The first of crime writer Peter James' Roy Grace novels, Dead Simple is a riveting, rocketing thriller that tells its own engrossing, self-contained story and also sets the stage for the longer story arcs of the franchise to come. DS Roy Grace is a fairly prototypical tainted hero for the genre; a gruff hard-drinker with a host of his own demons and a rather brillaint flair for unravelling fiendish cases. No great marks for originality, then - but when it's done this well, it doesn't matter all that much.

The crime here centres around a stag-night prank gone wrong. The stag in question is swimmingly drunk when he's thrown into a coffin and buried - which seems a bit extreme, but still ... his friends intend to come and haul him out when he's had a couple of hours underground, but things take a turn for the worse when all four are found dead. Now the problem is two-fold; who killed the men, and where on earth is the man in the coffin buried, seeing as the only people who know are on their way to the mortuary?

It's a great - if slightly far-fetched - set-up, and although the characters tick all the usual boxes, they work, and they keep you guessing.

The Roy Grace novels are set in and around Brighton, and the author's knowledge of the city shines through - he also has a neat touch for creating atmosphere, and there's a real sense of place here. All in all, this manages to stay just the right side of formulaic, throwing in enough twists and suprises, and a decent pay-off to boot. Best of all, there are another seven books following this one - so if you liked it, you're in for a treat.