Love You Dead

Love You Dead is the twelfth installment in British author Peter James's Roy Grace series. The story unfolds along two parallel threads. One follows Jodie Bentley: unremarkable as a child, she set herself two life goals—to become beautiful and to become rich. She pours nearly all her savings into cosmetic surgery, transforming herself into a striking femme fatale, and suitors are never in short supply; as for wealth, her creed is simple: earn it, or marry it. Marrying a rich man is not hard; what is hard is cleanly "ridding" herself of her husband afterward—that takes real skill, and repeated practice. The other thread follows Detective Inspector Roy Grace of Brighton police: pressure from above, insomnia left over from his last case, new developments concerning his missing wife Sandy, and the return of an old adversary all leave him overwhelmed. Worse, he becomes increasingly convinced that a "black widow" is operating in his city—a calculating, ruthless woman who targets wealthy, lonely older men. As Jodie sets her sights on her next prey in Brighton, Grace must see this woman for who she really is before time runs out. This volume stands as a self-contained case while also carrying a major turning point in the series' family storyline for Grace.