Internationally acclaimed author Peter James has his thirteenth consecutive number one as the latest novel in his riveting Roy Grace series, DEAD IF YOU DON’T, shot to the top of the bestseller lists in its first week of sales. DEAD IF YOU DON’T was published in hardback and ebook by Pan Macmillan on 17 May. The launch was held at the Amex Brighton and Hove Football stadium, a fitting location, as the novel begins right there… In Heat magazine, Isabelle Broom praised DEAD IF YOU DON’T as ‘a galloping riot of entertainment and action’ and it grips from the very first pages.
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 instructions 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 . . .
Peter was a guest on various radios shows in the run up to the publication of DEAD IF YOU DON’T and appeared on London Live TV’s arts news programme to discuss his new novel and his time out with the Met. He was a featured author for this year’s Crimefest and visited Waterstones on Jersey’s Queen Street to talk about DEAD IF YOU DON’T in conversation with BBC presenter Cathy Le Feuvre. He’ll be appearing at the Jersey Festival in September, among other festivals in the year ahead. Visit The Bookseller’s Pictures of the Week to see Peter hosting booksellers in Brighton ahead of the DEAD IF YOU DON’T launch.
DEAD IF YOU DON’T has already been snapped up in Russia by Eksmo and Minerva in Finland. Rights to Peter’s riveting thriller ABSOLUTE PROOF, in which a mysterious phone call pulls an investigative journalist into the search to find proof of God’s existence, have also been bought by international publishers. ABSOLUTE PROOF is set to be published by Macmillan in October, with a major campaign. Fans of Peter James can look forward to more compelling Roy Grace cases as Pan Macmillan have also acquired rights for three further titles.
Peter James is one of the UK’s most treasured crime and thriller novelists. He has won numerous awards for his gripping crime novels, including the coveted 2016 CWA Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence, and an Honorary Platinum Award at the Specsavers Bestseller Awards, powered by Nielsen Book. He was publicly voted by WH Smith – Britain's biggest book selling chain – The Best Crime Author of All Time. The Roy Grace detective novels have sold over 19 million copies worldwide and are now published in 37 territories. His last Roy Grace NEED YOU DEAD went straight in at No. 1 in the paperback bestseller charts in October 2017 and stayed in the top 10 for nine weeks. Many of his books have also been adapted for the stage, with his standalone chiller THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL up next in 2019 – see more and book here!
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Praise for DEAD IF YOU DON’T:
‘Chief superintendent Roy Grace is back – and we think this could be his most exciting storyline yet…a galloping riot of entertainment and action, with heaps of dark humour thrown in.’ — Isabelle Broom, Heat
‘As ever, James may be dealing with familiar material, but always manages to render it afresh, his narrative (here involving the kidnapped son of a successful businessman) is made tauter by the adroit characterisation of the principal participants.’ — Barry Forshaw, Crime Time
‘I love the Roy Grace series of books and have read every single one of them…I loved the storyline…It’s absolutely wonderful to have Roy Grace back and is like welcoming back an old friend! …it is fantastic when the action is forefront as it is so cleverly written. The plot was well researched and well described and it was nail-bitingly filled with suspense and tension! I completely and utterly loved it. It is Roy Grace and, of course, Peter James at his best. It had me hooked from page one to the very end. Highly, highly recommended! Roll on Roy for book number 15!’ — Stardust Book Reviews