Dead Simple: Publishers Weekly

Dick Donahue – May 2005

Peter James has been selected by Publishers Weekly in 2005 as one of the five crime writers tipped to become a new brand name in the USA.

…A number of established authors attempt to expand their readership by launching a new series or moving from a series to a stand-alone (or vice versa). In 2001, Dennis Lehane hit paydirt when he abandoned his series starring Boston PIs Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro (A Drink Before Dying, etc.) to write Mystic River. Mystic spent 29 weeks on PW’s lists in hardcover and paperback; the movie grossed more than $150 million worldwide.

An interesting spin on the familiar books-into-movies migration can be found in a February Carroll & Graf release: Peter James, author of Dead Simple, is a prominent movie producer (the recent Merchant of Venice et al.). He’s also made a name for himself as a mystery writer, mainly in the U.K. But C&G publisher Will Balliett has high hopes for stateside success for James’s latest: “The police procedural is a definite change of pace for Peter, as he introduces Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. [Dead Simple] has become a huge breakout book internationally—in both England and Germany, with other sales around the world.” The fact that James is already entertaining film and TV offers for his new book, Balliett adds, “warms a publisher’s heart and couldn’t be more deserved.” …

[Read the full article at Publishers Weekly]