Peter James' Dead Simple - Review

Dead Simple by Peter James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The first gripping thriller in Peter James’ Roy Grace series.

Michael Harrison’s friends have planned a stag-night prank to get back at him for all the practical jokes and pranks he has played on them over the years. But this prank ends in tragic consequences – four friends dead and Michael missing. The tragedy takes a sinister turn – Michael’s best man, unable to make the stag night in time, thus saving his life, claims to have no idea what the prank entailed and can shed no light on Michael’s whereabouts. Trapped and alone, Michael’s time is running out.

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is consulted on the case by one of his colleagues. He already has a lot on his mind – he’s currently giving evidence in court, in a case which threatens to derail after it is revealed he visited a psychic with a key piece of evidence; while he continues to be haunted by the disappearance of his wife, Sandy, almost nine years ago. Pulled deeper into the case, Grace’s suspicions about the best man grow.

In a race against time, Grace and his team are determined to find Michael Harrison and identify who else may be involved in his disappearance.

I had been meaning to start the Roy Grace series for quite some time. Within the first few pages I was wondering why on earth I had taken so long to start and I did not want to put the book down. Fast-paced and packed with suspense, dosed with procedural and forensic detail, building to an intense and action-packed climax, ‘Dead Simple’ begins the series with a bang. Grace makes a brilliant detective – intuitive, determined, haunted, empathetic, compassionate – and I look forward to his character developing and discovering more about him and his life in future novels. Threaded beneath the police investigation is Grace’s own interest in the supernatural and the occult, familiar from James’ supernatural novels.

The books will shortly be adapted into a TV series – written by ‘Endeavour’ creator and writer Russell Lewis, and starring John Simm as Roy Grace, and, of course, based on Peter James’ superbly plotted books. It promises to be fantastic, particularly in light of the combined talents of this trio and, doubtless, many others.

I will be turning to the second novel in the series, ‘Looking Good Dead’, sooner rather than later. At the time of writing, book 16 is due for release this summer. There is a lot more to read and I cannot wait to dive in for more.



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