‘Wish You Were Dead’ by Peter James

Published by Pan,
27 May 2021.
ISBN: 978-1-52904100-2 (PB)

Wish You Were Dead is a short read (100 odd pages), commissioned by the publishing company Quick Reads and www.readingagency.org.uk

It was invented to help people who didn’t read much, or perhaps wanted lighter books to take on holiday. Many top authors have contributed generously to these publications, including Peter James.

Wish you were Dead, is set in a France. In this story, DCI Roy Grace (James’s main running character in his police procedural books), and his family have booked a luxury holiday in a grand mansion house near Nice. Their nanny is holidaying with them and her other half, Jack Alexander, who happens to be a detective sergeant on Grace’s murder team. Alexander is on a job in France and has arranged to meet them all at the house. When he doesn’t turn up, Grace becomes suspicious because all is not as advertised in this very strange building including no wi-fi connection.

As Grace tries to investigate and trace his detective, the screws of fear tighten around the whole family as Grace realises something is very wrong, and his wife, nanny and children’s lives may be at risk.

This book is chilling. I was on the edge of my seat. I read it one sitting. True to style Peter James has written another unputdownable thriller. This man just gets better and better.

Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Linda Regan
www.lindareganonline.co.uk

Peter James  was educated at Charterhouse and then at film school. He lived in North America for a number of years, working as a screen writer and film producer, before returning to England. His multiple award-winning, Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling novels have been translated into thirty-three languages. His writings reflect his deep interest in medicine, science and the world of the police. He has produced numerous films, including The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes. He also co-created the hit Channel 4 series Bedsitcom, which was nominated for a Rose d'Or. Peter James won the Krimi-Blitz 2005 Crime Writer of the Year Award in Germany, and Dead Simple won both the 2006 Prix Polar International award and the 2007 Prix Cœur Noir award in France. Looking Good Dead was shortlisted for the 2007 Richard and Judy Crime Thriller of the Year award and has been shortlisted for both France's SNCF award and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policère. He divides his time between his homes in Notting Hill in London and Sussex.

www.peterjames.com

Linda Regan is the author of seven police procedural crime novels. She is also an actress. She holds a Masters degree in critical writing and journalism, and writes a regular column, including book reviews, for three magazines. She also presents the book-club spot on BBC Radio Kent. She is an avid reader and welcomes the chance to read new writers. 

  To read a review of Linda's most recent book
The Terror Within
click on the title. 

www.lindareganonline.co.uk