It is 8 a.m. on a warm and sunny Saturday morning in June.
No weekend off for him and only scant clues on their latest
case, a murder victim. Despite being in his office at
headquarters, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, a 21 year
veteran with the Sussex police, still ponders the horror
and the kind of mutilation done to the man whose headless,
armless and legless torso was uncovered the day before from
the chicken shed at Stonery Farm in Berwick, East Sussex.
Who is the victim? His team has only the barest of clues.
Will they ever be able to name him and find his murderer?
Thinking this would be a good chance to further develop a
promising officer now suffering from a painful split with
his wife and to give Grace some support while he wraps up a
previous case, Grace announces the appointment of DS Glenn
Branson as Acting Detective Inspector and his deputy SIO
for investigating this murder, now known as Operation Icon,
at their first police team briefing.
On his way to a key meeting with the Chief Constable, Grace
receives a call from Spinella, the Chief Crime Reporter of
the Brighton newspaper, The Argus. Grace is shocked to hear
that the newspaperman has already sniffed out the latest
developments going on with the police. Grace now wonders if
there is a mole in within the Sussex Police or, heaven
forbid, on his own team. How is he going to be able to get
that figured out on top of everything else?
Relief, however, is not in the cards. In fact, the Chief
Constable has a new assignment for him. The world famous
American singer turned actress, the beautiful Gaia
Lafayette, is coming with her entourage to Brighton for
the filming of a mega budget movie that is sure to be a hit
greater than "The King's Speech". This will be fantastic
for tourism and the world will be watching. Not only have
the Sussex police have been charged with making sure that
Gaia will be safe, but the full weight of that
responsibility now fully falls on Detective Superintendent
Grace's shoulders. A huge responsibility, especially now
they know a killer is out to get her as well as the usual
fans and stalkers - although it is a job not without some
perks. But, with the recent budget cuts to policing, can
Grace really pull it off?
Right from his first sentence, best-selling and
internationally well-known crime writer Peter James
instantly and powerfully places you straight in the midst
of a murder's obsession in Bel Air, California. From
there, James adeptly develops both the suspense and
storyline by shifting us across the Atlantic to the quiet
of an early morning country farm in England. How can the
two possibly be linked?
NOT DEAD YET is the eighth book in Peter James' terrific
crime series featuring Detective Superintendent Roy Grace.
Skillfully written in a deceptively simple, yet realistic
style, NOT DEAD YET is remarkably readable as a stand-alone
police procedural novel while fans already familiar with
James' books are sure to find this one a very captivating
read, especially as James further develops some of the
back stories from previous books. James is very talented
at making his work easy to visualize and follow by using
short chapters to shift from scene to scene. He also
provides very fascinating insights into the standard police
procedures that takes their few facts, links them into
databases and other sources to eke out the small clues to
guide them as they search for the murderer.
I find Roy Grace to be a very interesting protagonist. He
is very human in emotional response, yet professional on
the job (and often stifling a laugh to keep things so). On
the home front, he is ready to fully develop his love for
the mother of his unborn child as they await clearance for
their marriage. Grace's previous wife had disappeared
without a trace ten years previous and had not been found,
despite all his efforts to trace her. James is also very
skilled at realistically developing his secondary
characters, both from the dialogue and descriptions of
attire, so they are not simply two-dimensional good or bad
characters, but each has their own complexities and
tribulations.
NOT DEAD YET is a very suspenseful and intriguing roller
coaster ride that leaves you quickly turning the pages
right to the dramatic conclusion to find out the meaning of
the title. This is definitely a mystery that will be very
hard to put down once you start reading! A definite treat
to enjoy and don't forget to check out the rest of the
series!
Roy Grace tracks a stalker obsessed with a Hollywood starlet
in Not Dead Yet, the latest from #1
international bestselling author Peter
James Days before one of
Hollywood’s hottest stars, Gaia Lafayette, leaves her Bel
Air home for a movie role on location in Brighton, England,
there is a bungled attempt on her life. The whole city of
Brighton awaits Gaia’s arrival, including her dangerously
obsessive Number One fan looking for revenge and an anxious
Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, charged with protecting
Gaia.
When a mutilated torso is found on
a chicken farm miles away in the countryside, the
police have no reason at all to connect this to the star’s
visit to the county. But as events rapidly begin to unfold,
Roy Grace and his team of cops find themselves in a
desperate race against time to save Gaia’s life from a
clever maniac who will stop at nothing to kill her.
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