Dead Man's Footsteps

If you think you're safe (as you turn the page to read the first few chapters in this book) then read no further for the same fate that happened to a woman, whose skeletal remains were found in a storm drain in Brighton, could just as easily happen to you. The sightings in Munich lead us onto the trail that possible sightings of Sandy who disappeared 'a little over nine years ago' may help Roy Grace, the Detective Superintendant, investigating the crime, trace his steps to the murderer. Meanwhile, the main character resumes his life after a failed business venture in another country and when we feel and felt the impact of the September 11 crime that shook the nation and the world. Back in Britain, a woman is being chased all round the seaside town of Brighton for being the prime suspect. Peter James, even as a young writer whose first few thrillers made you read the pages right into the middle of the night, has always written novels which have you gripping the armchair for fear of being the next victim. This novel is his fourth, featuring Roy Grace and the Brighton force and according to The Times, it is 'his best' novel to date. 'Summer wouldn't be summer without an unmissable new Peter James novel' (Daily Mail) He never lets his readers down.

The chapters switch between September 2001 and the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York, and October 2007 after human remains are discovered in Brighton, England. They also switch between various characters; Detective Superintendent Roy Grace and his colleagues, Abby who is in hiding in her flat, clearly running scared, Ronnie Wilson a failing businessman who takes a trip to New York for a meeting in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on the ill fated morning of 9/11 and his wife Lorraine at home watching the horror unfold. The descriptions of events after the planes hit the WTC was really well done...it brought the surreal horror of the day back without being ghoulish or sensationalist. The plot itself was cleverly researched and genuinely suspenseful...and I'm looking forward to 'Dead Tomorrow', the next in the series. I would definitely recommend the series is read in order as although the skeleton in DS Grace's cupboard is explained in each book it makes your connection with, and understanding of his character more real if read in order.

First Sentence: If Ronnie Wilson had known, as he woke up, that in just a couple of hours he would be dead,, he would have planned his day somewhat differently. Perpetually failed businessman Ronnie Wilson happens to be in New York City on September 11, 2001. Rather than seeing the tragedy around him, he sees it as a way to disappear from his past. In present day, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is called to a crime scene where the skeletal remains of a woman have been found. Grace first hopes/fears it could be the remains of his wife, Sandy, who disappeared nine years ago. Instead, the woman is identified as having been the wife of first wife of Ronnie Wilson. About the same time, the body of a woman is found in a submerged vehicle's trunk in Australia. Turns out, she was Wilson's second wife. Although this book has lost a few points with me for the continual series tease about Grace's missing wife, this was a very twisty and exciting read. I like the character of Roy Grace. He's a good cop with good relationships to both his superior and his team, or most of them. He also knows he does still have issues stemming from his wife's disappearance. The story is very well plotted with very good dialogue, although one does have to pay attention to the timeframes. The relationship threads were suitably twisty and I didn't always see the connections coming. The events of September 11th were well handled, conveying the horror of the event while looking at it from the avaricious side of Wilson. The climatic scene was exciting, suspenseful and had just a small element of humor giving Grace a bit of his own back against a cop our to make him look bad. This was a very good read and one I recommend.