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).
Dead Simple
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From Publishers Weekly
British author James's far-fetched but terrifying thriller is the first of a new series featuring Det. Supt. Roy Grace. Michael Harrison, a successful real estate developer with a penchant for practical jokes, gets a horrible taste of his own medicine. As a prank, four of his friends bury Michael alive in a coffin equipped with a breathing tube and a bottle of whiskey and leave him, ostensibly for a couple of hours. But when their van crashes head-on into a truck and three of them are killed (the fourth dies later "in hospital"), Michael is trapped. His cell phone doesn't work, but he does have a two-way radio whose companion is in the hands of Davey, a mentally challenged young man who finds the phone near the scene of the accident. Grace, a detective with a taste for the supernatural (he uses mediums to help him solve crimes), gets on the case and discovers just how devious Michael's friends have been. The "buried alive" trope is undeniably powerful, and Grace shows promise as a hero—but the crime and the plot surrounding Michael's plight are just too cumbersome and transparent to really engage the reader.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
James, the executive producer of the recent film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, brings his filmic talent to a suspense tale that is almost excruciatingly easy to visualize. His opening premise is startlingly simple, that of the trickster tricked. Four friends celebrate one of their members' impending marriage by embarking on a pub crawl through several Sussex villages. What the groom-to-be doesn't realize is that his pals plan to play a payback prank on him by burying him alive (with a breathing tube and a walkie-talkie) for a couple hours. They leave the scene and are killed by an oncoming vehicle. Enter Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, assigned to investigate the missing-bridegroom case. Grace finds the case difficult, both because of the dearth of clues and because of his own wife's disappearance some years before. Achingly well plotted, with suspense that has no letup. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Paperback
I didn't expect much of Dead Simple. I had never heard of it but it was part of the goody bag I received at the book blogger event that I attended recently. The author, Peter James, is also the director of the movie Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Ralph Fiennes. His Roy Grace series stars a detective by the same name who dabbles in the paranormal by regularly consulting psychics to help with unsolved murder cases.
Which may be a reason why his books are named Dead Simple, Look Good Dead, Not Dead Enough and Too-Dead-Easy-To-Make-Up-These-Unoriginal-Titles. But don't let the cheesy titles fool you, Dead Simple was a page turner. It's a fast read and I was dying to get to the end of it.
The story is about a bachelor party gone wrong where the groom ends up trapped in a coffin and buried alive. His prankster friends have all died in a car accident after burying him. If that doesn't make you want to keep reading, nothing will! Add a beautiful fiancee and a business partner that mysteriously didn't make it to the bachelor party and you have yourself a good story.
Roy Grace is a Brighton detective with a soft spot for a lot of things - psychics, children and women. If you've ever seen the British cop love interest from Bridesmaids, you've met Roy Grace. He's just not very macho but he is very loveable. His British slang confused me in the beginning but you get used to it pretty quickly. The book also ends with a car chase which would have been great on screen but in my opinion, car chases suck in a book.
Especially when you're dying to figure out if Grace will find the missing groom alive.
Which may be a reason why his books are named Dead Simple, Look Good Dead, Not Dead Enough and Too-Dead-Easy-To-Make-Up-These-Unoriginal-Titles. But don't let the cheesy titles fool you, Dead Simple was a page turner. It's a fast read and I was dying to get to the end of it.
The story is about a bachelor party gone wrong where the groom ends up trapped in a coffin and buried alive. His prankster friends have all died in a car accident after burying him. If that doesn't make you want to keep reading, nothing will! Add a beautiful fiancee and a business partner that mysteriously didn't make it to the bachelor party and you have yourself a good story.
Roy Grace is a Brighton detective with a soft spot for a lot of things - psychics, children and women. If you've ever seen the British cop love interest from Bridesmaids, you've met Roy Grace. He's just not very macho but he is very loveable. His British slang confused me in the beginning but you get used to it pretty quickly. The book also ends with a car chase which would have been great on screen but in my opinion, car chases suck in a book.
Especially when you're dying to figure out if Grace will find the missing groom alive.
By Rob Nicol
Format:Paperback
Kind of a strange plot, but the writer is good enough to make it believable and keep the reader turning the pages. I always love when an author puts a couple of credible but shocking plot twists in the book and Dead Simple has a few of these. This is the first book I have read by this author but I will definitely be seeking out others.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars
38 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping!
Mar 25 2006
By L. J. Roberts
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
This is a book one should start with plenty of time to finish it in one sitting. Gripping is the word which comes to mind. James' background as a screenwriter and producer are evident in his ability to create strong characters and relationships, his ear for dialogue, and the pacing of the story. James' previous books look to be more in the horror or psychological suspense category, where this is a solid police procedural. My one slight criticism is the authors years in Los Angeles show as I kept having to remind myself the book is set in England; the style is more American than British. But the good news is this is the first in a series. The second book, "Looking Good Dead," is due out soon and is on my "must buy" list.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
you will need a seatbelt!!
July 23 2006
By Barbara Cappucci
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
There are so many unexpected twists and turns you need a seatbelt!!! My jaw doesnt often drop when reading a book, but this one has done it. Ive read about three book from this author and always have my radar out for more, so when i saw this one i grabbed it!! Dont miss this book.....You will defintly be looking for more books by this author also. this is one of the books where you want the character to hear you yelling Do It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't put it down!
Dec 28 2011
By Grammy Sal
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I love British mysteries. I've read all of P.D. James', Colin Dexter's, Deborah Crombie's, and many, many more authors of the genre. This was my first by Peter James. Let me just say that it is now 2:30 in the afternoon and I just finished Dead Simple after picking it up for a "15 minute break" at 9 this morning. This was after reading until I fell asleep last night.
The plot is engaging and the characters believable. The story moves through many turns, some predictable but with an unexpected little twist at the end of each.
I am surprised at some of the low ratings. I certainly will recommend this book to my thriller-loving friends.
The plot is engaging and the characters believable. The story moves through many turns, some predictable but with an unexpected little twist at the end of each.
I am surprised at some of the low ratings. I certainly will recommend this book to my thriller-loving friends.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 38 reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
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