Love You Dead (54 page)

Michelle Websdale; Suzanne Heard; Katie Perkins; Jill Pedersen and Tony Case.

Maria O’Brien; Chris Gee; Lucy Steele; James Stather, Crime Scene Services.

Commissioner Adrian Leppard of the City of London Police; Commander Christopher Greany, Economics Crime Unit, City of London Police; Superintendent Paula Light, Metropolitan Police; Detective
Inspector Richard Haycock, Surrey Police; Juliet Smith JP, High Sheriff of East Sussex; PC Martin Light, Metropolitan Police; Detective Investigator Pat Lanigan, NYPD.

Former Chief Superintendent Graham Bartlett; Former Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Bowles; Former Inspector Andy Kille; Ray Packham, formerly of the High Tech Crime Unit.

Thank you to those who gave me invaluable medical, scientific or technical help: Iain and Georgie Maclean; Dr Haydn Kelly; Mike Gilson, editor of the
Argus
; Anette Lippert; Sigrid Daus
and Klinikum Munich– Krankenhaus Schwabing; Dave Wooton from DEFRA – the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs; Steven Charman and Danny Yeoman of Pets Corner; Peter
Schilperoord (one of the few living survivors of a saw-scale viper bite); Dr Gerhard V. Verdoorn, Griffon Poison Information Centre; Shaun Harris; Phil Homan; Sharon Bolton; Dave Breden and Alison
Macqueen; Ross and Ginevra Duncton; Christophe Chmiel; Dr Peter Dean, Coroner for Essex; Richard Mastembroek; Dr Dunecan & Nicky Massey; Paul Williams; Arnie Wilson; Kate Sissons and Brian
Dick; Mike Sansom; Jill Hunt, Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance Trust; herpetologist Mark O’Shea.

Although writing is a solitary task, there are numerous people in the background working on the editing, sales and marketing, without whom there would, quite simply, be no book. My agent, Carole
Blake, and her team. My publishing director, Wayne Brookes. Geoff Duffield, Anna Bond, Sara Lloyd, Sarah Arratoon, Fraser Crichton, Neil Lang and all at Pan Macmillan. Elena Stokes, Tanya Farrell
and all the rest at Team James USA. My editor Susan Opie. My brilliant publicists, Tony Mulliken, Sophie Ransom and Becky Short.

And last of these but also first, my close friend and Roy Grace alter-ego, former Detective Chief Superintendent David Gaylor, the career role model for Roy Grace.

I’m fortunate to have a brilliant support team who help me to hone the manuscript long before it reaches my agent and publishers, and to help with the management of Team James UK: my
amazing and brilliant PA, Linda Buckley; my terrific book-keeper, Sarah Middle; Anna Hancock; Helen Shenston; Martin and Jane Diplock; Sue Ansell; Ken Owen.

My biggest thank you of all is to my wife, Lara. She has added so much to this book in so many ways, from character insights, to wise editorial suggestions, and brilliantly creative ideas of her
own. She’s accompanied me on numerous research trips, including a few of the more scary ones, and she’s been a tireless help in the endless promotion of my work both in the UK and
abroad.

Oscar, our rescue Labrador, Bull-Mastiff and Parsons Jack Russell cross, is convinced he’s the model for Humphrey (and I’m not going to disillusion him!), and our Labradoodle, Spook,
rather wishes I would spend less time writing and more out walking with her in the fields.

Finally a sad farewell to my good mate: RIP Tony Omotoso of the Sussex Police Road Policing Unit, who has appeared in several of my books as himself. Gone far too young, but will never be
forgotten because he made so many people smile!

Above all, thank you, my readers! Your emails, Tweets, Facebook, Instagram and blog posts give me such constant encouragement. Keep them coming, I love to hear from you!

Peter James

Sussex, England

[email protected]

www.peterjames.com

www.facebook.com/peterjames.roygrace

www.twitter.com/peterjamesuk

www.instagram.com/peterjamesuk

By Peter James

The Roy Grace Series

DEAD SIMPLE   LOOKING GOOD DEAD  

NOT DEAD ENOUGH   DEAD MAN’S FOOTSTEPS  

DEAD TOMORROW   DEAD LIKE YOU   DEAD MAN’S GRIP  

NOT DEAD YET   DEAD MAN’S TIME   WANT YOU DEAD  

YOU ARE DEAD   LOVE YOU DEAD

Other Novels

DEAD LETTER DROP   ATOM BOMB ANGEL  

BILLIONAIRE   POSSESSION   DREAMER  

SWEET HEART   TWILIGHT   PROPHECY   ALCHEMIST  

HOST   THE TRUTH   DENIAL   FAITH  

PERFECT PEOPLE   THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL

Short Stories

A TWIST OF THE KNIFE

Children’s Novel

GETTING WIRED!

Novella

THE PERFECT MURDER

Non-Fiction

DEATH COMES KNOCKING:
POLICING ROY GRACE’S BRIGHTON
(with Graham Bartlett)

Peter James was educated at Charterhouse, then at film school. He lived in North America for a number of years, working as a screenwriter and film producer before returning to England. His films include
The Merchant of Venice
, starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes. His novels, including the
Sunday Times
number-one bestselling Roy Grace series, have been translated into thirty-six languages, with worldwide sales of seventeen million copies. Three novels have been filmed and two,
The Perfect Murder
and
Dead Simple
, have been adapted into highly successful stage plays. All his books reflect his deep interest in the world of the police, with whom he does in-depth research, as well as his fascination with science, medicine and the paranormal. He divides his time between his homes in Notting Hill, London, and near Brighton in Sussex.

First published 2016 by Macmillan

This electronic edition published 2016 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-1-4472-5582-6

Copyright © Really Scary Books / Peter James, 2016

Jacket photograph © Neil Lang
Author photograph by Stephen Lawrence

Roy Grace
®
, Grace
®
, DS Grace
®
and DI Grace
®
are registered trademarks of Really Scary Books
Limited.

The right of Peter James to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third-party websites referred to in or on this book.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital,
optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be
liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Map artwork by ML Design

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