Abductions and murder in Brighton

You are Dead is one of a long series of detective novels by Peter James in which the main character is a Brighton based police detective, Superintendent Roy Grace. This is book 11 in the series, but I don’t think it matters much if you haven’t read them in order. Since I read this one I have also picked up a few more and have found them all enjoyable and with excellent plots.

In this story a young woman who is on the phone to her fiancé and goes missing while on the call. Soon another woman is abducted and some very old bodies are uncovered. Is this two separate case or only one ? Grace is also coping with a new baby and a house move and some of his team also have personal issues – an ex-colleague has died and another colleague is facing the breakup of his marriage. This is all done well and the book is fast paced and well-constructed so it is easy and enjoyable to read.

There is an overall story arc across the books that I have read. Grace’s wife, Sandy, has disappeared and cannot be traced – in one book Grace is accused of having murdered her. In each book the author moves this story along and we learn a little bit more about what happened to Sandy and why she had to flee. This disappearance and Grace’s attempts to start a new and relationship give some real depth to his character.

What I found that I didn’t like about these books was the fact that all Grace’s superiors seem to dislike him intensely and are out to destroy his career, and even his reputation. Grace seems always to be defending himself against those who hate him. For one character these is a good reason for this but for others it seems difficult to know why he is disliked when he is so successful.

Anyway, this is a series I recommend for those who enjoy police procedurals. There is a TV series based on the books and I have actually seen a couple of episodes – they are quite well done, except that the actor playing Grace doesn’t match the physical description of him in the books (this often happens).