Roy Grace, creation of the CWA Diamond Dagger award winning author Peter James, faces his most mysterious case yet in Need You Dead.Lorna Belling, desperate to escape the marriage from hell, falls for the charms of another man who promises her the earth. But, as Lorna finds, life seldom follows the plans you’ve made. A chance photograph on a client’s mobile phone changes everything for her. When … her. When the body of a woman is found in a bath in Brighton, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is called to the scene. At first it looks an open and shut case with a clear prime suspect. Then other scenarios begin to present themselves, each of them tantalizingly plausible, until, in a sudden turn of events, and to his utter disbelief, the case turns more sinister than Grace could ever have imagined.
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I’ve enjoyed every novel in the Roy Grace series. With an imaginative and complex plot, fascinating insights into police procedure and a few surprises as the story hurtles towards the climax, Need You Dead continues the consistent high standard of stroytelling I’ve come to expect from Peter James.
So, who killed Lorna Belling?
With suspects starting to form an orderly queue, this is not going to be a simple case for Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, who has problems of his own to overcome. While Grace finally puts the mystery of his ex-wife, Sandy, to bed, it’s only the start of more demanding challenges. With Assistant Chief Constable Pewe watching his every move, the pressure on Grace leads to more than a few sleepless nights.
With several suspects and an intricate plot that makes them all potential killers, the story kept me guessing right up to the breathtaking climax, delivering an unexpected, but satisfying twist I didn’t see coming.
This is quality writing, populated with strong, believable characters, delivered with pace and panache to provide yet another exciting instalment in the Roy Grace series. While all the novels work as standalones, reading the series from the start means each book delivers much more.
I would recommend this series to anyone as Peter James consistently delivers memorable, top quality crime fiction.
An outstanding read. Part of the Roy Grace series, number 13 I think.
The only previous novel I’ve read by Peter James was The House on Cold Hill. This was my first venture into the hugely successful Roy Grace series, and after THOCH, I didn’t really know what to expect having been left a little underwhelmed. I’d been told by a friend and Peter James fan to delve into another of his novels as the former was not his best work.
Need You Dead was a gift and my only worry, apart from THOCH was, I might not be able to understand when the main characters backstory is mentioned. I needn’t have worried as the most needed to know history was explained very well when the past was brought up.
The story was brilliant.
A married woman found dead in the bathtub of a rented apartment: murder or suicide?
As the investigation proceeds, three suspects come to the fore in light of a possible homicide. The wicked husband, an unhappy and despicable man who purchased her car from the internet, and a man from her past she’d met on a couple of occasions. But is there somebody else in the picture? I believed there was, and it was looking more and more likely I’d guessed the real murderer quite early on. For that reason, this was only going to be a four-star rating. The extra star came into effect when it turned out I was completely bamboozled. Well played, MR James. I am usually very good at working out the murderers in novels, but I take my hat off to Peter James here. If there was a clue, I missed it, and shame on me.
An engrossing read set in Brighton, a place I visit often with the Mrs and always come home with freshly made fudge. Love the stuff.
I am so pleased to have followed the advice of a Peter James fan and read a novel from the Roy Grace series. At some point, I will probably start from the beginning as I’ve heard some very good things.
I was also thrilled to have Peter James like a couple of pictures of my novel on Instagram. Hopefully, one day, he will be reading one of my books, perhaps even offer some pointers.
I recommend Need You Dead. It has everything.
I’d love to know if anybody solved or guessed who the murderer was, but please, no spoilers here. My reviews will never blab.
Love the Roy Grace series. Have read all of them. Highly recommended!