Prophecy

by Peter James

A young boy watches his mother die. A sadistic man dies in agony. Drunk students play with a Ouija board in a damp cellar. Can bricks and mortar retain imprints of the emotions experienced within them?

Frannie is delighted when a chance meeting with a handsome man and his son leads to a romance. The fact that the relationship is marred by gruesome tragedies, she dismisses as an unsettling coincidence. But eventually she can no longer ignore the fact that she is the only thing linking these horrible events. Is it a murderous practical joke?

Or worse...?

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Supernatural, Crime, Paranormal

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Peter James is a global bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 21 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 23 million copies to date and has been translated into 38 languages.

Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.

Reviews

[Yassemin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I JUST finished this book and I feel like I have to review it NOW. WOW WOW WOW is what sums it up for me. Absolutely superb book! I don't even know where to begin with starting to say how good I found this book! The pity is the author in question has taken to writing to crime now, I'm going to write to him myself and tell him to continue the horror stuff as he's so bloody good!

This book concerns spooky coincidences all linked to a ouiiji game back in 1988. The consequences of this are about to change lives forever.

I can honestly say I haven't been scared by ANY book at all pretty much in my life barring an R L Stine book I read when I was a kid. I've always loved Stephen King for example but never because of the scare factor as not even Salems lot had the ability to scare me.

This is definitely my first and I think I'm too chicken to repeat experiencing being scared. It resulted in heart pounding, sweaty palms and a feeling of being absolutely petrified all over a very simple, well thought out premise. The same won't be said for all people but it did it for me. Anyway just had my much needed cigarette and going to have another one, then maybe I'll be courageous enough to turn out the lights for bed tonight :)

PICK THIS BOOK UP! Its absolutely fantastic!!!

[Chloe McDougall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took me way too long to read this as i struggled to get into it
Interesting story but just not for me

[Mark Tilbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Peter's earlier stand alone thrillers that looks into supernatural topics such as the risks of using Ouija boards, and buildings/locations having memories of what has happened within them.

When Frannie meets Oliver and his son, Edward, little does she know that their meeting is about to set off a deadly chain of events. The book begins 400(ish) years ago with a very dark and violent prologue (- do not plan to eat anything whilst reading this book!) It took quite a while to discover what links the past with events that seemed to have brought Frannie and Oliver together, but then I understood why things happened like they did.

Peter has thought of some very original ways to kill off some of the characters - none of them would be considered nice ways to 'go.' I liked how everything was brought together towards the end of the book, but it seems as though Frannie's story doesn't end at the end of the book. If you read it, you'll understand what I mean.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book a full 5 stars because it was good. It did grab me from the start but I must admit the first chapter could have been absorbed later into the book as a short explanation by the related character concerned. Its a powerful chapter and would say keep reading and stick with it. Chapter 2 is similar I wonder where they both sat as it were with the story and eventually I did find myself thinking ah yes. It may be me but I wouldn't describe this as a horror story it certainly had bits that took you along nicely and once you got to the end I felt a sense of satisfaction and took in a sharp breath at reading the last paragraph. Peter James knows how to write a good story. Think it may be a bit too gentle for some but I enjoyed it could sleep at night and am looking forward to reading more of his work. I don't believe in spoilers hence no in depth story detail. I did at times feel like I was reading a modern day romance without the kissing ! Give it a read its a good gap filler if you are waiting for your favourite authors next novel.

[Danielle-Gemma💜 · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the brilliant things about Peter James is that even in a standalone novel you end up becoming enamoured with his characters and drawn into their world even if they aren’t likeable in the novel. Peter James has this innate ability to make everything in his books seem plausible, the impossible is now possible and the premise of this book is truly terrifying!

I kept saying to myself just one more chapter and then you just get on or go to bed but I just found it so hard to put down. This story was very unusual and not something I have come across previously, I really enjoyed it though and it kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending felt really in line with the whole tone of the story which I loved!

