Dead Simple - Peter James - 4 Stars

[Olivermagnus]

Dead Simple is the first book in the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series. The central character is a very unorthodox and strong willed police officer. Roy, who is a believer in the supernatural, often visits mediums to help him with the case.

The novel starts out with a stag party gone wrong. Michael Harrison, who is about to get married, is on his way to the bachelor party hosted by his five best friends. They have designed something unusual and potentially highly dangerous. Because they suffered Michael's often tasteless pranks they have decided to pay him back by burying him alive in a coffin for a few hours. But when the deed is done the four of them (one friend has been delayed and is supposed to join them later) will lose their lives in a car crash, leaving Michael in a very dangerous position.

This is the just the first of many twists in this story. Mark, the one who missed the party and knows exactly where his friend is, has an agenda of his own and prefers not to say anything to the police. All this raises your anticipation of what will be coming next. It's all the things a good thriller should be. It locks you in right from the start with lots of twists and turns and is written in short, electrifying chapters.

I think the crucial ingredient you have to have to make a good detective novel is a main character that you can empathize with. The author has done an excellent job with his creation of the fallible Roy Grace. He comes with a load of baggage but he gets things done (not necessarily in the right fashion every time). It's a great start to a compelling series.

[Booknblues]

That sounds really good.

Have you watched any of the tv series? I had never heard of it, but it sounds like something my husband may like as well

[Olivermagnus]

Booknblues wrote: "That sounds really good.

Have you watched any of the tv series? I had never heard of it, but it sounds like something my husband may like as well"

I recently saw that it's a series on Prime. That played into my picking this book. I haven't had a chance to see it but will soon. I'd like to compare the two and Season 1, Episode 1 is based on this book.