Detective Superintendent Roy Grace must juggle the demands of coordinating a security plan for mega-star Gaia Lafayette and her son while she's in Brighton filming, solving a murder in which only the mutilated torso has been found, and preparing for impending fatherhood. When seemingly unrelated cases begin to intersect in unusual ways, Grace and his team must rush to find the answers in order to protect Gaia and their jobs.

NOT DEAD YET by Peter James follows Roy Grace through the twists and turns of a murder investigation alongside his team of investigators in the Sussex Police. The majority of the story is from Grace's point of view, but his investigators, his fiancée, Gaia, her fans, the murderer, crooks, and even a chicken farmer all have their own scenes. The upshot of having so many characters tell the story is that it increases the tension and it feels realistic in the way that information is gathered. Everyone has a little piece of the puzzle and they work together to find how they fit. The story doles out information like a good mystery should, revealing just enough to keep the reader guessing, then exposing more so the reader is connecting the dots alongside the investigators, and then allowing the reader to put all the clues together before the investigator and yet it still delivers the climactic ending.

The downside to the multiple points of view is there are a lot of characters to keep track of and sometimes they're only in the story for one tiny section which isn't enough time to connect with them emotionally. Some of these characters were particularly interesting and I wanted to know more about their lives but their purpose in building the mystery was over and so they disappeared.

As the eighth book in the Roy Grace series, NOT DEAD YET probably builds many of the investigators in the previous books, but as this is the first one I've read, I missed much of the deeper connection because of the shifting viewpoints. Peter James deftly handles references to previous events in his other works, giving enough to explain the situation without slowing or distracting from the mystery in this story. This world he's created is complex and multi-faceted with engaging characters and a good mystery and if you haven't read any of the previous works, like me, don't worry about jumping right into the middle of things.

NOT DEAD YET exposes the hidden obsessions and fears of the heart, creating a complex mystery that builds to an unexpected finale.

Book Summary

Roy Grace tracks a stalker obsessed with a Hollywood starlet in the latest from #1 international bestselling author Peter James Days before one of Hollywood’s hottest stars, Gaia Lafayette, leaves home for a movie role on location in Brighton, England, there is a bungled attempt on her life. The whole city of Brighton awaits Gaia’s arrival, including her dangerously obsessive Number One fan looking for revenge and an anxious Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, charged with protecting Gaia.When a mutilated torso is found on a chicken farm miles away in the countryside, Roy Grace has no reason at all to connect this to the star’s visit to the county. But as events rapidly begin to unfold, Roy Grace and his team find themselves in a desperate race against time to save Gaia’s life from a clever maniac who will stop at nothing to kill her.