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Dead Simple [Kindle Edition]

Peter James (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (323 customer reviews)
Print List Price: £7.99
Kindle Price: £3.95 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
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Product Description

Review

'This is the first in a new crime series which promises to be both fascinating and destined for the bestsellers.' -- Independent on Sunday

Review

"'James has got the gift for turning mind-stretching subjects into novels that are irresistibly readable as well as utterly believable' Robert Goddard"
See all Product Description

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 619 KB
  • Print Length: 484 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0330434195
  • Publisher: Pan Books; 1 edition (9 April 2008)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0330434195
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330434195
  • ASIN: B003GK21VW
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (323 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #451 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
125 of 132 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Great page turner, americanised style 13 Mar 2006
By "jimboeb"
Format:Paperback
This is the first time I've read Peter James and picked it up after hearing it reviewed positively on Simon Mayo's show. It really is a page turner! The chapters are very to fairly short which makes it a great book for people like me who have a 25 minute train commute - you can usually time the finishing of the chapters just right for your stop.

The book involves a stag night prank of burying a mate in a coffin. If if this seems somewhat unlikely, James does get away with explaining the history that leads to this event, making it plausible enough to stick with it. When the perpetrators are killed in a van crash our man is trapped in the coffin with only one person in the world knowing where he is; and that person has most to gain by him staying lost (trust me I give nothing away, we're only up to page 40 or 50 here!). Therein hangs the first of many twists; there are several, yet somehow they are nearly all credible within the confines of this tale. And speaking of confines, some of the coffin scenes really are claustrophobic to read.

The slight downsides then. As has been referenced elsewhere the author I believe has been a scriptwriter in the States and at times there is an americanisation to the story that grates ever so slightly, including the use of american type terminology that wouldn't naturally be used here. Stylistically it has more of an american feel than say a traditional English crime fiction feel about it. I don't say that this is bad, by the way, but just be aware that PD James it ain't (and that may well be a good thing for some of you)! The ending is also a little rushed and slightly patly contrived, but by then you've rattled along with the book at such a pace that you forgive this minor(ish) transgression....

In conclusion then, a page turner it most certainly is. I knocked this off in two days because I couldn't put the blooming thing down. If like me you have a busy life from which you need to be occasionally transported, released into a private world of high drama that goes at a rattling good pace, has plenty of twists and genuine 'oh my god!' moments, then this is the book for you. Read more ›

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60 of 64 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Dead Simple 18 Jan 2007
By F. Clancy
Format:Paperback
I bought this book specifically for holiday and am glad i did - although it gripped me very early on and i read it in no time at all. I found the plot very good and didnt guess the "bad guy" at all which for me is quite unusual and very enjoyable. I would defintely recommend it and am now trying to decide which Peter James book to read next!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant start but the ending let it down 9 Aug 2010
By LouiseV
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book started off brilliant, so good in fact that I did start to have my doubts if the author could keep up the pace and standard of writing.

My fears where founded because the last third of the book let down all the hard work that had gone into the first 3/4.

I felt the author had run out of steam towards the end and just didn't know where to go.

Another book for me that was spoilt by the weak ending
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33 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Superb! 16 July 2007
By Angel TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Excellent book - gripping from the first chapter - a definite must-read. I could not put the book down and after reading it in a day and a bit, I then went on to order and read the rest of the books he has written - all equally intriguing and gripping in their own way - Looking Good Dead is another superb book!!
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Flawed 30 May 2006
By Monsieur Pamplemousse
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
On the whole, I enjoyed this book. It is always interesting to read a book set in an area you know well as it adds to the imagination processes.

The plot is certainly interesting and bowls along nicely...for about two thirds of the book. It's an unlikely plot but believable to that stage, but then, quite frankly, it crosses over to become very fanciful and the enjoyment drains.

There are other significant flaws. It is too American in it's conception and there are too many Americanisms - eg constant use of "flashlight" instead of torch, "leash" rather than lead. These things wear away and become irritating.

Another irritation is the way that every time a character is introduced or reintroduced we get a full run down of what they are wearing. This quickly becomes tedious and adds nothing to our understanding of the story.

