“Not Dead Yet” by Peter James

By Grace O’Reilly

This is the eighth book is the “Roy Grace” series written by Peter James and is a real page turner.  By chapter 5, I was engrossed in it.  There is lots of action and surprises.   Although James’ command of the language is good, there are too many characters and he can be over-descriptive.  I would strongly suggest reading the first 7 books in the “Grace” series before this one, as there are a lot of running references and plot threads that are woven throughout the entire series.  That aside I did enjoy the book from start to finish. It’s an entertaining read if a little unimaginative and predictable.

Gaia is a rock star, who isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, as she is a very provocative lady in the showbiz world, yet she longs to be taken seriously as an actor.  She lands a role in a major Hollywood movie about King George IV and Maria Fitzherbert. Shortly after she lands the role, an attempt on her life is made by a crazed stalker.  Gaia feels she could be a great Maria and they had being a diva in common. “Maria Fitzherbert was the diva of her day, in Regency England”. On her arrival in Brighton, DS Roy Grace is assigned to protect her.   With an obsessed fan stalking Gaia and a barrel of Personal  troubles, Grace also has to contend with a string of grisly murders which may or may not mean that the stalker is loose in his city looking to “Kill that Bitch!”

Overall I would recommend this book to fans of the series or hardcore crime fans. It’s suitably gruesome and well written but the material is too thin to be anything truly special.