They Thought I Was Dead: Sandy's Story by Peter James
Published by Pan MacMillan
Publication Date: 9th May 2024
Book Description:
My name is Sandy.
My husband is Detective Superintendent Roy Grace.
But when I disappeared, even he couldn't find me . . .
This is my story.
There's more to Sandy than meets the eye. A woman with a dubious past, a complicated present and an uncertain future.
Then she was gone.
Some will think they know how it ends . . .
Her disappearance caused a nationwide search. Even the best detective on the force couldn't find her.
They thought she was dead.
But nobody knows this . . .
Where did she go? Why did she run? What would cause a woman to leave her whole life behind and
simply vanish?
For the first time the truth behind Sandy Grace’s dramatic disappearance is revealed. They Thought I Was Dead will thrill fans and new readers alike with its gripping story of a woman on the run. This is Sandy's story.
My Thoughts:
First of all, my huge thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication via the NetGalley platform. All opinions here are my own.
The first book in this series, Dead Simple, was the book that got me hooked on police procedurals, thrillers and more gritty reads back in 2005. After losing my reading my mojo due to having my children (not enough hours in the day where I still had more than one active brain cell left) I had finally put a toe back in the water with some chick-lit, light reads but was finding them lacking somehow. With this very different genre Peter James changed all that, and the rest, as they say, is history.
As the followers of the series will know, Sandy Grace's character has been a presence from the start - or should I say an absence? Nobody has known what happened to her, least of all her detective husband Roy. She just vanished as if into thin air. If anyone had the resources available to find her it would be a leading detective, but sadly for Roy this just didn't happen - there were several potential sightings over the years, but no evidence to back these up. But now, in this latest novel, we all get to find out what happened, together with all the whys and hows that go with the facts from Sandy's point of view. I think this is a very well-timed novel, having spoken to several people who have invested in the series they are ready to have their questions answered.
I think it's safe to say that having now read Sandy's story she really wasn't the person Roy thought she was. There are some pretty unsavoury characters involved here, so it was just a matter of time before Sandy got her fingers burned. It's very much a tale of the grass being greener on the other side however some of the decisions Sandy made had me shouting at the pages at her naivety. As the wife of a detective whose job it was to catch these people, she really should have known better. I love that Peter James has blended some of the characters from Roy's investigations into Sandy's story, which helped with the strands of story in previous books where there were possible sightings of her.
By the end of the story, I was torn between my loyalty to Roy but wanting a decent outcome for Sandy after all she'd gone through. I don't think she really knew what she was looking for, but the people she encountered on her search for a happy life certainly made it an eventful journey.
Overall I found this book tied up a lot of loose ends, but it didn't (except for a couple of sections) get my heart racing as much as I expected. I'll be interested to see how the Dead series either continues or concludes now we have a lot of the answers.
About the Author:
Peter James is a UK No.1 bestselling author, best known for his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, now a hit ITV drama starring John Simm as the troubled Brighton copper.
Much loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists, sinister characters, and accurate portrayal of modern day policing, he has won over 40 awards for his work including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award and Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger.
To date, Peter has written an impressive total of 19 Sunday Times No. 1s, sold over 21 million copies worldwide and been translated into 38 languages. His books are also often adapted for the stage – the most recent being Looking Good Dead.
Visit Peter James www.peterjames.com
Follow Peter on Instagram > @peterjamesuk
Follow Peter on Twitter > @peterjamesuk
Follow Peter on Facebook > www.facebook.com/peterjames.roygrace
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