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DEAD LIKE YOU
by Peter James
Pan, October 2010
500 pages
7.99 GBP
ISBN: 0330456792


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Chapter One is set in 1997. A stalker is lying in wait for a young girl named Rachael Ryan. He is taking an unusually keen interest in her strappy sandals. She, somewhat worse for wear after a party, decides to leave her two friends who want to catch a taxi home, but when she is almost home, is tricked into helping a man, but is assaulted, anaesthetised and kidnapped.

Chapter 2 sees a jump forward in time to the present day and a forty-two year-old taxi driver styling himself "YAC." His name derives from the fact that the initials were on a report describing him, which he happened to see. He is autistic. He also suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder. He is fascinated by women's expensive shoes and perfume. When he sees a woman wearing shoes in which he is interested, he can immediately identify them (and whether they are a knock off or the genuine designer article), their size, and the perfume the woman is wearing.

Roy Grace was involved, as a very junior cop, in the original shoe man case and the present day case falls to him as well.

Roy is now in a very satisfying relationship with Cleo Morey. She is about to give birth to Roy's baby and they would very much like to marry before the imminent birth. The only problem is that Roy is already married to the elusive Sandy. Almost always in the past, the author has portrayed the errant wife as very desirable and certainly much beloved by Grace. He changes his tactics in this oeuvre and Sandy is seen as more than a little unpleasant and, indeed, shrewish. Grace, in fact, has taken steps to have her declared dead. Instead of giving glimpses of a living Sandy, as the author has done in previous books, in this excursion, the reader is treated to a passage between Grace and Sandy. We are, indeed, left with a feeling of "good riddance."

I felt the characterisation in this book was quite good. One can understand how the years have taken their toll on Grace and how, now he has fallen in love, he would wish to be rid of the burden of his lost wife. Cleo, too, for all we don't see a great deal of her in this outing, is quite charming.

As to the rape victims and their suffering, I would he had given the reader not as much information as he did. I did enjoy the scenes with the kick boxer whom the baddie captured, however.

Altogether, I thought the book was a trifle over-long. It might have been improved were some of the descriptions removed. Readers, after all, inhabit the real world and have a certain amount of imagination. Perhaps, too, future books might be improved by having Grace forget his erstwhile wife and rejoice solely in Cleo.

Despite these criticisms, I do look forward to the next sign of Grace.

§ Denise Pickles has been reviewing for RTE for many years. She lives in Australia.

Reviewed by Denise Pickles, August 2010

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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