I would definitely recommend, and I am looking forward to reading more of his standalone books in the coming months 📚📚📚

[Barbara Elsborg · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Peter James's standalones and horror (sort of) this time, not a police thriller. I liked it very much. Starts with a bang that might put off some readers but keep going - the rest of the book is not like that! But the start is important. It's all to do with coincidence - is there such a thing, especially when they keep happening or are there other forces at play? Great tension, very fast moving - I read it in one sitting - and although there are some questions I'd have liked answered, it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.

[Knit Spirit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une séance de spiritisme qui semble anodine peut vite tourner au cauchemar lorsqu'elle se tient au mauvais endroit... Frannie va s'en rendre compte un peu (trop) tard...
Encore un Peter James plein de suspens et de surnaturel qui m'a fait passé un bon moment. Certains passages font dresser les petits cheveux de la nuque !
En bref : une juste de dose de suspens et de fantômes !

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! Never have truer words been said than "don't judge a book by its cover". What appears from the cover art and synopsis to be your run of the mill, ten-a-penny crime novel actually turns out to be a brilliantly written and well constructed supernatural thriller. I haven't read too many books based on the supernatural, only one Stephen King effort and the James Patterson books "Cradle And All" and "You've Been Warned" and this book is miles ahead of those ones.
This books opening chapter depicts a gruesome execution and is relentless from there on in. The book has many different layers that fit together seemlessly and what at first appears to be nothing more than a series of chance coincidences actually turns out to be something alot more sinister that reaches back hundreds of years.
The only negatives I could find in this book was the main characters apparent lack of emotion towards some of the many grusome deaths depicted in this book, especially when one of the characters nephew meets a very gruesome end. Also I found it a little hard to believe that pretty much every character in this book was so willing to accept the cause of the events that were happening as supernatural. But these are only very minor critisisms.
Also the Ouija board featured quite heavily in this book and I've always found the use of the Ouija in this manner a little perplexing, especially when you consider that the Ouija is a game which rights are owned by Hasbro. The same company that owns the rights to Transformers, Mr Potato Head and the US rights to Scrabble. But I can let it go as considering the Ouija's reputation I don't think this book would have been nearly as good as it was had the authour heavily relied on the Scrabble board instead of the Ouija board.
I can easily see this book being adapted for the screen and it would make a brilliant horror film, one scene alone describes a death very similar to. a scene in the film The Omen.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good book but not well paced, and not quite up to Peter James's usual 5* standards. The story line is excellent but the ending is very rushed, slightly confusing and the Epilogue leaves quite a few questions unanswered. The theme of numerology (patterns in numbers) was a good one and the book was psychologically scary and tense. The book does contain scenes of blood and guts, horror too, which are unusually graphic and memorable, more reminiscent of James Herbert rather than Peter James.

Just listened to it on Audible in 2023 having originally read it in 2014 and the ending is much clearer after listening to it a few times so I have now made this a 5* review now. It is probably Peter James's best horror book.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a couple of the Roy Grace novels and although I appreciated they were very well written, wasn't grabbed by them. So it was only chance that I picked up Prophecy in a charity shop when I needed something to read on my lunch break...
Wow! I was drawn in right from the start, and as the story built (and the general sense of dread with it) I found it more and more difficult to put down. This was much more a horror thriller than the more usual crime /psychological /police procedural thrillers more common these days and I loved it. I'll definitely be looking for more along these lines very soon!

[Cathy Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story and the paranormal twists in this Peter James book. It’s the first of his books that I’ve read but I would certainly read another.

I love when a book is set in the UK as the locations are more relatable and I personally like archeology so appreciated the main character and her passion.

Overall a great book with a well thought out plot!

[Bek Musicå · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death by red hot poker and a beheading within the first 14 pages. I knew I'd like this!
Didn't love the ending though.
How did Edward end up at the construction site? And channeling the newly dead priest!? Just a bit messy at the end.

[Art Boxman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping!!!

