Just a few days into jury service, Meg arrives home to find a photograph of Laura, in Ecuador, lying on her kitchen table. Then her phone rings.

Gready wants the court to believe that he has never met Starr, his lieutenant, and to ensure his silence a couple of thugs are sent to rough up Starr’s brother who has Down’s Syndrome. My biggest issue with Find Them Dead is the ending. I don’t expect everything to be resolved neatly at the end of a book – real life doesn’t work like that. But there are so many loose ends left hanging that it was a dead ringer for one of my school sewing class efforts. I did feel distinctly cheated at the end.

This explanation gives a very helpful insight into the mind of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, a new kind of detective who is going through turmoil in his own life, as well as trying to prevent it from happening in the lives of others. Many characters in the Roy Grace books turn to Grace as a kind of shining light in their time of darkness. His personable appearance and kind heart makes him easy for victims to talk to and trust, and Grace delivers on that trust nearly every time. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is brought on to the case and grows suspicious when the one friend who wasn’t out celebrating refuses to collaborate on the case. All of a sudden, a motive surfaces, and Michael’s near accident may not be so accidental after all. In Looking Good Dead, published in 2006, Tom Bryce finds an apparently lost cd and decides to try to return it to its owner. But when his mission to return the cd leads to him witnessing a ghastly homicide, his family is threatened if he decides to go to the police. Meanwhile, Roy Grace is still haunted by his missing wife. It’s been nearly ten years since she disappeared. Peter James's Roy Grace mystery series was recently adapted for television by Endeavour writer Russell Lewis. Now, many are discovering the series for the first time – or starting all over and reading it anew with actual characters in mind.

In a rather convoluted way, Meg is chosen to be the one who ensures Gready gets off and to make sure she complies a series of threats are made against Laura.James has also served two terms as Chair of the UK Crime Writers Association, and is also a board member of International Thriller Writers in the United States. What’s next for Roy Grace?