Dead at First Sight

Roy Grace, Book 15

By: Peter James

Narrated by: Daniel Weyman

Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace exposes the dark side of internet dating in the intriguing crime novel Dead at First Sight, by award winning author Peter James.

A man waits at a London airport for the love of his life to arrive. Across the Atlantic, a retired cop waits in a bar in Florida’s Key West for his first date with the lady who is his soulmate. The two men are about to discover they’ve been scammed out of almost every penny they have in the world – and that neither women exist.

In the same week, Roy Grace is called to investigate the suicide of a woman in Brighton, that is clearly not what it seems. As his investigations continue, a handsome motivational speaker comes forward. He’s discovered his identity is being used to scam eleven different women online. The first he knew of it was a phone call from one of them saying, ‘You don’t know me, but I thought I knew you’.

That woman is now dead.

Roy Grace realizes he is looking at the tip of an iceberg. Can he bring down the murderous global empire built on clever, cruel internet scams?

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Dead at First Sight is the fifteenth title in the bestselling series. Discover more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Find Them Dead and Left You Dead.

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

©2019 Peter James (P)2019 Macmillan Digital Audio

Critic Reviews

Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business (Karin Slaughter)

4

Could be better. could be a whole lot worse. I like the Top cop, Roy Clark detective series. I will be watching for the Roy Goes to London or Roy Clark Goes to Not London with Monthy Python.

Another gem

I was impatient waiting for a new Roy Grace book and this was well worth the wait!

A timely issue of internet dating. It blows my mind that supposedly sane people would send money to online “loves.” This was a great story with the regular cast of characters - and a few new ones. Ray’s home life is still shadowed by Bruno’s behavior and I don’t see an end to that anytime soon.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The story was great as was the narration. Now we just have to wait for Peter James to give us the next fabulous book in this series.

Dead at First Sight

Getting to enjoy Roy Grace books, started reading in order, but then going backwards now, as want to keep up to date. The murders are very well thought out and love the characters.The narration is excellent.

Too many characters

This was my first Peter James book. I was intrigued by the current social issue which was the subject of this novel. Enjoyed the interaction of main character with others. My only constructive criticism of this novel is…too many characters. I felt like I needed a scoring card to keep up with them all.
I will listen to more novels by Peter James…maybe the next one will be easier for me to follow.

Boring

Struggled to finish. I kept wanting it to get better. Not a suspense in my opinion. Too many boring characters. Don't waste your credit. By the time I was finished I was so glad. Can't believe I actually stuck it out.

Another GREAT book by Peter James

I got hooked on Peter James’s novels a few years ago, not able to put them down. And now I just wait until another comes out. Having visited England and Brighton, I can just envision the drama taking place in my mind. Another GREAT novel. Thanks.

One of his best

Covering an area of modern life; internet dating, glad my husband didn't read this before we dated online! Gripping storyline. As always made even better by the great reading of Daniel Weyman

Not Quite Hitting All the Grace Notes!

Roy Grace returns in the fifteenth novel of this excellent series with a bang up to date thriller that deals with the problem of Internet Romance Fraud. Despicable criminals taking advantage of the lonely to extract their cash by the cruellest of means. Of course, as the head of major crime in Sussex with bodies piling up and serious fraud becoming rife on his patch and elsewhere it's Grace that gets called in to fix it. To do so he must rely on all of his local resources and indeed those from further afield too. Drawn into the mix like a moth to a flame is an old enemy of Roy's which adds to his difficulties.

This is a wide-ranging book with a lot going on so you'll need to keep your wits about you just a little more than most thrillers but it's by no means intimidating in that sense. It's well read by Daniel Weyman and a worthy addition to the series with enough action, intrigue and mystery to keep you entertained to the very end. While I very much enjoyed it I wouldn't say that this hit quite all of the highest notes for this Grace series. The return of Grace's old adversary, who I won't name to avoid spoilers, was something I have hoped for and was very much looking forward to. The problem is that this old adversary lost quite a bit of his edge in more ways than one. Most importantly he was written in a much flatter manner, less psychotic and to my mind less extreme and so less enjoyable. The book also didn't quite deliver the extreme levels of tension that Grace novels at their best tend to provide so brilliantly, On the plus side, James has seriously reined in the sugary sweet relationship between Grace and Cleo and although as usual it only moves forwards a little their family back story retains interest.

