Dead In Three Two One by Peter James

 

Roy Grace has a target on his back when an Albanian gang leader seeks retribution. 

I've been a fan of the Roy Grace series by Peter James ever since I picked up the first book in the series, Dead Simple. This remains my favourite book in the series, and a thriller I regularly recommend. As with any long-running series of books, some stories seem to work better than others. Dead In Three Two One, book 23 in the series, certainly hit the spot for me.

It's Pride weekend in Brighton, so the city is packed and the police are on high alert for any trouble. When a well-known criminal, Dritan Dervishi, along with an unidentified woman, shows up on CCTV checking into an exclusive hotel, the police are concerned. Hours later, the couple has disappeared, and the room they were staying in looks as if it hasn't been occupied.

When a severed leg is discovered at a waste treatment facility, Roy Grace and his team immediately have concerns for the welfare of the unidentified woman who checked into the hotel. What follows is the meticulous piecing together of clues as the team tries to identify the woman and confirm that Dervishi murdered her. The team is also puzzled as to why Dervishi would check into a hotel and then check out a few hours later.

Author Peter James demonstrates his twisted sense of humour with a couple of subplots centred around the same hotel. A pair of siblings, desperate to inherit their mother's dwindling fortune, looks at ways to gain control of her finances. The mother is so caustic towards her greedy children and everyone else that you almost feel sympathetic towards them, but the sympathy doesn't last long. There is also a storyline featuring one of my favourite characters, Norman Potting. Things don't go well for Potting during a stakeout. Could this be the moment he is forced to retire?

The conclusion is filled with foreboding. We have seen major characters killed off throughout the series, and I began to worry for everyone connected to Grace. One scene in particular is so tense that I was reluctant to read on, concerned for the characters involved. I'm not going to spoil anything here; you'll just have to read the book for yourself to find out what happens.

Dead In Three Two One by Peter James will be published on 22nd October 2026 in hardback, ebook, and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a review copy.

Author Details

Peter James is a UK No.1 bestselling author, best known for his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series.

Much loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists, sinister characters, and accurate portrayal of modern day policing, he has won over 40 awards for his work including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award and Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger. In 2024, it was announced that he is the creator of Her Majesty Queen Camilla’s favourite fictional detective.

To date, Peter has written an impressive total of 21 Sunday Times No. 1s, sold over 24 million copies worldwide and been translated into 38 languages. ITV’s primetime adaptation of the Grace novels, starring John Simm, continues to delight audiences with significant ratings growth, and series seven is currently in production. On stage seven of Peter’s Grace novels have been adapted as plays, earning his work the reputation of being the most successful stage franchise since Agatha Christie.

In 2026, Peter was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in His Majesty The King’s Birthday Honours List, in recognition of his services to literature and to charity. Peter is a supporter of many of charities reflecting his concerns and interests, including as Co-Patron of the Sussex Police Charitable Trust; as a Patron of the RSPCA and the Samaritans; and as an ambassador for The Reading Agency and for the National Year of Reading 2026, among many others.