You Are Dead

by Peter James

Published 21 May 2015
You are Dead is the eleventh thrilling crime novel in Peter James' Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series.

They were marked for death.

The last words Jamie Ball hears from his fiancée, Logan Somerville, are in a terrified mobile phone call. She has just driven into the underground car park beneath the block of flats where they live in Brighton. Then she screams and the phone goes dead. The police are on the scene within minutes, but Logan has vanished, leaving behind her neatly parked car and mobile phone.

That same afternoon, workmen digging up a park in another part of the city, unearth the remains of a woman in her early twenties, who has been dead for thirty years.

At first, to Detective Superintendent Roy Grace and his team, these two events seem totally unconnected. But then another young woman in Brighton goes missing - and yet another body from the past surfaces.

Meanwhile, an eminent London psychiatrist meets with a man who claims to know information about Logan. And Roy Grace has the chilling realization that this information holds the key to both the past and present crimes . . . Does Brighton have its first serial killer in over eighty years?

Not Dead Yet

by Peter James

Published 7 June 2012

For LA producer Larry Brooker, this is the movie that could bring the fortune that has so long eluded him . . .

For rock superstar, Gaia, desperate to be taken seriously as an actor, this is the role that could get her an Oscar nomination…

For the City of Brighton and Hove, the publicity value of a major Hollywood movie being filmed on location, about the city’s greatest love story – between King George IVth and Maria Fitzherbert - is incalculable.

For Detective Superintendent Roy Grace of Sussex CID, it is a nightmare unfolding in front of his eyes. An obsessed stalker is after Gaia. One attempt on her life is made days before she leaves her Bel Air home to fly to Brighton. Now, he has been warned, the stalker may be at large in his city, waiting, watching, planning.


Looking Good Dead

by Peter James

Published 2 June 2006

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace has to solve a disturbing murder whilst protecting an innocent eye witness in Looking Good Dead, by award winning crime author Peter James.

When a young woman’s body is found butchered in Brighton, Roy Grace cannot help but think of his own missing wife and her unsolved fate.

Elsewhere in the city, when Tom Bryce finds a disc left on a train, he simply tries to do the right thing – return it to its owner. But this attempted act of kindness makes him the sole witness to that same vicious murder.

Learning that Tom has made a statement to Grace’s team, the killers have to act. But when they plan the murder of the Bryce family, it’s not just revenge – it’s entertainment.

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Looking Good Dead is the second gripping title in the bestselling series. Enjoy more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Not Dead Enough and Dead Man's Footsteps.

Now a major ITV series, Grace, starring John Simm.


Need You Dead

by Peter James

Published 18 May 2017

Roy Grace, creation of the CWA Diamond Dagger award winning author Peter James, faces his most mysterious case yet in Need You Dead.

Lorna Belling, desperate to escape the marriage from hell, falls for the charms of another man who promises her the earth. But, as Lorna finds, life seldom follows the plans you’ve made. A chance photograph on a client’s mobile phone changes everything for her.

When the body of a woman is found in a bath in Brighton, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is called to the scene. At first it looks an open and shut case with a clear prime suspect. Then other scenarios begin to present themselves, each of them tantalizingly plausible, until, in a sudden turn of events, and to his utter disbelief, the case turns more sinister than Grace could ever have imagined.


Dead If You Don't

by Peter James

Published 17 May 2018

Roy Grace, creation of the CWA Diamond Dagger award winning author Peter James, faces his most complex case yet in Dead If You Don't.

Kipp Brown, successful businessman and compulsive gambler, is having the worst run of luck of his life. He’s beginning to lose, big style. However, taking his teenage son, Mungo, to their club’s Saturday afternoon football match should have given him a welcome respite, if only for a few hours. But it’s at the stadium where his nightmare begins.

Within minutes of arriving at the game, Kipp bumps into a client. He takes his eye off Mungo for a few moments, and in that time, the boy disappears. Then he gets the terrifying message that someone has his child, and to get him back alive, Kipp will have to pay.

