PICTURE YOU DEAD by Peter James has flown to Number One in the Bookseller’s weekly ‘Bookstat E-Book Top 10’ and to Number Two in the Sunday Times hardback bestseller charts, after only three days on sale. ‘Picture perfect at peak for James’, the Bookseller reported, adding that ‘Peter James’s PICTURE YOU DEAD swiped the Bookstat e-book number one in a photo finish.’

The eighteenth instalment of the bestselling Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series is published by Pan Macmillan, who signed up 5 more series titles from Peter James last year.

PICTURE YOU DEAD was launched with a vigorous and inventive marketing and publicity campaign including a much-anticipated return to the traditional annual Roy Grace launch party – held again on Brighton pier after two years without an in-person celebration, and this time with ITV’s GRACE stars, John Simm and Richie Campbell, among the crowd.

Peter went on a whirlwind book signing tour across Sussex and beyond, visiting multiple independent bookshops, the Jersey Festival of Words, and Capital Crime Festival. He also embarked on an extensive regional radio tour. As well as the trade hardback, two exclusive editions of PICTURE YOU DEAD were also published: one with extra material exclusive to WH Smith, and a special edition for indie bookshops with beautiful sprayed edges.

In PICTURE YOU DEAD, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace finds himself plunged into an unfamiliar world of fine art – and art forgery. Outwardly the fine art scene appears respectable, refined, above reproach. But beneath the veneer, he rapidly finds that greed, deception and violence walk hand-in-hand.

Harry and Freya, an ordinary couple, dreamed for years of finding something priceless buried amongst the tat in a car boot sale. It was a dream they knew in their hearts would never come true – until the day it did… They buy a drab portrait for a few pounds, for its beautiful frame, planning to cut the painting out. Then studying it back at home there seems to be another picture beneath, of a stunning landscape. Could it be a long-lost masterpiece from 1770? If genuine, it could be worth millions. One collector is certain that the painting is genuine. Someone who will use any method he can to get what he wants and will stop at nothing.

And Harry and Freya are about to discover that their dream is turning into their worst nightmare…

Filming of the ITV series based on the Roy Grace novels continues in Brighton, with more of the thrilling stories to be broadcast in 2023. Peter is now writing the nineteenth instalment of the Roy Grace series which Pan Macmillan will publish next year.

Praise for Peter James:

‘Superior plotting and edge-of-the-seat suspense.’ – The Guardian

‘Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business’ – Karin Slaughter

‘A master plotter who cunningly tunes into contemporary concerns. Peter James cannot fail to thrill.’ – Daily Mail

‘Memorable characters and nail-biting tension.’ – Kathy Reichs

‘Peter James creates a world we can smell, touch and feel for his Brighton detective Inspector Roy Grace.’ – The Times

‘With echoes of Thomas Harris, the closer analogue is to Jeffrey Deaver’s clock-racing thrillers… James delivers the goods.’ — Kirkus Reviews

‘James just gets better and better and deserves the success he has achieved with this first-class series.’ — Independent on Sunday

About Peter James:

Peter James is the international bestselling author of many award-winning novels, repeatedly occupying the Number One slot on the Sunday Times bestseller charts in both hardback and paperback. Peter writes both thriller standalones and the hugely popular Brighton-set Roy Grace series, now adapted for ITV.

Peter’s books have been translated into thirty-eight languages, with worldwide sales of over twenty-one million copies and his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, set in Brighton, has given him 19 consecutive Sunday Times Number Ones. In 2015 WH Smith customers voted him the Greatest Crime Author of All Time and in 2016 he was awarded the coveted CWA Diamond Dagger, a lifetime achievement award for sustained excellence. In 2018 he received a Specsavers Honorary Platinum Bestseller Award. Peter James has also written two books based on true crime stories, with former senior detective Graham Bartlett.

The 16th Roy Grace, FIND THEM DEAD, was a UK Number 1 in both hardback and paperback, spending four consecutive weeks at Number 1 in paperback, and reaching Number 5 in Australia and Canada too. In 2021 Peter James repeated the hardback and paperback Top Ten double with LEFT YOU DEAD and standalone thriller I FOLLOW YOU.

Successful nationwide tours of the stage plays of THE PERFECT MURDER (2014), DEAD SIMPLE (2015,) NOT DEAD ENOUGH (2017) and THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL (2019) have packed theatres in dozens of British cities, and garnered magnificent reviews. The stage play of LOOKING GOOD DEAD toured the UK in 2021, and WISH YOU WERE DEAD will premiere in 2022. Several other Peter James novels are optioned for film and in further development.

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