The obvious product placement also becomes very boring.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Badly written, badly edited rubbish 2 July 2012
By A Watson
Format:Paperback
I cannot believe all the 5 star reviews this book has got. The reviewers in question must be very forgiving souls. Either that or they work for his publisher.
This book is terrible. Bad writing, bad characterisation, unbelievable plot. I finished it but only because I love books and cannot bear not to give any book a fighting chance to redeem itself. I have no idea what his other books are like. I'm told they get better but, frankly, after reading this I'm not prepared to give him any more of my money.
I hope the editor was sacked. There are at least two glaring errors which even the most incompetent of editors would have spotted. I hate to pick on people who are only earning their crust but this level of contempt for the book reading (and buying) public deserves my scorn.
I read 'Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter' by Tom Franklin after this. It was like a cool refreshing drink washing away the very nasty taste in my mouth.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Utter drivel 7 April 2012
By Kathleen L-G
Format:Kindle Edition
The characters are shallow, the plot daft and the way he talks about women you would assume the author had never met one. I felt as if my brains were dissolving into a puddle of gender cliches. Please don't bother with this book if you have any self respect.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Quite an enjoyable read but ... 8 Mar 2011
By A. Linton
Format:Paperback
As other reviewers have mentioned the central idea of the novel - that a group of friends would be idiotic enough to bury a friend alive as a stag night prank, is a bit far fetched for me. Really it falls into urban legend territory.

If you can swallow this initial premise, it is a fast paced read and there is a twist in the middle that really did get to me but the major problem is that far from being cleverer than us, Grace the detective character is actually generally several steps behind the readers in his attempts to solve this case and a times it comes close to idiot plot territory.

First of all - and others spotted this too - the huge plothole is that the detective investigating the case would overlook the emails/texts the stag night friends sent to each other - if they did Michael would have been quickly found and we wouldn't have a storyline so I guess James is hoping his readers won't spot this.

Similarly I guess we are meant to overlook the fact that when Grace takes an item to a psychic he takes the word of a potential suspect that it really belongs to the missing man - and when he finds out the truth- despite the psychic actually getting the right location for the person the item belonged to - it never occurs to him - UNTIL THE LAST CHAPTER - to take a genuine item belonging to Michael to the same psychic to see what he can do?

Also when we find out who the kidnapper's accomplice is (not a huge surprise) the whole business of the walkie-talkie/ buying an expensive scanner to track down the signal to find the buried man seems a bit silly. Surely the person concerned would have been able to find out the location in a much easier way - simply by asking the one surviving member of the stag party?... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good fun read
Dark humour at its best. Great characters, lots of things happening. I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't exactly the hardest detective I've ever read but it didn't need to be... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Bubbamink
4.0 out of 5 stars Sweating
There was Times I did sweat a bit. Typical Roy bar detective work. Could this kind of stuff happen. Read it to find out more
Published 6 days ago by Dianne
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely gripping
Fantastic book, great author. One of the best I've read in a long time. Hope to read all of his books now
Published 12 days ago by Mrs J A Price
4.0 out of 5 stars Dead Simple
Very good original story . Found it a little too explicit on autopsy part of story and too much detail in describing working environment
Published 14 days ago by Mrs M A Camp
4.0 out of 5 stars DELIVERED WITH CONVICTION
A tough case for Brighton's Det.Supt. Roy Grace - stag party escapades gone tragically wrong, with four dead and the would-be groom now missing. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Mr. D. L. Rees
3.0 out of 5 stars The first Peter James novel I've read
Now, don't get me wrong - I enjoyed reading this novel, which took just a day as it's not a huge book. Read more
Published 17 days ago by W. H. J. Yip
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant story
This was a brilliant book, just had no idea what was going to happen next, will he be dead or alive!! would thoroughly recommend it
Published 20 days ago by Alison Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, full of surprises.
An extremely complex plot, full of unexpected twists. A book worthy of a very accomplished Author which was a real joy to read, keeping you in suspense all through.
Published 25 days ago by john appleton
5.0 out of 5 stars Fab
So glad i was recommended these wonderful crime thrillers. being a local author its been great recognising ares in the book.
Published 28 days ago by Mrs. Ja Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
New to this writer, he does not keep me as spellbound as a PD James, and the main character is not as charismatic as a Peter Robinson, but I may buy some more of his.
Published 1 month ago by lulumizi
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