At the end of this one Roy Grace has one final showdown of sorts and you'll be cheering him on all the way. You'll probably also, like me, be intrigued by where James is going to take this next as the ending suggests a very new chapter in Grace's life is on the horizon. Anyway, if you're a long-time fan of the series and my criticisms above cause concern, don't worry too much. I am only explaining why I wouldn't rate this as being among the best in this series rather than suggesting it's genuinely poor. This is still a great series that I would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat.

Was I listening to something different?

I have long enjoyed Peter James books & the character of Roy Grace but alas this latest outing I found tedious.
It may be trying too hard to be 'of the moment' but all in all it lacked much of a substantial plot line to my mind even with the return of an old adversary it just seemed to plod predictably onward.

I may be in the minority I realise but I always found the stories more interesting when there was more personal back story, before we were left with just Bruno as a hold-over remnant of Graces' past. Poor Glen Branson seems to be very much a bit part in the last couple of outings. I understand it will soon be hitting our TV screens and I wonder which Grace it will be, the original one or the new slimmed down outing we see more of in these recent books.

All in all it was listenable and passed a few hours but I can't say I was ever gripped by this tale sadly.

Another good one in the series

After a bit of a dip midway in the series the last few Roy Grace tales have been right back on track. This is another good one. Having said that I do get fed up with the appalling behaviour of Grace's superiors and how that detracts from the main storylines - its a very tiresome part of many crime books at the moment. If the police force is being truthfully represented it's even more depressing. Still perhaps we are due a few changes with the next instalment.

brilliant book read by brilliant narrator

loved it. I hope a further Roy Grace book will be written. Peter James at his best

....not the most engaging of the Roy Grace stories.

Having read most of the Roy Grace stories, I find, after completing this latest one, that the format is becoming a little tired. The prospect of Grace moving to a new career is welcome as it would bring new responsibilities and fresh characters. Potting’s inappropriate comments have become as tedious as Branson’s ageist banter. One wonders how long the incompetent A.C.C. Pugh can remain in the Sussex police force. Given the number of murders surrounding his latest case, one feels that the best interests of the local population might be best served by Grace, himself, moving elsewhere.

As in all Roy Grace novels, police procedure is meticulously described, although this can sometimes be at the expense of building up tension. The final scenes at the cottage are well handled although the shoot out seems rather melodramatic.

Narration is as good as it always is in James’s novels.

Another winner!

Peter James does it again with this very entertaining Roy Grace story, which focuses on the possible perils of finding love online.

Some familiar characters are woven into the book and there are references to past cases, so maybe it’s not for brand new readers. They have the treat of reading previous titles in this series!

There’s a possibility of pastures new for Roy in the next book but I can’t imagine him leaving his home turf somehow. As ever, Daniel Weyman does an excellent job with the narration. He’s a master of accents!

An entertaining listen

Yep, another DCS Roy Grace story, building on all the long running story lines. Enjoyed it and so much less hassle than reading:-)

Really good as the previous books!

Still a good story after so many books written on RG. I listened again to the first book some days ago and one can feel a good evolution on the RG story

Dull story leading to predicitable and cheesy end

This feels more like a Public service announcement about the dangers of online romance fraud. The characters were unlikeable, one dimensional and predictable. I felt no suspense was built, and felt I'd wasted my money and time on this book. The ending was infuriatingly cheesy, I almost fell off my chair from the eye roll I did within the final chapters. Massively disappointed and would not recommend this drivel to anyone after a good thriller/crime read.

Shame

Not a patch on his other books let us trust the next book is back on track
Q