What a horror for a small boy to see! Shots fired in the dark, screams and his dead mother lying in a pool of blood. Then, confusion and being hustled off to Ireland with his sister "to be safe". All he wants to do is see his father. Where is he?

That is Brooklyn, New York in 1922. Now, ninety years later in Brighton, England, events circle back to that horrible time. The small boy, Gavin Daly, is now 95; still quite spry and a very wealthy man. He is close to his sister, Aileen McWhirler, and stays in regular contact. His sister, an elderly 98 year old widow, yet still elegant woman, lives on her own on Withdean Road. She is not responding to his calls. Would the Brighton Police please go and check on her.

The arriving Sussex police officers are shocked by what they discover and ask Detective Superintendent Roy Grace to come to the crime scene of a vicious robbery. With the recent arrival of his baby son Noah Jack, Roy Grace has been experiencing sleep deprivation; yet he is still quick enough to realize the implications of the flyer left on the kitchen table in a house now stripped of its many valuable antiques and paintings. He thinks that the person leaving the flyer, looking for antiques, may be involved in the robbery, but proving it could be a tricky matter!

With this gripping and captivating start, Peter James quickly pulls the reader into the story and into the life of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. DEAD MAN'S TIME is James's ninth book featuring Grace and is set a few months after events in NOT DEAD YET, the highly suspenseful eighth book in Peter James's terrific crime series. It is a fascinating read that focuses on the high-end international world of art and antiques and particularly those involved in in shady black market dealings. Skillfully intertwined into this storyline is the back story of Irish gangs in New York in the 1920s and, in particular, the death of Gavin Daly's parents and the small mysterious legacy the small boy is left holding. A number, a few names, an expensive watch and a gun.

It is little wonder that James is an international best- selling author and he certainly is in top form in DEAD MAN'S TIME. James is brilliant at writing authentic and compelling police procedural books as well as giving strong insights into the back stories and personal lives of his characters.

His style is very easy to read with short pithy chapters with appropriate linkage back to events in previous novels, so DEAD MAN'S TIME could also be read as a stand-alone novel. Given that, I would recommend that readers consider reading James' previous novel, Not Dead Yet, first for the full impact and suspense that DEAD MAN'S TIME holds. In particular, the situation with Sandy, Roy Grace's first wife, may be a little confusing and understated in its implications for Roy and frustrating for fans who would like it resolved as much as Roy would like it to be. Sandy, who went AWOL ten years previous, is now presumed dead. Is he now really free to marry Chloe, the mother of his new baby son?

Revenge is the name of the game in DEAD MAN'S TIME and there is a number of vendettas going on involving a number of sleazy secondary characters. Meanwhile, despite his sleep loss and wanting to spend more time with his new family, Roy Grace is very determined to do the work he loves and vows to "never stop fighting for his murder victims". He is a terrific protagonist and I fully enjoy how James develops him in this new role as a dad. In fact, events around this new development in Grace's life makes DEAD MAN'S TIME even more riveting and suspenseful.

Readers will definitely find this story an absolute page turner as it moves from New York to England to Spain and back to complete a complex circle of vengeance! So, don't waste any more time! Get out and grab a copy of DEAD MAN'S TIME and then settle back for a real reading adventure! Enjoy!