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Peter James
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Book
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Publisher | MacMillan | ||
ISBN | 978-023070687 | ||
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Reviewer
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Deborah
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Synopsis
Don't imagine for one moment that I'm not watching you. . .
The Metropole Hotel, Brighton. After a heady New Year's Eve ball, a woman is brutally raped as she returns to her room. A week later, another woman is attacked. Both victims' shoes are taken by the offender . . .
Detective Superintendent Roy Grace soon realises that these new cases bear remarkable similarities to an unsolved series of crimes in the city back in 1997. The perpetrator had been dubbed ‘Shoe Man' and was believed to have raped five women before murdering his sixth victim and vanishing. Could this be a copycat, or has Shoe Man resurfaced?
When more women are assaulted, Grace becomes increasingly certain that they are dealing with the same man. And that by delving back into the past - a time in which we see Grace and his missing wife Sandy still apparently happy together - he may find the key to unlocking the current mystery. Soon Grace and his team will find themselves in a desperate race against the clock to identify and save the life of the new sixth victim . . .
Peter James
Review
I really love Peter James' books, he is one of my favourite authors and find it very pleasing when I read his thrillers as Brighton is my local hunting ground. Once again, his knowledge of the Brighton Police force and their procedures is excellent - I attended a book event with Peter a couple of years ago and know that he shadows the local Police very closely when researching his books and you can tell! Although I didn't want to put the book down - I didn't want to finish it either because I was enjoying the story so much!
A woman is attacked and viciously raped in Brighton with one of her high-heeled, designer shoes - the attacker then flees, taking the expensive shoes with him. When the rapist strikes again Detective Superintendent Roy Grace realises that both attacks are almost identical to the Shoe Man case he worked on in 1997. Six women were attacked before the Shoe Man vanished and his final victim, Rachael Ryan, was never found. Roy presumed that she was murdered and it always bothered him that the case was never solved.
Although I didn't particular like each of the victims - most of them being spoilt, rich bitches! - the careful writing of each character made you feel very anxious for them and the suspense built as they were stalked and then finally attacked; and when we meet and get to know the last victim, Jessie Sheldon, I was right behind her all the way!
The characters are well written - and from the outset we meet all possible Shoe Men, unlike some authors who don't bring in more suspects until nearer the end of their story. All the clues are there for you to solve this thriller, and although it isn't difficult to decide who the rapist murderer is, there is an interesting twist at the end which I wasn't expecting.
With flashbacks to 1997 when Roy was a young Police Officer working the Shoe Man case we also meet him at a time when he is happily married to his now missing wife Sandy. His current partner, Cleo, is pregnant and any mention of Sandy is in a very negative tone. Because Cleo and Roy want to get married, he can now officially declare Sandy as dead. As regular Roy Grace readers will know, we do have some idea of what happened to Sandy although Roy does not. Hopefully, we will get more in Peter's next thriller......which hopefully won't be too far away.
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