MACMILLAN Find them dead

Product arrived on time. All was in order, besides an eyeshadow palette which arrived in the same package which had broken and messed over into the box, spilling over onto the book. Book was in good condition besides that.

One of my favourite authors

A courtroom scenario interlaced with sinister behind the scenes threays

Enjoyed the book but felt Grace was only an add on, the story which at times I found a little boring seemed to centre too much on the court story, However the start I found page turning and that's what kept the story alive.

4 1/2 stars. This is the 16th book in James' excellent Roy Grace series. This one was a little bit different from his usual police procedurals as it had a compelling court procedural at its core. Roy has been seconded to the Met but on his return to Sussex, he has to deal with a murder case. Meg Magellan has had an unhappy five years after the tragic accident that claimed the life of her husband and son. Her daughter Laura is taking a gap year and is off to South America on an adventure with her friend Cassie and Meg will be alone for the first time since the accident. Her job is over as her company has relocated and she does not want to make the move. While she waits for a possible new job, she is looking forward to the jury duty she has been called up for. She feels it is her civic duty and will give her a change of pace and scenery. But this is a drugs case with some very menacing people who will stop at nothing to get the verdict they want. Soon Meg is made aware that she is under constant observation and that her daughter Laura could be in grave danger if she doesn't do what they want. But how to change the minds of the jury in a case that seems to point at the obvious guilt of the men charged? And what will happen to Laura is she fails? Roy Grace has a peripheral role in this novel but it was a very interesting book all the same. James is a wonderful storyteller and weaves a complicated web that keeps the reader interested and engaged until the last page. Another great read.

While I'd consider this instalment certainly one of the better books of the last half dozen, it's a bit different from the others in that Grace plays a rather minor role & features a lot less than normal. The focus of the story is on the trial of one of Brighton's major drugs overlords & his attempt to wrangle out of charges by bribing...or rather threatening...one of the jury into bringing in a "not guilty" verdict. What follows is a good, & worryingly convincing, account of the extent people will go to to avoid a prison sentence, or as in the jurors case, to protect their loved ones.On the down side, I find the lovey-dovey relationship between Roy & Cleo increasingly irritating as time goes on & the dynamics between him & Pewe are slightly absurd, with Pewe becoming more & more of a pantomime villain - that said I can't wait for him to get his comeuppance!