Love You Dead (Roy Grace)

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The gripping television series 'Grace' was an immediate success with audiences when it launched on ITV in 2021, with almost nine million viewers tuning in to watch the primetime drama starring John Simm as DSI Roy Grace. Series two returned to TV screens in spring this year, with five more thrilling episodes being the most watched programme across all channels on each of the Sundays they were broadcast. A third series is now in the works. Producer Josh Andrews has announced the lead cast for the UK tour of Peter James' Wish You Were Dead: George Rainsford, will star as James' famous detective DSI Roy Grace, alongside Giovanna Fletcher who will star as Cleo Morey and Clive Mantle, who will star as Curtis. Leon Stewart will return to the role of DS Glenn Branson. James is very active in his community. He has been involved in twenty-six movies (including The Merchant of Venice), is a chairman of the Brighton and Hove Drugs Commission, helps out with the local neighborhood watch, is an Ambassador for Brighton University, and helps with Action Medical Research. He also donated a police car to the Sussex Police in 2008.

Love You Dead, the twelfth book in the Roy Grace series by crime writer Peter James is a great example of a well-researched police procedural novel. When choosing a novel to read, I typically do not choose a mystery/crime/detective/thriller, although I usually enjoy them once I do. Love You Dead is no exception. For fans of Peter James, my observations will be nothing new; however, for those who are not familiar with his books, I hope this review will point you towards your new favourite detective series. His father ran the business as well as an accountant. His sister Genevieve now runs the company along with her husband. He attended Charterhouse School and later attended Ravensbourne Film School. James spent a few years working in North America as a film producer and screenwriter. He got his start in 1970 on the Canadian children’s television show Polka Dot Door as an errand boy and later writer. He cofounded Movision Pictures in the nineties. Clive Mantle's extensive range of credits across theatre, film and television, include an Olivier Award nominated performance in Of Mice and Men. He is perhaps best known for his TV work in shows such as Casualty, Holby City, Game of Thrones and The Vicar of Dibley and is also an award-winning children's author.This explanation gives a very helpful insight into the mind of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, a new kind of detective who is going through turmoil in his own life, as well as trying to prevent it from happening in the lives of others. Roy has a lot on his plate. He and his newlywed wife, Cleo, are raising their infant son, Noah. He is told that his first wife, Sandy, is still alive but she is lying in a coma in a Munich hospital. The serial killer, Edward Crisp (from the previous Roy Grace novel, You Are Dead), has survived a collapsing tunnel and is still at large, perhaps living in Lyon, France.

James’ books ooze realism, thanks to the extensive research he undertakes with the police. The only minor issue that strikes me is smarmy ACC Cassian Pewe, who detests Grace and makes threats that I always wonder how effectively could be carried out. But no doubt there’s someone like him somewhere in James’s research notes! James is deeply fascinated by the many different kinds of police work, especially how it tends to change over time. His research on the Grace novels, he claims, has given him insight into the daily life of a detective. What are the Roy Grace books all about? The first Roy Grace book, Dead Simple, was released in 2005 by Pan Macmillan. The tagline read, “Four bodies, one suspect, no trace. The first case for Detective Superintendent Roy Grace.” From there, the story begins with a prank gone wrong. Michael Harrison disappears into the big city without a trace. Previous Peter James novels brought to the stage include: 'Looking Good Dead' which premiered last year starring Adam Woodyatt and Gaynor Faye; 'The House on Cold Hill' starring Joe McFadden and Rita Simons in 2019; 'Not Dead Enough' starring Shane Richie and Laura Whitmore in 2017; 'Dead Simple' starring Tina Hobley in 2015 and 'The Perfect Murder' starring Les Dennis and Claire Goose in 2014. Have you ever watched or read a suspense thriller where the characters rile up your emotions to the point that you find yourself yelling things at them? Well, I definitely found myself doing that reading this book, unlike his other novels. I found myself constantly wanting to reach in the book and shake some sense into the characters, especially Red. I don’t think a character got to my core as much as she did. On one hand, I think her character as victim who chooses not to be a victim is admirable but her choices in the face of dealing with that crazy ex stalker boyfriend which leads to her life being on the line, made some very interesting moments in the book. I bet us ladies will think twice about online dating after reading this character.When James’ publisher, Pan Macmillan, came to him to ask him to create a new detective, James says he wanted to make Roy Grace a very separate kind of officer compared to other fictional investigators. He goes on to explain that much of his time was spent trying to determine what it is that detectives really do, and he discovered that their biggest job is to solve puzzles. How intriguing would it be to have a character that has a personal puzzle their own life? Who is Peter James? Clive Mantle said: "I'm looking forward to terrifying... I mean entertaining... audiences up and down the length and breadth of Britain with 'Wish You Were Dead'. Full of suspense and drama, there will be many funny moments too during the course of a captivating evening. There's a clue there for starters. Roll up, roll up, all you amateur sleuths. Can't wait to see you all." Peter James, born in 1948, is a bestselling British writer who holds a strong focus on crime fiction. His most popular novels to date remain the Roy Grace series, selling more than 14 million copies around the world. He has placed number one six times in the UK Sunday Times, as well as in countries such as France, Canada, and Russia. Roy and Co are out of the limelight for some of the book, but James has two strong characters in gold-digger Jodie and assassin Tooth to keep things moving. And if you don’t like reptiles, you may be reading chunks of this book through your fingers! James has also served two terms as Chair of the UK Crime Writers Association, and is also a board member of International Thriller Writers in the United States. What’s next for Roy Grace?