[Olutosin · Rating 3 out of 5]

One good thing I like and appreciate about this book is that despite all the deaths and tragedies, Francesca survived to live and tell the story. Does the dead stay dead is a question I remember asking myself the first time I thought I had seen my mother after so many years of her death, even though I know now how possible it is for the dead to visit the living either willingly or by summoning still the human reasoning capability is yet to comprehend and embrace such visit without being fearful.
Ignorantly seven heavily drunk university students embarked on a game that turned out to dish out to each of them a prophecy of death and tragedies. I am not a fan of paranormal novels but as for this I am happy I came across this novel and read same. It is an action-packed novel full of imaginary and detailed scenery.

[Jane Woodcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forgot how much I enjoy reading books by Peter James. Good plot, fast paced and quite twisty. Am now going to read another by him, hope it's as good.

[Rosy Ay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. There were a couple of quite creepy and disturbing bits. A good old-fashioned good V evil story. It is definitely a nostalgic throwback to the days of the omen, the exorcist, the Devil writes out et cetera, so it’s fairly predictable but still enjoyable. Bring a big spoon because this is a big top of Familia, comfortable, nostalgic horror telling.

[Stephen Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I began reading this book, I didn't like it much. Perhaps my initial dislike was just prejudice. One of the characters is a child called Edward, and I don't think that is really a child's name. Yes, as a child I knew other kids called Edward, but not many, and it makes me think of people like the late US senator Ted Kennedy.

I've also read books by Peter James before. He writes whodunits, featuring Detective Inspector Roy Grace of the Brighton police. But this wasn't a whodunit, it was more like a supernatural horror story along the same lines as The turn of the screw by Henry James.

Well, I've come across such things before. Phil Rickman started off writing supernatural horror stories like Candlenight, but has gradually drifted into the whodunit genre, and his exorcist-in-chief, Merrily Watkins, has turned into an amateur detective in his more recent books. Peter James seems to keep his genres more separate than that, and his exorcist has nothing in common with Detective Inspector Roy Grace.

I liked the story more as it went along, and it had occasional resemblances to some of the "supernatural thrillers" of Charles Williams, particularly his War in heaven.

This is not the sort of book one can say too much about without spoilers that give away the plot. Francesca (Frannie) Monsanto is an archaeologist working at the British Museum, and a chance meeting leads to the possibility of romance with a widower, whose young son, Edward, seems to have unpredictable moods. But the chance meeting seems to be more than pure chance, and "coincidences" seem to keep happening, including unpleasant things happening to Frannie's friends, until she thinks that there is a common thread linking them all.

I began the book not liking it much. A couple of the scenes seemed unnecessarily gruesome, and there are some plot holes, but in the end I thought it was a good read, and better than Peter James's detective stories. Not quite Charles Williams, though.

Another interesting, though minor, point about this book is that it was not listed in Good Reads at all, and the ISBN had no matches on any of the linked sites, like Amazon UK, and so I had to enter it from scratch. Yet it has been around for quite a while, having been first published in 1992, and in the current edition in 1999, and reissued in 2006.

[Jitka Jitulisko · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Seržant vytáhl pohrabáč, přistoupil k němu, uchopil dutý roh,který o kousek vyklouzl,opatrně vsunul doruda rozžhavený pohrabáč do jeho konce, jako by si zastrkával meč do pochvy, pak ho vpravil a pevně a nemilosrdně zatlačil. Ozvalo se ostré zasyčení a bublání, jak se pálila měkká sliznice rekta, a zároveň bylo cítit sladký pach spáleného masa. „


Frannie, mladá svobodná archeoložka. Dívka, která se točí ve své práci a je na ni náležitě hrdá. Kamarádky ji požádá, zda by jí mohla vyzvednout kontrabas. Frannie souhlasí. Původně má jet taxikem, ale nechce se jí utrácet, tak se rozhodne jet dopravou. Kontrabas je sice neforemný, ale celkem lehký. Ve vlaku potká pohledného muže Olivera, který ji nabídne pomoc. Je s ním jeho syn Edward, oba ji zaujmou a svým způsobem okouzlí. Avšak nějakou hlubší debatu nezavedou a každý se rozchází svou cestou.

