Book #42: Need You Dead by Peter James
Need You Dead by Peter James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The 13th Roy Grace book is more of a standard whodunnit mystery. The victim in this book is trying to escape her abusive husband, and having an affair with another man. When she finds out that he is also in a relationship though, her nose is put out of joint, and they have an argument, resulting in him killing her.
It took me a few chapters before I realised that the killer was not identified by his real name. So, Grace and his team have to try and figure out who the killer is, and there are a lot of suspects, including someone who has been sending threatening e-mails to the victim.
I would have given this book five stars, as it felt like a vast improvement on the last few titles, which seemed almost cartoonish in places, but some plot elements felt gratuitously gruesome. Near the start, Grace pursue's the victim's husband, only for him to be killed by a vehicle in a graphic fashion, and a second murder that turns out to not be connected with the victim is particularly violent.
I liked that the book threw in lots of red herrings and false leads, and when the killer was revealed, I was taken completely by surprise.
The book also deals with some major changes in Grace's life, following events from the previous book. I liked that it finished off with by teasing what might be going to happen in upcoming titles, including a storyline involving the recurring villain Tooth, which is sidelined enough from the main plot to avoid it being distracted. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
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