Dead Simple

Roy Grace, Book 1

By: Peter James

Narrated by: William Gaminara

Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Detective Superintendent Roy Grace on his unforgettable first major case in Dead Simple, by award winning crime author Peter James.

It was meant to be a harmless stag-night prank. But a few hours later, the groom has disappeared and his friends are dead.

With only three days to the wedding, Roy Grace is contacted by the man’s distraught fiancée to unearth what happened on that fateful night.

The one man who ought to know of the groom’s whereabouts is saying nothing. But then he has a lot more to gain than anyone realizes, for one man’s disaster is another man’s fortune . . .

Although the Roy Grace novels can be listened to in any order, Dead Simple is the first thrilling title in the bestselling series. Enjoy more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Looking Good Dead and Not Dead Enough.

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

©2006 Really Scary Books / Peter James (P)2006 Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Critic reviews

"Neat and nasty to the very end." ( The Oldie)
"Gathers menace to get you sitting stiffly upright with dread before it ends." (The Times)

Solid start to the Roy Grace series

The first in the Roy Grace series is a fun, if sometime frustrating read, that finds the Detective Superintendent on the trail of Michael Harrison, a man who goes missing just days away from his wedding. As it turns out Michael has been buried feet underground in a coffin as a bachelor party joke by his best friends. What starts out as a silly prank eventually becomes a waking nightmare for Michael, after his friends are killed in a car accident. A couple of people know exactly where Michael is, but are either unable, or unwilling, to help him.

James doesn't hide who's responsible for Michael's disappearance. The fun is Grace's investigation as to WHY Michael is missing. Michael's desperation as the hours tick by, and his claustrophobia getting the better of him, are very hard to read. James does a bang up job in these chapters. Michael's situation only goes from bad to worse as time goes on. And just when you think Michael's fortunes are brightening, he's thrust into another hell.

I really like Roy Grace as a character. He comes with his own baggage (his wife disappeared years ago), but it doesn't distract from the main story in the slightest, and I suspect it's a plot point that will come up later in the series.

There were plenty of twists and turns - some expected, others not so much, that made the book worth every bit of time I spent with it. On to book 2.

Dead Simple

Decided to start listening to the Roy Grace series, am so glad did. I really enjoyed the first book and murder, looking forward to catching up on this series and getting to know the detective and his team. The narration was very good.

Dead simple

It’s a great story… Well performed but short. Was wishing it was longer. I recommend it

Like an Indy Race Course with Hairpin Turns

Wow! What a ride! The book is fast paced with clever twists and turns and OMG moments. The plot is as well designed as a computer circuit board. Buckle up for a wild ride!

Poor Plotting - Rather Ridiculous

What did you like best about Dead Simple? What did you like least?

Starts off OK - prank gone wrong. Will the groom live? Tell me, if you were trapped in a confined space with a cell phone fearing for your life who would you call? Hold on... you also have a walkie-talkie - and someone on the other end. Many people in fact.... So why, are you still stuck in your confined space. BECAUSE you decided to carry on a conversation with someone rather than dial 999 or 911 and get the heck out of your box. Really?! Hate it when writers don't follow through on their promise to create well thought out plots. This one goes from just poorly planned plotting to just silly. Look elsewhere if you want a great story, if you can get this one cheap and are willing to accept these failures sit back and enjoy - just keep an open mind.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Macbeth: A Novel by David Hewson, A. Hartley

Which scene was your favorite?

-

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Nope

Decent plot, slow development.

Almost gave up, wish I had. Story wrapped up too quickly, like the author of an essay as the minimum word count is getting closer.

An exciting book with plot twists that make the reader want to read to the end!

Well-written book with good character development and great narration. Peter James has twists in the plot that are frustratingly tense, making the reader want to know what is going to happen to poor Michael, who is supposed to get married in a few days, but is buried in a coffin at a stag party gone very wrong!

So so so terrible...listen to anything else!

ALL narration is terrible, western American accents are particularly terrible, plot is terrible, pacing is terrible, every character in this novel is terrible, dialogue is terrible, plot twists are terrible, character development is terrible, resolution is terrible, plot holes are terrible, the Detective Superintendent hitting on someone in the morgue as time runs out in a missing person's investigation (someone is buried alive - see also plot is terrible and pacing is terrible) is terrible, production quality is terrible, the existence of this recording is terrible, charging people money to listen to this recording is terrible, the clown car full of mystery cliches and plot devices all used in one novel is terrible. Still buying this after reading the review - terrible.

Great potential but came up short

The story started out great but was disappointing. Weak one dimensional characters. Lame dialogue. Narrator could not do anything but male British accent.

ABRIGED??

Why abridged?? I go between ebook and the audible when reading. There are huge gaps in the audible. Why on earth didn't they just record the full book? I certainly paid full price - for half the book!