Peter James' Dead Like You - Review

Dead Like You by Peter James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Roy Grace hunts a serial rapist and murderer in this gripping police thriller.

After a New Year's Eve celebration, a woman is raped as she returns to her hotel room. Shortly afterwards, another woman is attacked, evidence suggesting that serial rapist the Shoe Man is once again operating.

Over a decade has passed since the Shoe Man abruptly ceased offending, following the disappearance on Christmas Eve of a young woman believed to be his final victim. No trace of her has ever been found.

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace leads the inquiry into the new series of attacks, determined to finally bring the prolific sexual predator to justice and prevent him harming any more women before he once again vanishes without a trace.

'Dead Like You' is the sixth novel in Peter James' Roy Grace series, once again delivering an intense thriller that arrests you from the opening chapter. With relentless and gripping plotting, forensic and procedural attention to detail coupled with exploring the psychology of both victims and offenders, this continues to be amongst my favourite police procedural series, always well-written with a gritty realism, maintaining its pace through every chapter.

With flashbacks exploring the original series of crimes and the investigation that the then Detective Sergeant Grace was involved in, as well as glimpses into Grace's strained home life with Sandy, the novel juggles the multiple narratives between the time periods. Over a decade later, the case continues to haunt Grace, having become one of the many cold case files sharing space in his office, rarely reaching the top of competing priorities due to the volume of live inquiries requiring immediate and urgent attention.

Meanwhile, Roy is finally beginning to move on and accept the lack of resolution following the disappearance of his wife, Sandy, almost a decade ago - thanks to his relationship with new partner Cleo, who is pregnant with their first child. I love the serialised nature of this series and how the character's personal lives weave around the investigations - with the continuing sub-plot of the mystery surrounding Sandy, the reflection on cases in the previous novels and foreshadowing of future directions for the series, and primarily the continuing and evolving relationships at the heart of the main characters' stories. Peter James balances this perfectly with the core investigation and developing the new characters in each novel connected with each new case.

Absorbing, satisfying and thought-provoking, 'Dead Like You' continues a superlative police procedural series, leaving you eager to dive straight in to the next book.



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