Její život jde dál. Celá napjatá jde k zubaři. Tam v čekárně při zvedání časopisu, z hromádky vyklouzne jiný a otevře se na straně s inzeráty. Ze záhadného popudu a zvědavosti ho začne pročítat… Celá ohromená kouká na inzerát, kde muž vyzývá ženu s kontrabasem, co byla na nádraží, zda by se mu ozvala.

Vztah těchto dvou může začít. Avšak je provázen nespočetným množstvím nehod, neštěstí, možná náhod. Zjistí, že se již viděli o několik let dříve. Frannie vše co se děje kolem nechápe. Neví, jestli nepřichází o rozum, avšak nedokáže najít souvislosti a důvody k tomu proč a co vlastně se to kolem ní děje.

Edward je velice zvláštní chlapec. Má tvář anděla, je milý a příjemný společník. Jenže upadá do prapodivných stavů mlčenlivosti a je schopen jakoby v transu mluvit latinsky. Frennie je z něj na rozpacích. Neví co si má z tohoto jeho chování a jejich změn vyvodit. Občas jí přepadne strach, že se dostala do nějakého kruhu, zlého, bojí se.


„Podívala se na Olivera a všimla si, že se mu na tváři objevil zvláštní poděšený výraz, když na syna pohlédl. Stín, který se mu mihl v očích, byl plný strachu. Otočila se k Edwardovi, ale jediné, co viděla, byl důvěřivý obličejík malého chlapečka, který našel novou kamarádku.“


Celá kniha je psaná velice čtivě, troufám si říct, že byla lepší než Srdíčko. Provází Vás tu napětí a děj graduje. V celém počátečním „chaosu je řád“. Nitky osudu se střetávají v jasný obraz.

Chvílemi mi evokovala sérii filmů Nezvratný osud. Byly zde pasáže, které by slabšímu jedinci mohli obrátit žaludek. Gradace děje dokázala chvílemi to, že Vám přeběhl mráz po zádech. Takže pokud se rádi bojíte a věříte, že mezi námi je i něco nadpřirozeného, tak Vás tato kniha velice ráda uvítá a ponese na vlně napjaté atmosféry a strašidelných situacích.

Celkově tedy rozhodně doporučuji, avšak s varováním – čtení před spaním může způsobit noční můry ;)


„Non omnis moriar. Já však docela nezemřu.“

[David Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter James has been around for quite a while, but I hadn’t heard of him until recently when I was given this particular book by someone who thought it was up my street.

And I’m glad they did, because it is!

At the heart of the story is a young archaeologist who finds herself at the centre of a series of inexplicable events that leave her in fear of either her sanity or her life – or possibly both.

When young Frannie Monsanto bumps into a handsome man and his son at a railway station, little does she suspect that her life is about to change for good. But is it just coincidence that their paths cross that day, or is there something more sinister at work?

As Frannie begins to unravel the secrets that lie in his family's past, her nerve and her desire are put to the test. She must also look into her own past and, ultimately, face the horror that she has unleashed upon those she loves the most.

“Prophesy” is a supernatural thriller that keeps the reader gripped from the very beginning. There is no let-up in the pace of the book, and you can see why he is now writing crime novels. There are hints and clues to what is going on, but they are very subtle.

A really good book from a good writer.

[Mark Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like his brilliant Roy Grace series, this book is intriguing like all his other books, and in this instance, dealing with the subjects of lineage, satanic possession and numeracy. The author achieves this by utilizing hardboiled noir and bonkbuster techniques in his writing to keep you hooked. The characters he has created are well crafted and sympathetic, which makes you really want to invest yourself and get to know them. To the point where you just cant put his books down. They read like film scripts sometimes, something the author knows a lot about, which makes it such easy and entertaining reading, full of plot twists, turns and cliff hangers. Not for the faint hearted though. In the first hundred pages, a man is disemboweled by a hot poker, a young boy sees his mother decapitated in a car crash and then his friend has three fingers cut off in a car door. Highly recommended though!

[Olga HL · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Prophecy by Peter James is a great mystical thriller!

