Dead At First Sight (Paperback)

Reviews

"My review" by Breakaway R. - 15 May 2019

Roy Grace takes on internet scammers. A man is waiting at Gatwick Airport for the "love of his life" to arrive on a flight from Munich. After a fruitless wait, he is approached by two detectives. They lead him to the airport police station and tell him that the woman he is waiting for does not exist. In Munich, Lena Welch is waiting for a man to visit her at her apartment. There’s a knock on her door and, when she answers it, soon realises she is in mortal danger. A retired policeman in Florida is waiting for a woman to appear. All of these people have something in common. They met their “ideal mate” online, via an internet dating site. In Brighton, Roy Grace is investigating an apparent suicide of a wealthy widow. He is convinced that the woman was murdered, but his boss and arch nemesis, Caspian Pewe, once again crosses swords with Grace over his theories. Grace soon realises that he is dealing with a major internet fraud scam when he takes a call from his friend in Munich, Detective Marcel Kullen. Lena Welch and Grace’s apparent suicide were sisters, and both on dating sites. In this, Grace’s 15th outing, we see again the familiar characters from previous books: Norman Potting; Branson; his wife, Cleo, and newly found (and very strange) son by his first wife, Bruno, and, of course, Caspian Pewe. They all continue to add background to the main plot. Peter James has chosen a well-researched and "bang-up-to-date" subject for this latest offering. I found, however, that my attention drifted, at least during the first part of the book. Perhaps it was because there were so many chapters, some of a single page, that it was becoming almost a James Patterson-like book. Or maybe he was trying to give us so much information in a short span that I just couldn't absorb it quickly. Whatever it was, it took me a good third of the way through before I became hooked enough to read to the end. Roy Grace books are always a 5 star for me, but because of the reasons given above, I can only award this 4 stars. Mr Bumblebee Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book for review.