Cover Image: Left You Dead

Left You Dead

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

A brilliant return to form. I didn't enjoy the previous book in this series and so didn't have great expectations of this one. I was so wrong this is excellent. Every time I thought I had worked what was happening I was proved wrong and so my attention was kept from beginning to end.

The events affecting Roy Grace and his immediate family were dealt with sensitively. At times I was in tears but the storyline shows how good can come from the most dreadful of circumstances.

Was this review helpful?

Peter James' writing is magical, I think his best work is his Roy Grace series of which this is one, Eden goes to uy some cat litter and never returns. I can't say too much more without spoilers but this is excellent, you really don't want to miss it!

Roy Grace is amazing as always, following his life is always interesting and this is no different, though completely heartbreaking at the same time. This book goes to some dark places.

The plot is very strong as are the characters. This is a totally riveting story that is emotionally exhausting in places with an amazing ending. There are the usual great twists you come to expect from James.

I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Was this review helpful?

Well written complex and unusual mystery. Lots of twists and a bit of sadness but Grace and his team work it out.

Was this review helpful?

Left You Dead is a gripping, twisty mystery that very quickly drew me in and kept me questioning throughout.
I loved the storyline, a loved one popping in to the supermarket and not coming out is unique and gives me the chills. I love DS Grace and all the other police officers in the book too.
This is the first book in the series I’ve read, but that wasn’t a problem and it can be read as a stand alone…. Although I will be reading the previous 16 in the series now.
My one complaint with the novel is it is long, but feels a bit too long.

Was this review helpful?

Peter James never lets us down! Another brilliant Roy Grace novel! I couldn’t put it down. And just WOW what a storyline, I love how it has the case but also personal stories so that you can get to know more about the characters. It is part of a series but if you haven’t read any of the others it won’t affect you reading this - it’ll just make you want to go back and read them all!

Was this review helpful?

This is my first ever Peter James and I have to say I really enjoyed it.
I liked the short sharp chapters. The characters considering I had never met them before made me feel like i had known them for a while despite being part of a series.

Great plot and i felt like it did a full circuit.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley for granting me a copy. Niall and Eden stop at a busy Tesco store one Sunday afternoon. Eden runs in to buy some cat litter and disappears. Niall reports her missing the following day and is quickly suspected of murder. D S Roy Grace and his team start to investigate and the case gets more complex. A great page Turner.

Was this review helpful?

When Niall's wife does not return from a quick stop at the supermarket he is bamboozled. However when he reports Eden's disappearance to police rather than sympathy he gets doubt. Everyone knows it's always the husband!

This is book 17 of my absolute favourite crime series. Ever since the first book Dead Simple I was hooked and I drop everything when the newest book is released. What makes this series so good? Well Peter James masterfully combines thrilling crime with a main character whose personal life is just as riveting if not more so.

Left You Dead did not disappoint. The minute Niall realises his wife is not returning to the car after a dash to Tesco I was just as frantically trying to work out what could have happened. The story had me on tenterhooks and kept me guessing right to the end as to how things would play out. I have always wanted to visit Brighton but maybe I shouldn't as there seems to be a plethora of dodgy characters and goings on there! After reading these books over the years I feel that Roy Grace is an old friend and I have lived the trials and tribulations right alongside him. As such this time around I found his personal life highly emotive and could not help shedding a tear at a particular turn of events. Even after all these years I have never learnt how to savour the pages and take my time and instead whizz through to the end and then I am always left wanting more, but have to wait.

There is very little more I can say about this book as if you are a fan I don't want to ruin any new revelations and if you are new to the series you won't want to know where Grace is at by book 17. All I can say is die hard fans are in for a treat and if you haven't heard of this series before now then start at the beginning and enjoy!

Was this review helpful?

Peter James' Roy Grace series can do no wrong, and this latest installment is no different!

Niall and Eden go about their life while shopping for cat litter. Simple enough until Eden disappears. Roy Grace joins the investigation and find incriminating information making Niall the prime suspect, but why would he have reported Eden missing if he could get away with this.

Another tour de force for Grace with some career development that I look forward to seeing in the next book.

Absolutely engrossing, emotionally exhausting and fantastic.

I was kindly given this book as an ARC in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Edan Paternoster goes missing on a Sunday afternoon.
Her husband Niall and herself had been out for the afternoon they had called at the supermarket as Edan had forgot the cat litter.
When she didn’t come back to the car Niall went looking for her but she’s nowhere to be seen .
He thinks she’s gone home and is having a strop.
So Niall goes home but she’s not there .
By the morning she’s still not home so he phones her relatives but they haven’t seen her.
He then phones the police.
Roy Grace and his team are assigned the case.
When they look into what Niall has told them things don’t add up and they think Niall has got more to do with her disappearance..
Roy Grace is going through his own personal problems while dealing with this case.
There are plenty of twists and turns before we find out the truth.
Another great book
Thanks NetGalley

Was this review helpful?

A most unusual case of a missing person. A man drops his wife off at a Tesco to buy some cats letter and she doesn’t return. When after contacting all friends and family with no success, he finally decides to report her as a missing person the next day. The police find no evidence of her ever going into Tesco as reported, so has she done a runner or was she murdered by her husband. There after follows a most complicated police investigation, did he, or didn’t he? Plagued with alternate theories and with plenty of red herrings, as things unfold like a Russian Doll, the truth is finally revealed.

Was this review helpful?

I am a great fan of the Roy Grace series so was really happy when I was given a review copy of the latest book in the series by NetGalley and the publisher for an open and honest review, so thanks for that.

I have to say this book didn’t disappoint, and kept me hooked from the very first sentence. An interesting case where a wife disappears when going to pick up cat litter! Has she been abducted, murdered or is there more going on than we know. In rides Roy Grace and his great team to investigate and solve the case.

