Dead Man's Time (Roy Grace) Paperback – October 9, 2014

As a guardian of the procedural, Peter James would be pedantic but for his natural incorporation of forensics when the investigative team slogs through minute clues. At the same time, he keeps his reader breathless with his shifting points-of-view. The moodier passages in the Inspector Roy Grace novels induce a penetrating chill, like walking home alone in deepening dusk. Do you dare to look back over your shoulder, or should you turn the pages faster?James has hooked a huge audience with the police detective's heroics in Brighton, an English seaside town that has outgrown its romantic past. His landscape has multistory buildings casting shadows over Georgian-style terraces and beachfront gardens. Cars have almost replaced the railway. In fact, cars are an important class of icon in James's world; you can tell a lot about a character from his or her choice of make and model.In NOT DEAD YET (127 fast chapters), Brighton is recalled as the late-18th century getaway of the Prince of Wales (later King George IV) and his amour, Maria Fitzherbert. Now Hollywood is coming to film the story of that near-ruinous affair at the Royal Pavilion, the architectural oriental fantasy that was the King's obsession for 35 years. The star of "The King's Lover" is one of Brighton's home girls. Gaia Lafayette has evolved from talent show winner to become a rock star sensation worshiped around the world; she hopes to prove herself a credible actor. In her retinue are slavish PAs, willing to dress as Gaia dictates; comical and maniacal producers, directors, and arrangers; and weirdo fans, including one so lacking in individuation that she has spent her entire inheritance on Gaia memorabilia; a creepy misfit all-too familiar with secret rooms in the Pavilion; and a tourist channeling irrepressible anger.Grace has a new Chief Constable to impress, so halfway to identifying a torso uncovered in a chicken coop, he agrees to protect this Hollywood crew, who are not allowed by English law to carry guns. As the spectacle threatens to get out of control, the Pavilion's splendid dome, turrets, minarets, creaky staircases, passageways and a monstrous chandelier all become part of the action. Counterpoint is the ubiquitous technology that aids both good and evil.The series' ensemble cast is evolving. Roy's lover Cleo, the sexy doctor who dissects murder victims, is about to give birth to their son; but the wedding remains stalled by the bureaucratic process to declare his first wife dead. His fashion-savvy sidekick, Glenn Branson, unhappily heading toward divorce, is given a chance to step up to a lead inspector role. The politically-incorrect but necessary Potts appears to have a new woman with reformative effects. Bella Moy spruces up her drab appearance. An old enemy is back to terrify Grace.There are big surprises in this "episode." My advice is to read the Inspector Grace novels in chronological order. Then, to make NOT DEAD YET truly come alive, search the Internet for the Royal Pavilion web site that includes video tours of "the Saloon Bottle" (rooms under the dome) and the King's secret tunnel, both central to the plot.Dead SimpleThe Making of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton: Design and Drawings

Anyone who hasn't yet sampled the Inspector Roy Grace mysteries must start with the first in the series (Dead Simple) or miss the bonus of the suspenseful back-story. This book hints at the conclusion, but one can hope the ensemble cast ensures that the series will go on until Peter James grows tired of them all.These are not English cozies. The series is set in Brighton, a coastal city on the English Channel, which is important. Two of the major influences on the inspector's life are Cleo, the coroner he loves, and Amis Smallbone, his nemesis. It is the criminal's back-story that emerges here, spanning the Atlantic. The plot is set in motion by a desire for revenge, and more revenge. Cleo is in real danger, and Grace seems off the mark much of the time, preoccupied with his case.The title, DEAD MAN'S TIME, is a play on words, as there is a watch involved, but I have to admit I did not pay attention to my clock when I was was reading; I could not put the book down. Riveting! I can best explain it by saying things are starting to come together when at the same time everything seems to be coming apart. I would like to give you more detail, but I don't want to give away any of the development in the earlier books.

I have read all of Peter James" series in order, and I have enjoyed them all. Roy Grace is an appealing character as are Cleo (if a bit one-dimensional) and Glenn. The story was compelling and moved right along except for the L.A. connection. Some of the new characters, the producer of The King's Lover, and staff were a bit cliched. Someone went wild with the exclamation points in the dialogue, and once I noticed it, it was a struggle not to count! I don't recall this in his past books. The biggest flaw in this book, I would gather referring to the title, is the reappearance of Sandy, Roy's wife who has been missing ten years and is about to be declared dead. I would not have expected her to be a vandal-dirty tricks type of person, based on Roy's fondness for her and his memories of their time together. I presume she will throw a monkey wrench in the impending marriage of Cleo and Roy in a future book, but somehow, her character sticks out as wrong. The tension would be increased if she were more of who Roy remembers so that he has to choose her or Cleo. No one would choose Sandy as she is portrayed in Not Dead Yet. I will, of course, continue with the series, but I hope the personal aspect of the characters changes course. Police procedurals are as much about the characters as the cases they handle, maybe more so. Here's hoping James figures this dilemma out in the next installment.

As long as James sticks to building complex plots featuring police procedures, the investigation of provocative, realistic and topical crimes, and the depiction of obsessive, even psychotic, characters, his Roy Grace novels make for highly entertaining, if scary, reading. The villain in Not Dead Yet was particularly frightening although the reader could begin making guesses as to just who would be unmasked about half way through. However, this only added to the tension. The description of the city of Bristol is always interesting and the star attraction this time is the Pavilion built for George IV. Some readers may be bored by the details describing the way Grace and his team work but I always find this information fascinating. The supporting characters are also well done and add much to the overall depth of the novels. The problem I have with Grace is his personal life and the entire Cleo-Sandy matter. Sandy was never the wife Grace thought she was (showing a real lack of savvy on the part of this intelligent man) and Cleo also soon became a bore. I take it this aspect of his life will continue to be a problem for Grace and Sandy will make her presence known in the next novel. Maybe then, Grace can chuck both women and stick to solving complex crimes.