Want you dead

In this tenth entry in the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, Grace is preparing for his wedding to Cleo. His long-missing wife, Sandy, has been declared dead, but is she? Meanwhile, Grace must deal with protecting Red Cameron, a young woman being stalked by her ex, Bryce Laurent, a brilliant psychopath. Red's mother hired a private detective and found out that Laurent had lied about pretty much everything in his past. Laurent has some serious skills, including pyrotechnics, bomb building, close-up magic, and high-tech expertise beyond that of the police. Red, a real-estate agent, knows she's being stalked but refuses to move, suggesting that she may be too stupid to live. Nevertheless, she gets through her days while Laurent plans her demise, frightening her on a regular basis and not caring how many die as he destroys everything and everyone she holds dear. Short chapters help make the pages fly, and the suspense builds strongly until the finale.--Alesi, Stacy Copyright 2014 Booklist

British author James's 10th novel featuring Det. Supt. Roy Grace of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team (after 2013's Dead Man's Time ) is an adroit study of obsession and revenge. Bryce Laurent, a violent narcissist who can't bear to see ex-girlfriend Red Westwood dating someone else, rents an apartment nearby, and spies on her using the night-sights of his crossbow and several bugging devices. Shortly after Red's new boyfriend, Dr. Karl Murphy, fails to show up for a date, the police question her about his disappearance, while also enquiring after Laurent, against whom Red has a restraining order. When a group of golfers discover a badly burned corpse, Grace gets on the case. The author is unflinching in his descriptions of domestic abuse, and paints a vivid picture of Brighton with daily life punctuated by cigarettes, booze, and greasy food. A subplot involving Grace's vanished wife, Sandy, will please series regulars. Agent: Carole Blake, Blake Friedmann Literary. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Red Cameron's most recent pick on the online dating circuit-handsome, rich, charming Bryce Laurent-is indeed too good to be true. In fact, as their relationship blossoms, the truth about Bryce's past begins to emerge and disturbing patterns of anger and obsession are revealed. With help from the police, Red evicts Bryce from her flat and begins life anew. But he will not go away. Refusing to accept her rejection, he begins to systematically destroy everything and everyone close to her. The police are thwarted at every turn, and Bryce is tantalized and excited by his deadly game. It's up to DS Roy Grace and his team to apprehend Bryce before Red becomes his ultimate victim. Verdict James's ninth Roy Grace outing (after Dead Man's Time) is thriller writing at its best! This true page-turner by a master of suspense will leave his loyal readers begging for more.-Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

While he counts down the days till he marries pathology technician Cleo Morey, the mother of his baby son, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace tangles with a dangerously unbalanced jack-of-all-trades who just won't let his ex-lover go. "If I can't have you, no one will," thinks George Clooney look-alike Bryce Laurent about Red Westwood, the flame-haired beauty who dumped him when his over-the-top devotion turned abusive and scary. It's hardly an original concept, but Bryce brings unusual qualifications to the role of the spurned lover-turned-avenger. Though his stories about being an airplane pilot and air traffic controller were piffle, he has expert knowledge of locks (and how to pick them), fires (how to put them out, how to start them) and explosives (guess). He's a classic narcissist who's perfectly prepared to warm up for his planned torture killing of Red by attacking those closest to her, beginning with her current boyfriend, widowed family physician Karl Murphy. As Bryce considers whom to strike nextperhaps Red's best friend, dentist Raquel Evans, or Camilla Westwood, the mother who hired a detective to dig up dirt on BruceGrace (Dead Man's Time, 2013, etc.) faces an adversary closer to home: Sandy Lohmann, his wife, who plans to end her secret life in Munich with their son Bruno by interrupting Grace and Cleo's wedding with the news that even though she's been declared legally dead, there's enough life in her yet to ruin their big day. Bryce's ruthless proficiency as an arsonist guarantees the requisite number of pulse-pounding set pieces, but the whole affair feels a bit mechanical, right down to the climactic sequence in which he and Red are locked together inside the panic room she's installed to keep him at bay. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this tenth entry in the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, Grace is preparing for his wedding to Cleo. His long-missing wife, Sandy, has been declared dead, but is she? Meanwhile, Grace must deal with protecting Red Cameron, a young woman being stalked by her ex, Bryce Laurent, a brilliant psychopath. Red's mother hired a private detective and found out that Laurent had lied about pretty much everything in his past. Laurent has some serious skills, including pyrotechnics, bomb building, close-up magic, and high-tech expertise beyond that of the police. Red, a real-estate agent, knows she's being stalked but refuses to move, suggesting that she may be too stupid to live. Nevertheless, she gets through her days while Laurent plans her demise, frightening her on a regular basis and not caring how many die as he destroys everything and everyone she holds dear. Short chapters help make the pages fly, and the suspense builds strongly until the finale. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

British author James's 10th novel featuring Det. Supt. Roy Grace of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team (after 2013's Dead Man's Time) is an adroit study of obsession and revenge. Bryce Laurent, a violent narcissist who can't bear to see ex-girlfriend Red Westwood dating someone else, rents an apartment nearby, and spies on her using the night-sights of his crossbow and several bugging devices. Shortly after Red's new boyfriend, Dr. Karl Murphy, fails to show up for a date, the police question her about his disappearance, while also enquiring after Laurent, against whom Red has a restraining order. When a group of golfers discover a badly burned corpse, Grace gets on the case. The author is unflinching in his descriptions of domestic abuse, and paints a vivid picture of Brighton with daily life punctuated by cigarettes, booze, and greasy food. A subplot involving Grace's vanished wife, Sandy, will please series regulars. Agent: Carole Blake, Blake Friedmann Literary. (Oct.)