Tag Archives: Peter James

#BookReview ‘Dead Simple’ by @PeterJamesUK #crime #Brighton

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A plot that twists and turns, a dramatic beginning, a likeable detective in Roy Grace and a cleverly-drawn setting. Brighton is full of potential for a crime writer looking for a setting and it is clear Peter James knows and loves the Sussex seaside city. Dead Simple is a page-turner with clever ideas and a couple of twists I didn’t see coming. Peter JamesThe story opens with a stag night which does not go to plan, a missing groom, a car crash, an absent best man and a frantic bride. As the horrible realities of the situation become clear, with no witnesses and no clues, the police struggle to find the missing groom before the wedding on Saturday. But a few things do not ring true and that, coupled with Detective Superintendent Roy Grace’s controversial use of a medium, bring fresh, if confusing, clues.
Peter James has created an authentic police community which feels real from page one, this is not the first in a series where the first novel is about setting the scene and the context. James hits the ground running with a believable detective. Roy Grace is a maverick, and I like him. James spends a day a week with the Sussex Police Force and this experience is evident on every page without shouting ‘research’.
I’ve found a new favourite crime writer. This is a long-running series.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK

And here’s my review of THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL, also by Peter James.

If you like this, try:-
‘Nightfall’ by Steven Leather
‘Unnatural Causes’ by PD James
‘The Vows of Silence’ by Susan Hill

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview DEAD SIMPLE by @PeterJamesUK http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1QB via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘The House on Cold Hill’ by @PeterJamesUK #ghost

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Is it a crime story, is it a ghost story, is it a thriller? I don’t care, The House on Cold Hill is great. This is the first Peter James book I have read, and I loved it. It is a mystery about a family moving to a new house in the country, then everything starts to go wrong.  Have they just bought the wrong house? Bad luck? Co-incidences? Or is someone attacking them, and why? Peter JamesAs the oddities become more frequent, Ollie becomes more frantic as the house crumbles, his new business clients are sabotaged, and he fears for his wife and daughter. The tension is handled brilliantly, the first quarter of the book is a slow build as we get to know the family and the house, after that the screw is turned relentlessly. James is a skilled storyteller.
After finishing reading this novel, I discovered that Peter James used his own experience of living in a haunted house. This shows on every page, the things that happen in the house, Ollie’s reactions, the understandable belief that ‘this is not real.’
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK

And here’s my review of DEAD SIMPLE, the first in the Roy Grace crime series by Peter James.

If you like this, try:-
‘A Sudden Light’ by Garth Stein
‘The Cheesemaker’s House’ by Jane Cable
‘The Quarry’ by Iain Banks

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL by @PeterJamesUK via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1P8