When a young farmer confronts intruders in the middle of the night he has no idea that just minutes later he will be left dying in a pool of blood. What’s more chilling is what the perpetrators were willing to kill for. A new Peter James will always jump straight to the top of my reading list, I love the Grace series and have enjoyed them all; I am always engrossed by the imaginative storylines and the criminal acts that he can dream up. Stop Them Dead" by Peter James delivers another thrilling addition to the acclaimed Grace series that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Set in a world where darkness lurks at every turn, this book plunges readers into a heart-pounding race against time. When a seemingly routine confrontation turns deadly for a young farmer, the story takes an ominous twist. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace uncovers a sinister underbelly of crime beyond the initial robbery, revealing a nationwide wave of illegal dog trade controlled by ruthless organized gangs.

The way he portrays how a 7 year old would speak in a pool (more like a 2-3 year old) jars and also that parents would leave a child who has been declared critically ill to go to the office to cancel appointments/ go home have a shower (well Roy and Cleo would, but just doesn’t add to any emotional journey). Maybe I am unique but I’d be being sedated. We are treated to some great pieces of detective work by Grace and his team, and it was fun to have all the usual team together for this case – my favourite still must be Norman Potting who was there with his usual drole wit! I also loved the storyline of Bluebell, a young girl whose parents brought her a puppy. This was a sad turn to the case, but interesting watching it unfold. It happens in many countries and sadly our local paper is also full of reports about this too, because there are a lot of big farmhouses in the area, perfect for hiding stolen dogs and illegal breeding. The story in this book could have been set here, not far from my home. The only ‘bad’ part I could really say about this book, & some others, is it felt very cut short & I was a little disappointed that the Bluebell side was not completed a little more, perhaps by a trip to the airport…Stop Them Dead” is the latest novel in the long running Roy Grace series by Peter James. Offering very much the same as earlier novels in the series, this will please ongoing readers. It’s also very accessible to readers new to the series. The book is the latest in the Roy Grace series after the previous release of Picture You Dead which launched in October.

As always with this author, the book is well written and expertly plotted. The police investigation is realistically portrayed. I love Roy Grace and his team, who all seem like old friends now., and I can't help having a bit of a soft spot for Norman Potting who has grown on me throughout the series. At one point the case comes a little too close to home for Roy and his family, who are dog lovers, and I loved the way that Cleo dealt with the matter 😁 The style rarely moves away from sounding like a report except where it sounds like a newspaper article. There is no tension. Nothing is nail biting. Too much is included that does not move the murder story and does no more than explain the plight of puppies farmed without care who do not appear to get their happy ending. The main villain is seen infrequently until the final pig slurry fight. The second killer is seen once waking up in bed. The minor, but centrally placed, comical thief is switched off long before end. He has nothing to do with the murders. His shop thieving is totally irrelevant and his appearance at the Amex just stretches the word count. Why do we need to hear about Norman's social life?

Customer reviews

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace unearths a powerful criminal network in the sinister crime novel Find Them Dead, by award winning author Peter James. I love the Roy Grace books and have read every single one. This latest instalment was a great read and had me hooked from the very beginning. We have a couple of storylines running parallel to each other, with the investigation into the murder of a farmer who was trying to prevent his puppies being stolen, the subsequent trail into who was illegally importing puppies from abroad and the sad hospitalisation of a young girl. The storylines were gripping and, whilst it wasn’t really a “whodunnit”, I was kept on edge wondering how it was all going to end.