Roy Grace Books

Over the Christmas period us teachers are lucky enough to have two weeks away from the classroom, and although I have quite a bit of work to do, I've been spending lots of time catching up with friends and family, eating too much and relaxing.  For as long as I can remember, I've been a bit of a bookworm.  Even since I was small, I've loved getting lost in a fictional world.  Over the last year or so, I've been a sucker for crime/thriller video, and recently I think I've found my favourite series yet.

Peter James has written an award-winning series of crime books about a Detective Superintendent called Roy Grace.  The first book in this series, Dead Simple, was written in 2005 and the most recent, You Are Dead, was released earlier this year.

I am currently only on book 5, but I can't put them down.  Since I started the first Roy Grace book, I haven't even picked up anything else - as soon as I've finished one book, I'm downloading the next one within five minutes.  All five books have been real page turners, and I love that the chapters are pretty short so it's perfect for picking up when you have a spare few minutes.

I love that the stories are set in Brighton; it just seems so much more relatable, especially when you recognise some of the places Roy and his team visit.  The stories jump from character to character from the first chapter, and usually by the end of the book all of the different story lines have come together.  The plots not over delve into serious crime and murders, but also into the personal life of Roy Grace and the other detectives and officers he works with.  I never see what's coming next and there are always unexpected twists and turns - exactly what a good thriller needs.

Have you got any crime/thriller book recommendations? Although it might be a while before I read any others - I've got six books left in this series to work my way through!