Description /Buy link takes you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.
Peter James was born in Brighton to the former glove maker for the queen. James was admitted at Charterhouse school and later on attended Ravensbourne Film School. While attending the Ravensbourne Film School, Peter James worked as a house cleaner for Orson Welles. Later on, he spent some years working as a film producer and screenwriter in America. However, he had first to begin as a goofer before eventually becoming a writer. Currently, Peter James divides his time between his apartment in Nottingham Hill, which is located in London, and his country home which is located in Brighton, Sussex. James’s interest includes science, criminology and the paranormal. Food and wine are also something that fascinates him as well. Currently, Peter James pens a column for the Sussex life magazine.
Get notified when Peter James releases a new book at BookNotification.com.
Order of Roy Grace Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dead Simple | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Looking Good Dead | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Not Dead Enough | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Dead Man's Footsteps | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | Dead Tomorrow | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | Dead Like You | 2010 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | Dead Man's Grip | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | Not Dead Yet | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | Dead Man's Time | 2013 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | Want You Dead | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | You Are Dead | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
| 12 | Love You Dead | 2016 | Description / Buy | |
| 13 | Need You Dead | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 14 | Dead If You Don't | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
| 15 | Dead at First Sight | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 16 | Find Them Dead | 2020 | Description / Buy | |
| 17 | Left You Dead | 2021 | Description / Buy | |
| 18 | Picture You Dead | 2022 | Description / Buy | |
| 19 | Stop Them Dead | 2023 | Description / Buy |
Order of Roy Grace Short Stories/Novellas Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Footloose (Short Story) | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Wish You Were Dead | 2021 | Description / Buy |
Order of Cold Hill Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The House on Cold Hill | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Secret of Cold Hill | 2019 | Description / Buy |
Order of Max Flynn Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dead Letter Drop | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Atom Bomb Angel | 1983 | Description / Buy |
Order of Peter James Standalone Novels
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billionaire | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Biggles The Storybook (Short Story) | 1986 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Possession | 1988 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Dreamer | 1989 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | Sweet Heart | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | Twilight | 1991 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | Prophecy | 1992 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | Host | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | Alchemist | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | Getting Wired! (Short Story) | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | The Truth | 1997 | Description / Buy | |
| 12 | Denial | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
| 13 | Faith | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
| 14 | Perfect People | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
| 15 | Absolute Proof | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 16 | I Follow You | 2020 | Description / Buy |
Order of Peter James Short Story Collections
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Twist of the Knife | 2014 | Description / Buy |
Order of Peter James Short Stories/Novellas
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Perfect Murder (Short Story) | 2010 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Christmas is for the Kids (Short Story) | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | In the Nick of Time (Short Story) | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Footloose (Short Story) | 2019 | Description / Buy |
Order of The MatchUp Collection Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honor & ... | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Deserves to Be Dead (Short Story) | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Getaway (Short Story) | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Midnight Flame (Short Story) | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | Short Story (Short Story) | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | Past Prologue (Short Story) | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | Faking a Murderer | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | Dig Here (Short Story) | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | Taking the Veil (Short Story) | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | Rambo on Their Minds (Short Story) | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | Footloose (Short Story) | 2019 | Description / Buy |
Order of Peter James Non-Fiction Books
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Death Comes Knocking | 2016 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Babes In The Wood | 2020 | Description / Buy |
Peter James Anthologies
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giant Book of Fantasy Tales | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 7 | 2010 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Sounds Of Crime | 2010 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | No Rest for the Dead | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | Venice Noir | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | The Killer Cookbook | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | OxCrimes: 27 Killer Stories from the Cream of Crimewriters | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | FaceOff | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | MatchUp | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | Ten Year Stretch | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | Afraid of the Shadows | 2021 | Description / Buy |
As well as success writing and producing films, Peter James branched out into the realm of crime fiction, releasing his first novel, Dead Letter Drop, in 1981. He followed that up with another 15 novels before creating his most famous character, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. Roy Grace has since gone on to feature in 11 novels at the time of writing, with his debut coming in the 2005 release Dead Simple. The Roy Grace series of novels has gained Peter James international success, with awards for the books coming from France, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. Since writing the Roy Grace series, James has also released other novels away from the character of Roy Grace, The Perfect Murder, Perfect People and The House on Cold Hill. Two of James’ books have also been turned into plays, with The Perfect Murder being the first to be adapted in 2014 and Dead Simple, the first book in the Roy Grace series, being the latest to tour the UK in 2015.
