Footsteps from the past (Dead Man's Footsteps - Peter James)

Member Name: burtybookworm

Product:	Dead Man's Footsteps - Peter James
Date:	26/05/09 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lots of interlinking plots which are really interesting, a truly engrossing page turner

Disadvantages: All the dead bodies and other things happening at once - how lucky is that?!!!

This is another book in the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series. In this book, two bodies are found that have been dead for a very long time - one woman is found in a storm drain in Brighton and another is discovered in the boot of a car in a lake in Australia. How are these women linked and how have their bodies remained undiscovered for so long without anyone missing them? Roy Grace and his team intend to find out.

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There are several threads to this story other than the one highlighted above. At the beginning of this book, the chapters are kept quite short and create instant intrigue as we flit between the past (September 11th, 2001) and the present (October 2007). Ronnie Wilson, a man with serious debt issues and no business sense, finds that the 9/11 attacks are a blessing in disguise as it is the day as he decides to shed his old life and begin a new one under the pretence that he died at the twin towers. Meanwhile, Abby is hiding from someone dangerous and is constantly trying to cover her tracks. Both of these story lines were instant attention grabbers; and it is immediately apparent that eventually these plots would tie in to the two dead bodies - I just wanted to find out in which way they were linked! All three plot lines are equally interesting and easy to follow and the characters enjoyable to read about.

This is the second Peter James book I have read, although it is the first in the "Detective Superintendent Grace" series that I have actually read, and from reading this book, it is clear that I have missed the preceding books. This doesn't, however, make it difficult to read, the main character, Roy Grace, is explained fully and I only wish I'd read the others as I found him interesting and wanted to know more.

The main character, the aforementioned Grace, is a likeable one and whose character is developed nicely. His own wife went missing nine years before and although he has a girlfriend in this book, he is clearly still searching for answers - so much so that at the discovery of the body, he is afraid it might be that of his wife. I enjoyed reading about Grace as it leant a good sense of mystery to his background as well as making him feel a bit more human rather than a character created to keep the plot moving along.

The other members of Grace's team were also well developed and interesting and I could see how this group of people would be appealing to read about - their characters were developed well enough that it would be pleasurable to read about them in the other books in the series - I imagine their private lives are expanded on even more so as the series carries on.

As for the plot, this too was interesting, fast paced and enjoyable. I liked how the connections between the bodies, Abby and Ronnie were slowly played out; despite having several threads it wasn't complicated to follow and the revelations, although not a surprise when they eventually came, were also satisfying. I really liked the take on the 9/11 tragedy and seeing things from that perspective, and I thought that the author took a simple idea and developed it into a perfect thriller.

My only criticism would be that the events that unfold in this book tend to be a bit too much of a coincidence that did ruin the believability of the whole story. Both the women's bodies are discovered within days of each other even though they are at opposite sides of the world and the women in question have been dead at least a couple of years each. As well as that, Abby seems to be running from something that seems completely connected to the bodies at exactly the same time that the bodies are discovered. I think most books in this genre do a good job of making you believe such events could happen and can be based in reality, but the chain of events in this one made it impossible for me to fully consider the story as a realistic scenario. You definitely have to suspend belief - after all, how lucky would our police departments have to be to find all the clues all at once within a month of each other?

Aside from that, this is a classic thriller with lots of tension. It has a good mix of intrigue, great leading characters and a really, bloody good idea. I'd love to carry on reading about Detective Superintendents cases and finding out more about his private life as this book merely hints at Grace's very interesting missing wife - especially as the book ends on such a wonderful cliffhanger...

Summary: Enjoyable read