Defying instruction not to contact the police, Kipp reluctantly does just that, and Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is brought in to investigate. At first it seems a straightforward case of kidnap. But rapidly Grace finds himself entering a dark, criminal underbelly of the city, where the rules are different and nothing is what it seems . . .


Dead Simple

by Peter James

Published 6 May 2005
It was meant to be a harmless stag night prank. A few hours later four of his best friends are dead and Michael Harrison has disappeared. With only three days to the wedding, Detective Superintendent Grace - a man haunted by the shadow of his own missing wife - is contacted by Michael's beautiful, distraught fiancee, Ashley Harper. Grace discovers that the one man who ought to know Michael Harrison's whereabouts is saying nothing. But then he has a lot to gain - more than anyone realizes. For one man's disaster is another man's fortune...Dead simple...'James has got the gift for turning mind-stretching subjects into novels that are irresistibly readable as well as utterly believable.' - Robert Goddard. 'A brilliant idea, superbly crafted. A terrific page-turner.' - James Herbert.

Love You Dead

by Peter James

Published 19 May 2016

A shocking reveal threatens to unravel Detective Superintendent Roy Grace’s happy new life in Love You Dead, by award winning crime author Peter James.

Grace is newly married, having moved to a country cottage with Cleo and their baby son. But his first, long-missing wife, now found, has left Grace a surprise greater than he could have imagined.

Yet the police need Grace at work: an escaped murderer who left a bullet in him is back and a Black Widow is leaving an international trail of corpses after – in every sense – bleeding them dry. Now, she’s come to Brighton for her next rich target . . .

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Love You Dead is the twelve title in the bestselling series. Enjoy more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Need You Dead and Dead If You Don’t.

Now a major ITV series, Grace, starring John Simm.


Dead Like You

by Peter James

Published 27 May 2010

When unsolved crimes resurface, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace faces a possible copycat killing in Dead Like You, by award winning crime author Peter James.

The Metropole Hotel, Brighton. After a heady New Year's Eve ball, a woman is attacked as she returns to her room. A week later, another woman is assaulted. Both victims' shoes are taken by the offender . . .

Roy Grace soon realizes that these new cases bear remarkable similarities to an unsolved series of crimes in the city back in 1997. Dubbed 'Shoe Man', the perpetrator was believed to have attacked five women before murdering his sixth victim and vanishing. Could this be a copycat, or has Shoe Man resurfaced?

When more women are assaulted, Grace and his team find themselves in a desperate race against the clock to identify and save the life of the new sixth victim . . .

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Dead Like You is the sixth gripping title in the bestselling series. Enjoy more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Dead Man's Grip and Not Dead Yet.

Now a major ITV series, Grace, starring John Simm.


Dead Man's Grip

by Peter James

Published 26 May 2011

I WANT THEM TO SUFFER, AND I WANT THEM DEAD ...

Carly Chase is still traumatised after being in a fatal traffic accident which kills a teenage student from Brighton University. Then she receives news that turns her entire world into a living nightmare.

The drivers of the other two vehicles involved have been found tortured and murdered. Now Detective Superintendant Roy Grace of the Sussex Police force issues a stark and urgent warning to Carly: She could be next.

The police advise Carly her only option is to go into hiding and change her identity. The terrified woman disagrees - she knows these people have ways of hunting you down anywhere. If the police are unable to stop them, she has to find a way to do it herself. But already the killer is one step ahead of her, watching, waiting, and ready ...


Dead Man's Time

by Peter James

Published 6 June 2013

Some will wait a lifetime to take their revenge. . .

A vicious robbery at a secluded Brighton mansion leaves its elderly occupant dying. Millions of pounds' worth of valuables have been stolen.

But as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, heading the enquiry, rapidly learns, there is one priceless item of sentimental value that her powerful family cherish above all else. And they are fully prepared to take the law into their own hands, and will do anything - absolutely anything - to get it back.

Within days, Grace is racing against the clock, following a murderous trail that leads him from the shady antiques world of Brighton, across Europe, and all the way back to the New York waterfront gang struggles of 1922, chasing a killer driven by the force of one man's greed and another man's fury.

