Dead Tomorrow

Peter James is an enigma. Not only is he a very successful BIG TIME Hollywood movie producer, he's also written a very successful series of horror novels (10 in total) and was often touted as the next James Herbert. Then, out of the blue, he changed direction completely. BANG!!! Dead Simple comes out -one of the best crime thrillers in recent years, with a killer hook and a razor sharp writing style.

Over the next 4 novels we're introduced to Roy Grace, a copper that we can all empathise with and follow his ongoing romance with Cleo -whilst remaining in the shadow of the disappearance of his last wife Sandy nearly a decade previous. What makes these novels even more striking and resonant, for me, is that they're all based in and around Brighton -They've name-checked Burgess Hill; Hove; Shoreham. All places that I've grown up in. (what would be amazing is if he could mention Slaugham -as there's a police training centre there....hint.. hint!)

Peters not afraid to tackle difficult subjects - Dead Man's footsteps, his last novel, dealt with the attacks on September 11th. This novel looks at the very serious crime of black market organ transplants and human trafficking, -and the real human implications it has on, not only the families of the people involved, but also with the "unwitting" donor's themselves.

Right at the start we're chucked in at the deep end. Caitlinn Beckett is in desperate need of a liver transplant and Lynn, her mother, is faced with the "lottery" that is the Transplant List and in an act of desperation looks at the burgeoning black market. At the same time we're forced into identifying with the unfortunate teens who grow up on the streets of Romania and end up as the unwitting donors. Those who are "lucky" become donors; others get picked by the traffickers to be prostitutes in the brothels of Brighton... This is deep and disturbing stuff, but Peter brings so much humanity to the story.

We're also given a tantalizing glimpse into what happened to Sandy, Roy Grace's estranged wife. My one hope is that this is tied up soon -whilst it keeps you reading the next novel in the hopes that you'll find out more, it does run the risk that the final dénouement fizzles rather than bangs. Having read many, many comics in my time, "hanging" ongoing plot threads can be great and generate much interest, but sometimes the anticipation over-reaches the conclusion and the reader is left with a drained disappointment, especially if it doesn't actually go anywhere... (I think the most extreme example of this is the "Who Shot JR" thread in Dallas.). I'm sure that this won't happen with Peter, and I hope that we get to see more about Sandy in the next book....

Peter has gotten so much better as a writer and this is by far his best book - I am certainly looking forward to the next novel but I can't believe I'm going to have to wait a whole year for it!!! Can't you write any quicker, Peter??