Picture You Dead

This is a great detective story. I have read and enjoyed this author before and this is no exception. I loved the Sussex setting and all the references which will be so recognisable to anyone from that part of the world. Most enjoyable!

Picture You Dead is the latest in the DS Roy Grace series from Peter James. A series well worth reading with Grace, an honest cop with a conscious, playing the lead in a cast of wonderful characters as they fight crime in the Brighton and Hove environs. It is now a TV series which is as exciting as Peter James’s books and appears faithful to the original story lines.
In this latest installment, Grace and his team are looking into a 5 year old unsolved murder case of an art dealer possibly involving the theft of an old French Masterpiece. The reader is taken expertly into the world of fine art dealing and fine art forgery and Grace’s sleuthing is even given a helping hand by a chance watching of The Antiques Road Show on television.
As always in Peter James’s books, the subject matter is meticulously researched and the plots very cleverly woven together. As well as the familiar cast, there are new characters who are wonderfully constructed and vividly portrayed. The new TV series has modified my image of Grace and the others but in a good way making the reading more easy to picture in ones mind.
I would thoroughly recommend this book and the whole series to any lover of mysteries or Police procedural. Peter James is a master of this genre and always a joy to read.
Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for providing pre publication access.

I have read all of the Roy Grace series of books and am delighted it is now a television drama as well.

Picture You Dead is another great read and the characters feel like I know them having been brought to life on the small screen. Having said that it can easily be read as a standalone.

Harry and Freya Kipling are an ordinary couple who buy at car boot sales. Purely by fluke they discover one of the items bought is a painting from a famous artist and highly sought after. This is something they have dreamed about but the reality is not what they imagined.

Cleverly plotted with numerous twists and turns we delve into the world of fine art, an area Roy Grace knows little about to discover the deception and greed of those who paint and collect the art.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan, NetGalley and Peter James for my ARC in return for my honest review. Highly recommended.

Another fabulous instalment in the Roy Grace series, book 18 and they just keep getting better! I enjoyed the plot for this book as it delves into the lives of the mega rich and the lengths they will go to for what they want.

Jump right into the world of unscrupulous art dealings in this the latest in the latest offering in the Roy Grace series. It will not disappoint. The Murder of an art dealer in 2015 links neatly into the current scene of wheeling and dealing to extract as much money as possible from art fanatics wishing to procure masterpieces. Caught up in this are the Kiplings who bought a painting because they liked its frame only to discover that under its uninspiring overpainting lay a possible rare painting .
A thoroughly enjoyable foray into the art underworld and a welcome back to the array of characters Pete James has collated around Roy Grace

This is book #18 in the Roy Grace series. Whilst it can be read as a standalone book, I would recommend reading the others in the series as well. Grace is back and finds himself investigating the cold case of a deceased art dealer. I loved this storyline and found this to be the best ‘Grace’ book I’ve read in a long time! Roy is still grieving over what happened in the previous book, but he manages to keep himself busy by delving into the world of arts and antiquities! The author has done a fantastic job of bringing the storyline down to characters who could have been me or you. Freya and Harry Kipling are ordinary folk who like a wander around a car boot sale on a Sunday morning. Imagine though buying a painting for £20 and finding out its worth millions! We’d all probably be like the Kipling’s though and plan the future with a bit of money in our pockets. We’d probably never think about the crooks and criminals who’d also like to get their hands on the money!

This story twists and turns itself through the cold case investigation that Grace and his team are looking into and the Kipling’s story of their unexpected treasure! It had me hooked from the first page and I couldn’t put the book down until I’d finished it. The storyline was easy to read and there were no complicated plot twists, meaning all my attention went on the murders and violence throughout! It was great to see all of Grace’s team back, particularly my favourite of Norman Potting, and the author leaves us in suspense throughout as to where the storyline may be heading in future books for several of the characters.