DEAD ON THE SCENE
A major subset of the mystery genre is the British police procedural novel, a brilliant example of which is Peter James’ Dead Man’s Grip, number seven in his series featuring tenacious Brighton cop Roy Grace. This time out, Grace heads up the investigation into a traffic accident that left a bicyclist dead at the scene. Then, one by one, the other participants in the accident meet mysterious (and, it must be said, macabre) ends. For example, one of them is found in a submerged minivan, his hands super-glued to the steering wheel! The plot thickens as Grace discovers that the bicyclist was the grandson of a noted American underworld figure, a shady character with the means and connections to exact his revenge. Longtime readers of the series will recall an ongoing subplot featuring Grace’s wife Sandy, who disappeared some years back without a trace. Grace is finally beginning to get on with his personal life—with a new girlfriend and a baby on the way—but the specter of Sandy still nags at the corners of his consciousness. Without giving anything away, I am happy to say that you will finally be apprised of Sandy’s fate. Readers will not want to miss this.