In the You season 3 finale, Joe and Love have both worked out that they have cheated on each other. In response, Love decides to temporarily paralyse Joe with poison and kill Marienne, the kind librarian with whom he's had an affair. She then hopes that they can resolve their marital issues. However, after seeing Marienne with her child, she decides not to kill her. With three killers on the loose, Roy Grace has his hands full with just doing his job. I thought that since this is called the Roy Grace series that Roy Grace would be in the novel more often. However, Roy Grace is not a dominant character until the second half of the novel and very much so at the end. However, his personal story left me wanting to know what has happened to him in the last eleven books, especially since he resolves some of the “ghosts” that he is confronted with in this novel that seem to have haunted him for some time.

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Dead Man’s Time calls Roy Grace in once more. This time it’s for a burglary that has taken over a million pounds worth of loot. It has also left an elderly man who lives there dying. As Grace shows up on the scene, it’s clear that the family does not care so much about the valuables so much as one valuable in particular. They will do anything to get it. They don’t care about breaking the law and Grace is thrown into a hot pursuit that takes him through Europe and eventually all the way to New York. George Rainsford said: "I can't wait to be part of a theatre ensemble again and delve into Peter James' thrilling criminal underworld. Getting to play Roy Grace, his most renowned detective creation, will be a huge honour. I am excited to meet audiences from all over the UK, and share with them some enthralling, edge-of-your-seat entertainment!"

One of those is Det Supt Roy Grace’s AWOL wife Sandy. Early on, it looked like that thread was going to outstay its welcome by quite some way, but James has balanced it judiciously in later books, and matters look like coming to a head soon. There was something different about the tone of the book. Besides the usual crime solving of Roy Grace and his staff that we love, there was an edge to some of the characters in the book, in particular “Bryce” who had a more dark psychological profile to him. It made the plot intriguing but some may feel this may have overshadowed the novel but I think the intensity of that darkness gave another dimension to the book that added authenticity to the getting into the head of this character. Giovanna Fletcher said: "I'm really looking forward to appearing on stage as Cleo in this brand new play, and excited to work with George and Clive - two wonderful actors I've heard great things about. As a novelist, I know how important the characters I create are to me, so I'm thrilled Peter James has entrusted me with this wonderful role, in what is another brilliant and gripping story from one of the greatest masters of crime thrillers!" Host was adapted into a made for tv movie by the US Network in 1998. Dr. Joe Messenger, played by Peter Gallagher, gives into the seduction of a terminally ill woman. He later finds that she has uploaded herself into a computer. Now she threatens to destroy his family from beyond the grave. ITV made Prophecy into a feature in 1995. A Ouija Board, an archaeologist, and a widower with his son are all connected.Roy then learns that the assassin Tooth (from the first Roy Grace novel I read, Dead Man’s Grip) has entered Brighton. Later, he learns that both a petty thief and a wealthy gentleman, both citizens of Brighton, have died from the bite of a saw-scaled viper, which is native to India. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is brought on to the case and grows suspicious when the one friend who wasn’t out celebrating refuses to collaborate on the case. All of a sudden, a motive surfaces, and Michael’s near accident may not be so accidental after all. In Looking Good Dead, published in 2006, Tom Bryce finds an apparently lost cd and decides to try to return it to its owner. But when his mission to return the cd leads to him witnessing a ghastly homicide, his family is threatened if he decides to go to the police. Meanwhile, Roy Grace is still haunted by his missing wife. It’s been nearly ten years since she disappeared. James became a successful producer of 26 films. The first movie he produced was 1971’s The Corpse Grinders. In addition to Corpse Grinders, Peter James has also produced such movies as Under Milk Wood, Dead of Night, Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things, Spanish Fly, Jericho Mansions, Head in the Clouds, and The Bridge of San Luis Rey. He was the executive producer of 2004’s take on Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Within a year, and under police protection, she evicts him from her flat and her life. But far from being over, her nightmare is only just beginning. For Bryce is obsessed and besotted with her. He intends to destroy, by fire, everything and everyone she has ever known and loved—and then her, too. It’s up to Detective Superintendent Roy Grace to stop him before it’s too late… Best-selling author Peter James has 30 novels in this genre, including 11 prequels to this novel. Read more about him: