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Dead Man's Footsteps

Author: Peter James
Publisher: Macmillan
Category: Book

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Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

11 reviews
Sales Rank: 49

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.9

ISBN: 1405092041
EAN: 9781405092043
ASIN: 1405092041

Publication Date: June 20, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Also Available In:

•	Hardcover - Dead Man's Footsteps
•	Paperback - Dead Man's Footsteps
•	Audio CD - Dead Man's Footsteps

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Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Continued Excellence July 5, 2008
this is another fine outing for Roy Grace and is probably the best of the series to date. The discovery of the bodies of two females one in Brighton the other in Australia are linked to a Brighton business man who was thought to have died in New York on 9/11 and in some way, this is then linked to a young woman who is being terrorised. Peter james weaves these strands together effortlessly and at times the book is very difficult to put down. The one detraction Grace has to contend with is fellow Detectice Superintendant Cassian Pewe, which I for one found to be totally uneccessary though it does not detract from the overall enjoyment.

5 out of 5 stars

class ! July 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

no surprise that this book has only 5 star reviews so far its a typical roy grace book humour and suspense all the way. its just what you expect from james and thats not a bad thing. well worth a read for anyone. when i read the last word of the book i said out loud no way !!! can't wait for the next one though!

5 out of 5 stars

Another Roy Grace corker! June 29, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is another fantastic novel from renowned author, Peter James. I've followed Peter's career since Possession, which means I've been reading his books for approximately 20 years. And he just gets better and better...

While I loved the supernatural and medical/scientific thrillers he's really found his niche in the crime fiction market. Unlike some writers I've read, Peter knows his books' locales - especially Brighton and Hove - inside out. He writes with conviction and knowledge about every twisting lane, every seedy or upper-class street, the beachfront, the people who live there. It lends his work that all-important sense of the reality. Until recently (when I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the publishers' launch on Brighton pavilion) I'd never visited Brighton. But it didn't matter because one of the many things Mr James excels at is evoking his surroundings, seedy or otherwise.

Not that he restricts himself to Brighton, you understand. DMF contains several well managed multiple storylines, one of which takes place on 9/11 (and the days directly thereafter). Timeline jumps are notoriously difficult to pull off, but James does so with consummate ease, such that I didn't mind the jumping from a tense moment involving a imminent torture to the aftermath of 9/11 and the protagonist of that plotline; or to Australia, where a different strand of the investigation is vigorously pursued. I loved the trip to Munich to search for his missing partner in Not Dead Enough, but James has taken it several steps further this time by including multiple locations and timelines ... and successfully retaining our interest.

The short, punchy chapters certainly help move things along. The believable dialogue and amusing exchanges between the main characters, especially Grace and Branson/Vosper/Pewe etc. all add to the book's effectiveness. I'd also echo other readers' comments about the ever interesting Potting. I really hope he's in all future Grace novels - we all know someone like him!

This is such a clever, ambitious book. I know that many readers read crime books and thrillers for the plot, but for me that's never been the most important element. I have to be convinced by the characters and their motivations; actually, I have to like them; think of them as real people, not ciphers. Not only does James deliver on this front, but he continues to develop his characters as the series continues. Also, with Peter's books I always get that feeling that I'm `in the story'; that the pages have effectively disappeared. James provides this and much more besides. The insanely ingenious plotlines and numerous twists and turns are the icing on the cake of any already enviable literary feast.

So why should you buy this book? Because it's clever and smart, with convincing dialogue and brilliant character observations? Because of the multiple plots and hard-to-guess twists? The fast pace and detailed observations? The technical, well researched details and sense of realism? Well, all these things, of course, and many more besides. Mostly I read his books because I love his writing: full stop.

And now we have to wait another year and I'm already missing Grace and co. And that last line! Talk about cliff-hangers...

5 out of 5 stars

He's delivered again...... June 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I've read each of the Roy Grace novels in sequence. I wasn't disappointed - good plot, usual realistic characters and it keeps you hooked until the end. The link to 9/11 was cleverly done.

5 out of 5 stars

Dead Man's Footsteps - Peter James June 23, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is a crime novel which is hard to put down. There are several strands, as described by other reviewers, which are expertly paced in short chapters and which fuse together as the plot unfolds.

As ever with James' work there is just the right balance of policing detail with the information being integral to the plot rather than being heavy or detracting from it.

Roy Grace is an ordinary character but I feel this reveals clever writing because he is a character you can relate to as he is not a "Supercop" and he has emotions, that are well drawn and easily related to by readers.

I did guess some of the twists (not all!) from the "clues" given. I think most avid crime readers would but this takes nothing away from the novel. The very last sentence is a powerful ending - it will be interesting to see where this leads in the next Roy Grace novel.