If you can't stand the idea of being buried alive, it might be wise to hold some loving hand while reading Dead Simple by Peter James (Macmillan, 495pp, $30). And fellas, if you're about to get married, take care at the stag party. Because here the groom, dead drunk, is buried complete with coffin, breathing tube and walkie-talkie. Nice one. Except that three of the four pranksters are killed in a car crash and the other is in a coma. Another friend who missed the action knows where the coffin is buried, but ... James's new, assumed-to-be-a-series character, Detective Superintendent Grace, has a proper puzzle on his hands. And how about the groom-to-be, with water rising in his grave?

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