it at a 3 star rating rather than a 4 star one are the whiny members of the cast and the psychic which gave the very end a bit of a deus ex machina feel. I will be making Roy Grace's acquaintance again.(less)

like · see review

Dec 09, 2012 Anne P1 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-crime

This book was recommended to me by a stranger while I was browsing in a bookstore. It's rare when another customer out of the blue recommends you read a book without knowing anything about your tastes, so I knew I had to read this book. And that other customer was right, I loved this book and will absolutely read the next book in the series.
The plot is one of the most inventive and entertaining ones that I have ever read. The story begins with a batchelor party gone horribly wrong, five friends...more

like · see review

Aug 31, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A great start to an excellent police procedural mystery series. This is the third Roy Grace novel I've read and I've read them out of order. Fortunately the books worked well standalone, though I'll be reading the remaining books in the series in order from now on. I don't know why Peter James is not better known - perhaps his name is somehow confused with the more famous P.D. James? In any case, I really look forward to the rest of the series. I read the physical book this time, which is just a...more

like · see review

Jun 21, 2012 Bob4you rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very good book, not often I give 5 stars to the first book I read by and author, someone gave me this book knowing I like mystery, suspense and action and this one fill all of my likes. The author wove a great story without confusing me with who are the players and how are they related to each other. Often I have to write out a list of players, and how they are related but not with this one.
The other thing I liked about the plot was it had more twists and turns than a downhill slalom ski run. I...more

1 like · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (41)

More editions...

Genres

Thriller

47 users

Mystery

13 users

Mystery > Crime

11 users

Mystery > Detective

9 users

Suspense

9 users

European Literature > British Literature

8 users

Horror

6 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

4 users

Contemporary

4 users

Drama

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

All The Colours Of Darkness
by Peter Robinson
Cold Granite
by Stuart MacBride
Lazybones
by Mark Billingham
Cold in Hand
by John Harvey
Written in Bone
by Simon Beckett

About Peter James

Peter James has been a screenwriter and film producer, and is now the author of best selling crime novels. James has written 25 books, the most recent of which feature Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. His books have been translated into 29 languages. In England they are published by Pan Books and in the US by Carroll & Graf Publishers. James has written supernatural thrillers...more

More about Peter James...

Books by Peter James

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Dead Simple

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Dead Simple/ Looking G...

“Branson ate his salad, and left the rest of his fish untouched, while Grace tucked into his steak and kidney pudding with relish. 'I read a while ago,' he told Branson, 'that the French drink more red wine than the English but live longer. The Japanese eat more fish than the English but drink less wine and live longer. The Germans eat more red meat than the English, and drink more beer and they live longer too. You know the moral of this story?
'No'
'It's not what you eat or drink - it's speaking English that kills you.” — 10 people liked it

“John Lennon had said 'Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans.' That sure as hell was true.” — 3 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Dead Simple/ Looking Good Dead
avg rating	preview: Dead Simple/ Looking Good Dead Goodreads rating: 3.94 (2986 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4585137-dead-simple-looking-good-dead?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1220863221l/4585137.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4585137-dead-simple-looking-good-dead?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Dead Simple/ Looking Good Dead by Peter James[/url]

Dead Simple/ Looking Good Dead (Roy Grace #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website