Alongside this we have a major personal storyline for Roy which was very well written and quite a shock! So well written and felt the emotions jumping off the page.

The book also finished with a major development in Roy’s professional career so keen to see how this is developed in the next book, one I personally can’t wait for.

I think this brought the series back to top form following Roy being like a fish out of water in the previous one when he was away from Brighton. This is one of my favourite series and if you are not reading them, then why not. One of the best crime procedurals out there. As you can guess I totally recommend this book and the series.

Was this review helpful?

I am a fan of Peter James but was disappointed at his latest offering.. The storyline felt flat and I ended up skim reading. The other storyline didn’t ring true especially Grace’s reaction.and the dialogue between Grace and his wife was totally unbelievable.

Was this review helpful?

Peter James’s Superintendent Roy Grace books are now so well known that little needs to be said about the basic premise. Our hero is on good form in this latest outing, with strands of his complex back story playing out amid some personal tragedy. Meanwhile, Grace’s latest mystery unfolds in unusual directions, with the author seemingly revealing too much to allow the book to qualify as a crime thriller. Fans can be reassured, however, that Grace can be relied upon to dig deep and begin to unravel the puzzle. Pedants may feel that he got close to committing the serious mistake of making the clues fit the hypothesis he was pursuing, rather than letting the clues drive the formation of the hypothesis. As ever, however, Peter James’s writing keeps a pleasing momentum running and the narrative moves steadily towards a tense denouement. Regular readers will be pleased to see the wider detective team present and correct, with all the old friends playing their parts. Recommended for fans of detective fiction.

Was this review helpful?

Peter James has done it again! So many twists in this Roy Grace mystery thriller to keep any reader turning the 500 pages. There is one BIG twist 3/4 of the way in and I cant see anyone seeing it coming. the 3 main stories feed seemlessly together It was effortless to read and great to pick up every time. You won't be disapointed.

Was this review helpful?

A couple have a bit of bicker about cat litter. This is the how the book opens and already I think...cat litter. That's got my attention, bizarrely enough. Something so strangely mundane and yet enticing too. Peter James can do that.

This is the seventeenth book in the series about Detective Inspector Grace, so popular he has his own television series. The popularity is easy to see: a realistic detective working in a well-researched police station with unexpected plotlines. I like that James has his books set in the Brighton area and there are plenty of cats. I love this type of British identity.

This case follows the trail of a missing woman, presumed murdered by her spouse. Not unusual for this author's work, there is new and (I'm guessing) up to date police procedures and insights and some intricate medical knowledge I had no idea about. The story includes police work and dramatic aspects of the detective's personal life. Characters realistically expressed and most of them like famous actors, which is useful and does away with forgettable physical descriptions. Dominic West and Helena Bonham-Carter are quite memorable in the looks department.

The book is easy to follow and made familiar with the inclusion of the actors vivid in our minds and the Tesco Superstore, but in case anything slips the reader's mind there are frequent recaps. Probably how it's done at police stations so everything stays fresh, but it also felt a bit repetitive and made the book overly long. However, it was a great ride. A fairly typical D.I. Grace book to keep the popularity of this series going. And rightly so.

Was this review helpful?

Having followed this series since its inception over 15 years ago, I was excited to read the newest title – and it did not disappoint.

It is certainly unusual for DS Roy Grace and his team to be investigating a case which doesn’t involve a murder, but when Niall Paternoster reports his wife, Eden, as missing there’s just something about the case that doesn’t add up. As the case progresses, with no sign of Eden and the discovery of damning evidence in their home, Niall becomes the main suspect. When further information comes to light, the police are left with a myriad of possible reasons for Eden’s disappearance.

Alongside the police case, there is also a very personal storyline for Roy and his family. This storyline was brilliantly written, extremely emotional and utterly heart-breaking.

Many thanks to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley UK for the review copy.

Was this review helpful?

This has to be the best of the series so far in that it had me howling in my mind to the author ‘ HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HIM ‘ i was wrung out emotionally after reading this book and my heart was torn at the grief that fell from the page at the loss felt by Grace. How can he come back from this will be the biggest comeback in crime thriller writing but i have no doubt that the author will come up with yet another blisteringly great plot.

Was this review helpful?

I have been a huge fan of Peter James' writing for many years, his first Roy Grace novel Dead Simple having been my first venture into the realms of crime novels. Boy, did I choose a great book to get started with?? This series has grabbed me by the throat and not let go. There's the perfect balance of personal, professional and criminal elements with just a hint of police corruption thrown in for good measure.

With such an enduring series readers might wonder whether it is losing its spark, and I have found that a few of the "episodes" haven't been quite as engaging as others. This one however I feel is Peter back on form. There are two main threads to the book: the dominant one being the Paternoster couple, where the husband has reported his wife having allegedly disappeared on a flying visit to the supermarket. The other features heavily in Grace's personal life which I won't even discuss as it would be a huge spoiler. I liked that there is also another story thread (or two) simmering away in Grace's professional life with his superior officer once again trying to influence the progress of his career. The guy just doesn't give up!!

It's great to see long term characters still working in the team, maybe a different side coming through for a couple of them this time which gives yet another slant to the ongoing series in order to keep it fresh. There are some unexpected twists as you always expect from this author and a bit of a cliff hanger to say no more!

Peter James just continues with his outstanding crime writing with this latest book. There aren't many who can sustain a series as successfully as him. Another full marks crime thriller in my opinion.

Was this review helpful?

I received this book from the publishers via Netgalley for a review. The Roy Grace novels just seem to get better. Plenty of twist and turns to leave your head spinning, with plenty of emotion too

Was this review helpful?