Outside of writing, James does a lot of work for charity, including a lot of work on crime prevention in his home city of Brighton, working with Crimestoppers and Neighbourhood Watch as a patron for the Sussex area. James is proud of his Brighton heritage, with many of his novels set there, and he is.
James also happens to be a self-confessed petrol head. He has owned numerous fast cars throughout the years including Brabus Mercedes-Benz, 4 Aston Martin, AMG Mercedes Benz, two classic Jaguars and a Bentley Continental GT. Peter James has an international racing license, which he has used to compete in the Britcar series in a Toledo and a Ford Accord. Currently, Peter James races three historical cars together with his BMW 1800. His co-driver is one Steve Soper. The team of Steve Soper and Peter James finished 10th overall during the St. Mary’s Trophy. At the moment, Peter James has penned down more than 35 novels including the bestselling novel which features the protagonist, Superintendent Roy Grace. The novels have sold more than 18 million copies throughout the world and have even given even more than 11 Sunday Times number one slots.
The books have also attained the number one slot in countries such as France, Germany, Canada, and Russia. James is also a New York Times best-selling author. Peter James novels have been translated into 37 different languages. In the United Kingdom and the United States, MacMillan Publishers publish his books. In the year 1993, renowned publishers, Penguin Books published James book, Host on two floppy disks. The book was termed as the first electronic novel in the world. James has also penned down supernatural thrillers, science-based thrillers, spy fiction and children’s novel.
Peter James Awards
Peter James is the recipient of various literary awards and remains one of the most decorated writers and producer of this generation. Some of the awards that he has received include Sounds of Crime, Galaxy British Books, Barry Award, Wellcome Trust Books, Sussex Police Award, WHSmith Award and many others.
Peter James Books into Movies
Peter James, The Perfect Murder, a novella remained for more than 15 weeks at the number one spot. The Perfect Murder was later adapted into a stage play by Shaun McKenna, which became a smash-hit in the year 2014. Dead Simple is James’s second adaptation, which was once again done by Shaun McKenna. Currently, the novel is in the development stage for television and film. With that said, Peter James has been involved in more than 26 movies in either writer or production roles. Films, where Peter James has been credited, include The Neptune Factor, The Blockhouse, Blue Blood, Spanish Fly, A Different Loyalty and The Statement.
Best Peter James Books
Dead Simple: Dead Simple begins during the ending hours of a stag party. The men have been celebrating Michael’s upcoming wedding to one Ashley, which was expected to take place a few days later. The group has known each other for so many years, thus whenever each of them marries, they plan practical jokes and even get exceedingly drunk. Michael has been the mastermind behind some of the groups malicious jokes and all of his friends are now looking forward to a payback. Armed with coffins and a breathing tube, the group have already prepared the hole in which Michael was going his night resting. Because they are not foolish, they are going to leave behind a porn magazine, a flashlight and also a walkie-talkie as well before tightening the lid.
As expected, things do not turn out as expected after they had buried their longtime friend. Grace is a man who is thirty-nine years of age and is still mourning the passing of his wife more than nine years ago. With that said, Dead Simple is an intricate and exciting read. The storyline is full of numerous plot twists that will keep the reader entertained.
Peter James F.A.Q.
Q: What nationality is author Peter James?
A: The author Peter James is English. He was born in Brighton.
When Does The Next Peter James book come out?
Peter James doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Stop Them Dead and was released on September, 28th 2023. It is the newest book in the Roy Grace Series.