Dead Man's Time is the ninth novel in the multi-million copy bestselling Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, from the number one chart topper, Peter James.


Dead Tomorrow

by Peter James

Published 11 June 2009

In an evil world, everything is for sale. . .

The body of a missing teenager is dredged from the seabed off the Sussex coast, missing vital organs. Soon after, a further two more bodies are found . . .

Caitlin Beckett, a fifteen-year-old in Brighton will die if she does not receive an urgent transplant. When the health system threatens to let her down her mother takes drastic action and goes to an online broker in black-market organs. The broker can provide what she wants, but it will come at a price.

As Detective Superintendent Roy Grace investigates the recovered bodies, he unearths the trail of a gang of child traffickers operating from Eastern Europe. Soon Grace and his team will find themselves in a race against time to save the life of a young street kid, while a desperate mother will stop at nothing to save her daughter's life . . .

Dead Tomorrow is the fifth novel in the multi-million copy bestselling Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series from number one author Peter James.


Dead Man's Footsteps

by Peter James

Published 20 June 2008

The discovery of a woman’s body and a link to the events of 9/11 take Detective Superintendent Roy Grace around the world in Dead Man’s Footsteps, by award-winning crime author Peter James. Now a major ITV series, Grace, adapted for television by screenwriter Russell Lewis and starring John Simm.

Amid the tragic mayhem of the morning of 9/11, failed Brighton businessman and ne’er-do-well Ronnie Wilson sees the chance of a lifeline: to shed his debts, disappear and reinvent himself in another country.

Six years later the discovery of the skeletal remains of a woman’s body in a storm drain in Brighton leads Roy Grace on an enquiry spanning the globe, and into a desperate race against time to save the life of a woman being hunted down like an animal in the streets and alleys of Brighton.

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Dead Man’s Footsteps is the fourth gripping title in the bestselling series. Enjoy more of the Brighton detective’s investigations in Dead Tomorrow and Dead Like You.

Now a major ITV series, Grace, starring John Simm.


Not Dead Enough

by Peter James

Published 1 June 2007

On the night Brian Bishop murdered his wife, he was sixty miles away, asleep in bed at the time. At least, that’s the way it looks to Detective Superintendent Roy Grace who is called in to investigate the kinky slaying of beautiful young Brighton socialite, Katie Bishop.

Soon, Grace starts coming to the conclusion that Bishop has performed the apparently impossible feat of being in two places at once. Has someone stolen his identity, or is he simply a very clever liar? As Grace digs deeper behind the facade of the Bishops’ outwardly respectable lives, it starts to become clear that all is not at all as it first seemed. And then he digs just a little too far, and suddenly the fragile stability of his own troubled, private world is facing destruction . . .

Praise for Looking Good Dead:

'James is a master plotter . . . this follow-up to Dead Simple cannot fail to thrill' Daily Mail

'Will have you glued to your deckchair' Observer


Want You Dead

by Peter James

Published 2 June 2014

An obsessive psychopath must be stopped whilst Detective Superintendent Roy Grace also deals with a very personal mystery in Want You Dead, by award winning crime writer Peter James.

Grace’s wife Sandy is officially declared dead after being missing for a decade, allowing him to marry the mother of his baby son. But Sandy’s disappearance is unexplained for a reason.

Bryce Laurent doesn’t want his ex-girlfriend to move on. Terrified by Bryce’s dark side, she seeks police protection. But Bryce will not be stopped, determined to destroy everything and everyone she has ever known and loved – and then her too . . .

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Want You Dead is the tenth thrilling title in the bestselling series. Enjoy more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with You Are Dead and Love You Dead.

Now a major ITV series, Grace, starring John Simm.


Dead at First Sight

by Peter James

Published 16 May 2019

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace exposes the dark side of internet dating in the intriguing crime novel Dead at First Sight, by award winning author Peter James.

