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I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of Stop Them Dead, the nineteenth novel to feature Detective Superintendent Roy Grace of Sussex Police. I will honour the author’s desire for surprise and not mention what this new market actually is, even if it’s difficult to write a review without identifying it. Suffice to say that I was incredibly impressed by the author’s research and the easy way he makes all the pitfalls and the most extreme consequences realistic. This novel is not a wake up call, it’s a howling klaxon. The main villain is seen infrequently until the final pig slurry fight. The second killer is seen once waking up in bed. Crimes are solved through a combination of perseverance and perspiration rather than inspiration- just as is the case in real life. This book centres around the horrific increase during Covid of puppy theft, with often deadly results. Peter himself is a supporter of the RSPCA in the UK and wanted to highlight the ongoing issues with the exorbitant prices paid for puppies, not only purebreds, which attract those criminals wanting to profit at the cost of the animal.
Stop Them Dead (Roy Grace) by Peter James | Goodreads Stop Them Dead (Roy Grace) by Peter James | Goodreads
Grace’s investigation into this deadly trade pits him against some of the most ruthless people he has ever encountered; people who will kill anyone who gets in their way, because where there is greed, there is murder. Tim Ruddle is woken by the noise of vehicles in his yard and when he goes down to investigate he is crushed to death by two vehicles as the thieves make good their escape. 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.Careful investigation and planning lead to a nail-biting conclusion and I was on the edge of my seat, seriously worried about more than one of the police team. I know that Peter James does meticulous research for all of his novels but he has excelled himself this time. 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 – Peter James Stop Them Dead – Peter James
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. At the scene of the crime, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace soon realises this is no isolated robbery gone wrong but the tip of the iceberg of a nationwide crime wave, in which ruthless organised gangs are making more money from the illegal trade in dogs than drugs.Stop them Dead by Peter James is book 19 in the Roy Grace series and another brilliant addition to it. Discover the darkness that lurks around every corner in the latest instalment of the award-winning Grace series, now a major BRITBOX series. The Times Sinister and riveting . . . Peter James is one of the best British crime writers, and therefore one of the best in the world
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