THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD by Peter James has jumped straight to Number One in the UK Bestsellers list after only three days on sale in hardback. It joins the paperback edition of the nineteenth instalment of the Roy Grace series, STOP THEM DEAD, which spends its third week in the Top Ten.
Published by Pan Macmillan, THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD: Sandy’s Story is the much-anticipated standalone novel revealing the astonishing reasons behind Sandy Grace’s disappearance. Set in a parallel timeline to the main Roy Grace series, THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD sheds light on the mystery of why Sandy disappeared, her reasons for leaving Roy, and what happened to her next. Readers join her as she travels down an increasingly dark path, trying to keep one step ahead of her enemies.
To celebrate publication of THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD, Peter has carried out book signings across the UK as well as Q&A events in Brighton, Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells. Peter also hosted a special afternoon tea for book influencers at The Grand, Brighton which you can see more of here. This week the Jersey launch will take place, followed by appearances at multiple festivals later in the year including Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, Bloody Scotland, Chiltern Kills and Fatal Shore.
Peter was featured in the Daily Express this week with Matt Nixson describing THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD as ‘a brilliantly fast-paced thriller with more twists and turns than a Tour de France descent. No doubt it’ll be eagerly read by fans.’ Waterstones describe the book as ‘an absolute must-read’ while Janet Gordon of the Bishop’s Stortford Independent found the book ‘completely compelling… staying up all night just to find out exactly how, what and when.’
About Peter James
Peter James is the international bestselling author of many award-winning novels, repeatedly occupying the Number One slot on the Sunday Times bestseller charts in both hardback and paperback. Peter writes both thriller standalones and the hugely popular Brighton-set Roy Grace series, now adapted for ITV by screenwriter and ENDEAVOUR creator, Russell Lewis. The opening episode of GRACE, based on the first Roy Grace novel, DEAD SIMPLE, was broadcast in March 2021 with John Simm starring in the lead role as the tenacious detective. It was a TV Pick of the Day across all the major UK newspapers, appeared on ITV 1’s prime Sunday night slot and viewing figures quickly reached more than 8.8 million, with glowing reviews. The fourth series is due to air in Autumn 2024 and the fifth series of GRACE began filming in April 2024.
Peter’s books have been translated into thirty-eight languages, with worldwide sales of over twenty-one million copies and his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, set in Brighton, has given him 19 consecutive Sunday Times Number Ones. In 2015 WH Smith customers voted him the Greatest Crime Author of All Time and in 2016 he was awarded the coveted CWA Diamond Dagger, a lifetime achievement award for sustained excellence. In 2018 he received a Specsavers Honorary Platinum Bestseller Award and in 2024 he won four Silver Nielsen Bestseller Awards. Peter James has also written two books based on true crime stories, with former senior detective Graham Bartlett.
Successful nationwide tours of the stage plays of THE PERFECT MURDER (2014), DEAD SIMPLE (2015,) NOT DEAD ENOUGH (2017), THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL (2019), LOOKING GOOD DEAD (2021) and WISH YOU WERE DEAD (2023) have packed theatres in dozens of British cities, and garnered magnificent reviews. His stage shows to date have grossed over £17 million at the box office. Several of his works are optioned for film.
Peter took part in the launch podcast of the Queen’s Reading Room in January 2024, having had the Grace series featured on the Royal Reading Room previously.
Praise for Peter James
‘If you have never read Peter James’ crime thriller series about the Sussex detective Roy Grace, I would highly recommend you give it a try.’ – Queen Camilla, Press and Journal
‘Peter James is one of the most fiendishly clever crime fiction plotters.’ – The Daily Mail
‘Roy Grace ... is fast becoming one of the more memorable coppers in modern crime fiction ... A first class police procedural.’ – The Times
‘James just gets better and better and deserves the success he has achieved with this first-class series.’ – Independent on Sunday
‘Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business’ – Karin Slaughter
‘Probably the closest we’ll get to a British Stephen King’ – The Financial Times
‘In uncertain times, I always tend to fall back on old, familiar favourites, so I’ll be reading Peter James’ Roy Grace series. They are thrillers with enough drama to keep you guessing. Reading a well-crafted mystery gives me a sense of accomplishment – almost as if I’ve solved everything myself!’ – Emma Shacklock, Books Editor, Women & Home Magazine
‘Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business’ – Lee Child
‘A master plotter.’ – The Bookseller
‘James has been compared with Stephen King, but in many ways he's better’ – Daily Express
‘I cannot remember when I last read a novel I enjoyed so much’ – Sunday Telegraph
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