A lot of mysticism, seance, an evil spirit, a creepy boy, numerology, archeology, exorcism, strange coincidences, mysterious and terrible deaths and, of course, mysteries from the deep past. You will feel goosebumps. The book is atmospheric, attracts instantly and easy to read. For sure I will continue my acquaintance with the books of this author.

The novel captivates with an impressive beginning – Gothic tortures, then it becomes a sentimental novel, then like The Omen.

I would give the book 5 stars if the end wouldn’t be too fast. I wanted obstacles and tense confrontation. But what I liked about the end that it stayed open judging by the last lines…

I will recommend the book for those who like all about spirits and demonic possession.

[Rachael Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a real page-turner.

Loved James's writing style, and the plot was really interesting.

Some of James's character were a tiny bit cliche, but this was acceptable because he breathed life into them well enough and they all interacted well. Frannie was a good well-rounded protagonist, and her rapport with Oliver was just right. James sort of kept Oliver open as a bit of a wild card, I found, which kept me guessing.

Would definitely recommend for an entertaining read.

Oh and don't pay attention to the strange cover, I almost didn't buy the book on the basis that the cover didn't really appeal to me or give a lot away about the book. Not sure what the thought process was behind that.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non Omnis Moriar
I shall not die

1652 - An evil man dies in agony...

1988 - a small boy watches his mother killed by a car... and a bunch of students spook themselves silly in a City basement.

1991 - By chance Frannie meets Oliver & Edward Halkin

Random events? At first it would appear so but terrible consequences arise from these events....events that leave a number of people maimed...& even dead.

Very gripping and well worth reading. I particularly loved the messages from the Ouija board & the epilogue left me with a very satisfied smile (not sure what that says about me!)

[Libby Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gripping in parts especially the beginning, this is a story about Frannie, an archaeologist. She falls in love with Lord Sherfield who has a wierd son who imagines accidents that come true. Frannie discovers that herself and six other student friends have woken the spirit of an evil Marquis connected to her boyfriends family. The story catalogues a series of horrific accidents and deaths and left me hoping that Frannie would die too or at least be maimed... The ending was far too chocolate box for me and would have scored higher if it had been unpredictable.

[Lesbaxby · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a load of horse shit, social services would be involved here - loved it when the vile nonce got a poker shoved up his arse, the female character is clearly a gold digger who puts out early on. The other students were a waste of space and reached suitable endings - good but not that good glad I only paid 1 quid for this from a charity shop I'd have been gutted if I paid full price.

[Ruth Slavid · Rating 2 out of 5]

I borrowed this from the library because I like his detective stories. Didn't realise this was going to be horror/ supernatural claptrap. Highly readable so well crafted, but what tosh!

[Maria Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

As always Peter James delivers a great read.

[Soho_Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter James’ novels have been improving as they go, with the stories becoming more original and his characters better drawn. “Prophecy” felt like both a forward and a backward step in some ways, as whilst the story and some of the set pieces were very good, the characterisation seemed to lose a little from the previous novel I’d read.

The novel starts with disaster, as an evil man is killed by having a red-hot poker inserted into his body and then, over 300 years later, a young boy and his father are in the wrong place to see his mother killed in a road accident that leaves her decapitated. A few years later, the two of them meet Frannie, a researcher at the British Museum and a relationship starts.

As things progress, it seems that Frannie and the father, Oliver, have lives linked by seeming coincidences. It transpires they had met before and the café where she once worked had a link to Oliver’s titled family and a Ouija session she had once held there with some university friends has released some evil stored in the walls which has had an impact on Oliver’s son, Edward and their time together is interspersed with incidents and accidents.

Whilst some of the plot felt like a bit of a reach, if nicely explained by the whole plot revolving around coincidences, some of the scenes were different to what Peter James has written previously. Some of the deaths are far more detailed and visceral in description than I’d seen in his writing in earlier novels. The opening scene with the poker and a couple later on were particularly nasty and felt like a step in a different direction for James’ writing.

