12 books into a series, you know what to expect. In this installment, Roy Grace need to deal with a black widow (with a penchant for creepy-crawlies), finally faces the truth of Sandy's disappearance and seems to find a closure for another old case (or two). If I did not know that there are more books after this one, I would have been worried if this is the end of the series - too many lose threads are getting finally closed, some of them from the very first book.

It does not work as a standalone novel - the black widow plot is a standalone but everything around it is just the continuation of the series and if you don't have the backstory, they fall flat - the spare details added here are enough to understand what is going on but not to build the full picture.

And if you are coming from the previous books, the whole book works - the story-lines connect in weird ways and then diverge again, making one wonder if that connection was really there... and then they do it again. The solutions come slowly as they usually do in this series - but they are logical and without weird jumps around.

I will be very curious to see where we are going to go from here - pretty much all of the drivers of the series are closed now and James has an almost clean sheet (well... there are some figures on the board but no more long threads coming from the past). But as long as the supporting characters are still around and the crime stories keep up the tension, I am sure that some new connections will show up - after all, not every single thread got closed. Plus Roy Grace is very good at annoying people. ( )

I'm not sure about this one...but at least we have some closure for our Inspector Grace. ( )

Weer een geweldig goede thriller van Peter James. Veel verhaallijnen maar die zijn prima uit elkaar te houden totdat ze elkaar kruisen en alles mooi in elkaar valt. Ik verheug me nu al weer op het volgende Roy Grace boek. ( )

I am a huge fan of the DS Roy Grace series by Peter James and couldn't wait to get my hands on his new book, the twelfth of the series. We first meet newlywed Jodie Bentley at a ski resort in Courcheval, France, when she and her wealthy, much older husband are in search of “fresh powder”. Before long we realize the she's calmly tricked him into skiing over a cliff. She heads back to the ski lodge to enjoy a glass of champagne and pretend she lost him out on the slopes, while searching for a new husband on a dating website for millionaires. Did I mention Jodie also has a fascination with the venomous snake called the saw-scaled viper?

As usual, the author weaves together a blend of past stories, as well as current plots. I would recommend reading the book right before this, You Are Dead, because one of the diabolical killers from that book makes a significant appearance in this one. I loved getting back together with some of my favorite characters, including Roy's pet goldfish, Marlon. Regular readers of the series will be interested in the surprising subplot about Roy's first wife, Sandy, who had mysteriously disappeared ten years ago subsequently been declared dead. Every book in the series gets closer and closer to the truth of what really happened, and this book is no different.

This was my favorite book of the series so far, despite my question of why these elderly men have apparently never heard of a prenuptial agreement. This book was everything I could hope for. It has humor, pathos, incredulity and sadness. This will undoubtedly be in my Top Five suspense novels of the year and I'm so sad to be completely caught up on the series. I can't wait for the next one. ( )

[Love You Dead] by Peter James
Roy Grace series Book #12
5 ★'s

From The Book:
An ugly duckling as a child, Jodie Bentley had two dreams in life - to be beautiful and rich. She's achieved the first, with a little help from a plastic surgeon, and now she's working hard on the second. Her philosophy on money is simple: you can either earn it or marry it. Marrying is easy, it's getting rid of the husband afterwards that's harder, that takes real skill. But hey, practice makes perfect . . .

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is feeling the pressure from his superiors, his previous case is still giving him sleepless nights, there have been major developments with his missing wife Sandy, and an old adversary is back. But worse than all of this, he now believes a Black Widow is operating in his city. One with a venomous mind . . . and venomous skills. Soon Grace comes to the frightening realization that he may have underestimated just how dangerous this lady is.

My Thoughts:
Another great read in this series featuring DS Roy grace and his "Serious Crimes" team. The characters have so much depth and are so incredible in their dealings with their investigative abilities and their vulnerabilities in their everyday lives that you can't help but love and admire them.

Grace and Chloe have almost more on their plates than they can handle with Roy and his team investigating a series of murders that a highly unlikable character is perpetrating on rich, older men and the resurfacing of Roy's first wife, Sandy... who he had previously had declared dead. Along with Sandy comes more trouble that I'm sure will be the subject of a future book.

I would highly recommend this series to all mystery & suspense fans and have to say that it is just an all round compelling read...as is most everything this author writes. ( )