Dead if You Don't

Roy Grace, Book 14

By: Peter James

Narrated by: Daniel Weyman

Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

In his deadliest case yet, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace faces a complex kidnapping in Dead if You Don't, by award winning crime writer Peter James. Now a major ITV series, Grace, starring John Simm.

Kipp Brown, successful businessman and compulsive gambler, is on his worst run of luck yet. Taking his teenage son, Mungo, to a football match should have given him a welcome respite – if only for a few hours. But it’s at the stadium where his nightmare begins.

Within minutes of arriving at the game, Mungo suddenly disappears and Kipp receives a terrifying message: someone has his child. And, to get him back alive, Kipp will have to pay.

Roy Grace is brought in to investigate what seems to be a straightforward case of kidnapping. But, very soon, Grace finds himself entering a dark, criminal underbelly of the city, where the rules are different and nothing is what it seems . . .

Although the Roy Grace novels can be listened to in any order, Dead if You Don't is the fourteenth title in the bestselling series. Discover more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with Dead at First Sight and Find Them Dead.

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

©2018 Peter James (P)2018 Macmillan Digital Audio

Critic reviews

Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business (Karin Slaughter, author of After That Night and The Last Widow)

Narrator made listening difficult

I always wait impatiently for Peter James books to come out each year, and if the hold list is too long at the library, I’ll use an audible credit to get hear/read it sooner.
I didn’t notice this previously, but the way this narrator voices women’s dialogue made me cringe. Every woman in the book was read as high pitched and whiny, and I lost any sympathy I had for these characters, including the mother of an abducted child.
I didn’t feel the story was Peter James’s best, either. I like his books because the characters are comfortable old friends with their own idiosyncrasies. This time around, I found myself getting impatient with the tyrannical boss, the inappropriate sergeant, and the heroics of Roy Grace. Again, the narrator may have been partially responsible, but I also think that James may be tiring of his own creation. Roy Grace has outgrown Brighton, but has nowhere else to go.
All in all, I think I’ll wait the extra month or two for the library copy of his next release.

Great story with great resolutions

Another of the great ones in this series. Good twisty plot and very satisfying resolutions to the various stories introduced, I had misty eyes for joy at a couple of these. I also like that we're getting to know a few new characters in the Sussex police force. The question of what's going on with Grace's heretofore unknown 10 year old son, continues to pique interest and some concern. Daniel Weyman never ceases to deliver fantastic narration that makes the characters and story come to life. I have had to walk away from listening on more than one occasion because he does such an incredible job of building the tension and making it feel so REAL in the appropriate places, that I need a short break because I am so worried about what's going to happen! But of course, only a short break because I can't bear not knowing what's going to happen... :-)

Not my favorite in the series

I’ve read all the Detective Grace books and this is my least favorite. It’s tedious. The story is boring and laborious. There is not the usual character development and interaction. I’d suggest skipping this one. Plus the whole Albanian mobster is over used and uninteresting.