However, I didn’t feel that the main characters were as well drawn as in the previous novel I’d read, “Twilight”. The focus was very much on the story and the coincidences that link the people, more than the people themselves. We find out very little about Frannie and Oliver’s previous lives, which seemed largely incidental and whilst this kept the pace of the writing high as they moved from one situation to another seemingly without break and everything felt to be happening far too close together.

That isn’t to say that “Prophecy” wasn’t a good read and had I read it prior to reading “Twilight”, which was the best of his pre-Grace novels I’ve read so far, I might have felt better about it. This is still a good novel, but it has a few gaps in characterisation that the previous novel seemed to have improved upon and that leaves a slight hole, but this is very plot driven and visceral, so regardless of the minor limitations, the horror novel fan in me did still enjoy it.

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Australia, we solved our bogeyman problem by not building houses with cellars or basements.

Yes it's true. If you asked an Aussie builder to add a basement to your new house, he'd think you had kangaroos in your top paddock (i.e. the workers are on strike in the brain department). I digress. Anyway, when I was young, my mother told me the green lumps that flew out your nose when you sneezed were “bogeys” so a bogeyman must have been a 6 foot tall walking/talking piece of snot. Not very scary. Shit! I'm still digressing! Sorry. Anyhoo, somehow, Peter James succeeded in dreaming up a scary bogeyman.

I found this book for sale for just $2 – in the small town of Killarney (pop. 762) – at a little, tiny cafe no less. I wasn't expecting much. Boy was I wrong. Peter James is probably more famous as a producer of some fine movies, but for me, his vivid writing skills make him one of the better authors I have come across. His style is engaging and his characters are interesting. His trick is to start the action from the first chapter. I've often wondered what it's like to have a red hot poker pushed up your poo chute – well actually I suppose that's not something your average, normal person wonders about, but there you go. That's his opening chapter. How could you not want to read on? Keep that "backside barbecue" in mind as you progress through the book.

Set in not-so-merry old England, it documents the troubles of poor Francesca, who seems to have a few too many coincidental deaths and maiming in her circle of friends. (In fact if I were Franny's friend, I'd run and hide in the cellar – that I don't have.) Is it young Edward the little instant family that comes with Oliver, her new hunky boyfriend, who's causing all this mayhem? Eddy is one strange kid. It must be him. Or not.

I think having so much skill as a movie producer, has given this author the ability to paint a very believable, and spooky, image in your mind of what's going on. His character and scene descriptions are just excellent. Not a bad book to park your eyes in front of for a few hours.

Lessons learned from this book: Never go down an old cellar (that we don't have) to play with Ouija board. No good will come of it.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the more interesting Peter James books because it was written and published towards the end of his early career, and so while he’s not quite the writer that I know and love today, he’s a lot more skilled than he was when he first started out.

It’s also from before he started work on the Roy Grace series, and so it’s not in the crime genre like you might expect if you’ve read some of his more recent stuff. Instead, it’s a fairly sophisticated thriller that’s reminiscent of the recent breed of bestsellers that we’ve seen, but written thirty years before. In fact, the book is almost as old as I am.

Prophecy is surprisingly brutal at times, and I can’t complain about that. James doesn’t write gore and viscera too often, but when he does, he always does a good job of it. There’s a line on the cover that describes him as Britain’s answer to Stephen King and Michael Crichton, but if anything, his writing here reminds me of James Herbert. But I guess you can’t be Britain’s answer to James Herbert, considering he was also British.

In fact, the very first scene here (which functions as a prologue) involves someone getting a red hot poker shoved up where the sun doesn’t shine. This is referenced again later on, when we’re told that it was a way of killing someone without leaving a mark on them. I’m not convinced that would actually work, because I’m pretty sure a red hot poker would leave a little anal detritus, especially given that it pierced the internal organs. They’d leak out like meat exploding from a sausage.

Still, even though there’s a lot of good stuff here, I’m not sure whether I’d specifically recommend it unless you’re a Peter James fan who wants to read some more of his work. If you’re new to him then you’re going to want to check out either the Roy Grace crime books or the Cold Hill horror novels, just because they’re more recent and more polished. Otherwise, this makes for a good starter for further exploration.