Best-selling author Peter James is back with the 11th book in his Roy Grace crime series.
Nick Walton’s fiance Logan has just driven into the underground car park of the building in Brighton where they live when she calls him on her cellphone. She is very obviously terrified and as Nick struggles to comprehend what is happening, Logan screams and the phone goes dead.
And with that, she is gone. Despite the police arriving within minutes, they find her car and her phone, but not Logan herself.
Later that day, in another part of the city, what is left of the body of a woman who has likely been dead for three decades is dug up by workmen in a park.
For Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, the two events appear unrelated. But, of course, they aren’t and when another young Brighton woman goes missing and yet another body is found, DS Grace realises they are connected.
He also begins to wonder if Brighton has its first serial killer in more than 80 years.
There’s plenty of action as Grace and his sidekick, Detective Inspector Glenn Branson, race to catch a killer before the body count rises and while this isn’t the best of the Roy Grace series, it’s still a pretty decent read and stacks up as better than average when compared to others of its ilk.
It also works pretty well as a standalone read, so if you’ve not picked up one of the earlier books, don’t be afraid to start with this one.
The Roy Grace series of books have been translated into 36 languages, and have recorded worldwide sales of 16 million copies. Three of the books have been filmed and James has also produced numerous films, including The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes.
A man of many talents, indeed.