A man waits at a London airport for the love of his life to arrive. Across the Atlantic, a retired cop waits in a bar in Florida’s Key West for his first date with the lady who is his soulmate. The two men are about to discover they’ve been scammed out of almost every penny they have in the world – and that neither women exist.

In the same week, Roy Grace is called to investigate the suicide of a woman in Brighton, that is clearly not what it seems. As his investigations continue, a handsome motivational speaker comes forward. He’s discovered his identity is being used to scam eleven different women online. The first he knew of it was a phone call from one of them saying, ‘You don’t know me, but I thought I knew you’.

That woman is now dead.

Roy Grace realizes he is looking at the tip of an iceberg. Can he bring down the murderous global empire built on clever, cruel internet scams?

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Dead at First Sight is the fifteenth title in the bestselling series. Discover more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Find Them Dead and Left You Dead.

Now a major ITV series, Grace, starring John Simm.


Find Them Dead

by Peter James

Published 9 July 2020

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace unearths a powerful criminal network in the sinister crime novel Find Them Dead, by award winning author Peter James.

Ending his secondment to London’s Met Police, Roy Grace gets a tip-off about a drugs mastermind operating out of Brighton. On his first day back in his old job, he is called to a seemingly senseless murder.

Gradually, Grace’s investigation draws him into the evil sphere of an utterly ruthless drug dealer on trial. A man prepared to order the death of anyone it takes to enable him to walk free from court.

Sitting in the jury is Meg Magellan, whose daughter's life is being threatened by a stranger who tells her that if she ever wants to see her alive again, it is very simple. At the end of the trial, all she has to do is make sure the jury says just two words . . . Not guilty.

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Find Them Dead is the sixteenth title in the bestselling series. Discover more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Left You Dead.

Now a major ITV series, Grace, starring John Simm.


Left You Dead

by Peter James

Published 13 May 2021

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, creation of the CWA Diamond Dagger award-winning author Peter James, faces his most engrossing case yet in Left You Dead.

Niall and Eden Paternoster start their Sunday the same way they always do – with a long drive, a visit to a country house and a quick stop at the local supermarket on the way home.

But this Sunday ends differently – because while Niall waits and waits in the car park for Eden to pick up supplies, Eden never returns. She’s not waiting for him at home, and none of their family or friends have heard from her.

Gone without a trace, Niall is arrested on suspicion of her murder. When DS Roy Grace is called in to investigate, it doesn’t take long to realize that nothing in this case is quite as it seems . . .

Left You Dead is the seventeenth thrilling crime novel in the Roy Grace series. Enjoy more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Dead Simple, Looking Good Dead and Not Dead Enough.

Now a major TV series starring John Simm.

'One of James’s most emotionally engaging books' Mirror


Picture You Dead

by Wayne Brookes and Peter James

Published 29 September 2022

‘Peter James is one of the best British crime writers, and therefore one of the best in the world.’ - Lee Child, author of The Jack Reacher series

A long-lost masterpiece sparks deadly violence – and sets Detective Superintendent Roy Grace on the path of a calculating killer. Discover the darkness that lurks around every corner in Picture You Dead.

Now a major ITV drama starring John Simm as Roy Grace.


Harry and Freya, an ordinary couple, dreamed for years of finding something priceless buried amongst the tat in a car boot sale.

It was a dream they knew in their hearts would never come true – until the day it did . . .

They buy a drab portrait for twenty pounds for its beautiful frame, planning to cut the painting out. Then, studying it back at home, there seems to be another picture beneath, of a stunning landscape. Could it be a long-lost masterpiece from 1770? If genuine, it could be worth millions.

One collector is certain it is genuine. Someone who uses any method he can to get what he wants.

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace finds himself plunged into the unfamiliar and rarefied world of fine art. Outwardly it appears respectable, gentlemanly, above reproach. But beneath the veneer, he rapidly finds that greed, deception and violence walk hand-in-hand. And Harry and Freya are about to discover that their dream is turning into their worst nightmare . . .

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Picture You Dead is the eighteenth title in the bestselling series. Enjoy more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Find Them Dead and Left You Dead.

‘The master of the craft’ - Daily Express