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Roy Grace #17.5
Wish You Were Dead
Wish You Were Dead is a Quick Read short story from bestselling author Peter James.
Roy Grace and his family have left Sussex behind for a week’s holiday in France. The website promised a grand house, but when they arrive the place is very different from the pictures. And it soon becomes clear that their holiday nightmare is only just beginning.
An old enemy of Roy, a lowlife criminal he had put behind bars, is now out of jail – and out for revenge. He knows where Roy and his family have gone on holiday. Of course he does. He’s been hacking their emails – and they are in the perfect spot for him to pay Roy back . . .
Roy Grace and his family have left Sussex behind for a week’s holiday in France. The website promised a grand house, but when they arrive the place is very different from the pictures. And it soon becomes clear that their holiday nightmare is only just beginning.
An old enemy of Roy, a lowlife criminal he had put behind bars, is now out of jail – and out for revenge. He knows where Roy and his family have gone on holiday. Of course he does. He’s been hacking their emails – and they are in the perfect spot for him to pay Roy back . . .
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
171 people are currently reading
1063 people want to read
About the author
Peter James
244 books3,648 followersPeter 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 328 reviews
June 21, 2021
Short book, short pages, definitely a quick read. A bizarre little book, very amateur in style, quite far fetched. Not like the usual Peter James at all. Very odd.
July 25, 2021
Peter James is one of my favourite authors and I love the Roy Grace series but this short story was a little too average for my liking. Often short stories lack the character strength of full length novels for obvious reasons but with the main characters already established favourites the weak story must be held to blame in this one.
The Grace family are on well deserved week’s holiday in France to escape the pressures of work. On arrival they find that the accommodation is far from the pictures. The website promised a grand house, but that is far from the case and the holiday is about to get worse. A criminal that Roy helped put in prison is now released and looking for revenge. Having hacked Roy’s email account he is fully aware of their holiday location and is out for retribution.
Great characters that I will continue to follow in the full length novels but this is a very weak story.
The Grace family are on well deserved week’s holiday in France to escape the pressures of work. On arrival they find that the accommodation is far from the pictures. The website promised a grand house, but that is far from the case and the holiday is about to get worse. A criminal that Roy helped put in prison is now released and looking for revenge. Having hacked Roy’s email account he is fully aware of their holiday location and is out for retribution.
Great characters that I will continue to follow in the full length novels but this is a very weak story.
August 3, 2025
Wish You Were Dead is a short story featuring Roy Grace and his family. The story itself is fairly predictable but it didn't take away from me enjoying it. Peter James is a great writer and delivers here a great addition to Grace series.
March 8, 2024
Although I have never read any of the Roy Grace series, I picked this up as part of the quick reads books. I found it easy enough to follow without any background on the characters.
This short story centres around the Grace family taking a family holiday to France where the strange goings on bring one of Roy’s old cases back into the present
This short story centres around the Grace family taking a family holiday to France where the strange goings on bring one of Roy’s old cases back into the present
February 7, 2024
Why all the negative reviews? I really enjoyed this one was a change for the Grace family to have some time in France and a chance to read the first short story of this author hope they manage to include this in the series in the future
April 10, 2023
That was over way too quickly. Addictive from start to finish. Roy may be on holiday however when something does not feel right he could never and should not stop being a detective.
June 25, 2021
So pleased the likes of Peter James make an effort to support ‘quick reads’.
Short stories are often hard to gauge if you’re used to novels and harder to quantify in terms of impact and value.
However, through the use of ‘quick reads’ many more people have been opened up to the worth of reading and qualities books bring to stimulate the imagination. In addition where a book is a daunting prospect for a novice reader a ‘quick read’ can hit the mark.
Peter James has lent his gem of a detective, to fashion a murderous tale around the dangers for police officers even when off duty. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is the star of many of the author’s novels and his situation and back story are well suited to bring chaos from his past to threaten his holiday and whole family on vacation in France.
I loved the morgue opening and the dark humour, son Bruno, brings to the sense of an unfolding “biblical” drama.
When the family, beset by poor directions, terrible weather and darkness falling, turn up at their dream destination all is not what it seems. Tired, and late after ferry delays, weak in spirit and fatigued due to lack of food they feel they will just rest and re-assess the situation in the morning.
Unfortunately the poorly kept chateau holds more mysteries and threats beyond the sinister decor and mangy pets.
But sometimes, the morning never comes and as Bruno says from his reading: ‘the most dangerous time to meet unexpected death is on holiday’.
Well done Peter James for producing a credible and entertaining story packed with threat and tension. Thank you for continuing in your support to The Reading Agency, and giving us new insights into Grace and his wider world.
Short stories are often hard to gauge if you’re used to novels and harder to quantify in terms of impact and value.
However, through the use of ‘quick reads’ many more people have been opened up to the worth of reading and qualities books bring to stimulate the imagination. In addition where a book is a daunting prospect for a novice reader a ‘quick read’ can hit the mark.
Peter James has lent his gem of a detective, to fashion a murderous tale around the dangers for police officers even when off duty. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is the star of many of the author’s novels and his situation and back story are well suited to bring chaos from his past to threaten his holiday and whole family on vacation in France.
I loved the morgue opening and the dark humour, son Bruno, brings to the sense of an unfolding “biblical” drama.
When the family, beset by poor directions, terrible weather and darkness falling, turn up at their dream destination all is not what it seems. Tired, and late after ferry delays, weak in spirit and fatigued due to lack of food they feel they will just rest and re-assess the situation in the morning.
Unfortunately the poorly kept chateau holds more mysteries and threats beyond the sinister decor and mangy pets.
But sometimes, the morning never comes and as Bruno says from his reading: ‘the most dangerous time to meet unexpected death is on holiday’.
Well done Peter James for producing a credible and entertaining story packed with threat and tension. Thank you for continuing in your support to The Reading Agency, and giving us new insights into Grace and his wider world.
May 21, 2021
This is one of the titles in this years Reading Agency quick reads list of books. I love these books especially for anyone that struggles to get into their reading mojo as it does what it says on the title It's quick. Shorter books can also help build up that love of reading or fill a gap for those with not much time.
This itself is a very quick paced thriller taking place overnight as Grace's nanny's boyfriend is missing, the hotel owners are acting strange, the car stops working, so the lights and the tenseness ramps up on every page. You won;t learn much more about Grace himself and t doesn't move forward any of the plotlines from the main books but it's a bit of scary fun to pass a wet afternoon (seriously it's rained nearly every day in May what else can we do??). If you've not read any of the Roy Grace books it's also a nice little introduction.
This itself is a very quick paced thriller taking place overnight as Grace's nanny's boyfriend is missing, the hotel owners are acting strange, the car stops working, so the lights and the tenseness ramps up on every page. You won;t learn much more about Grace himself and t doesn't move forward any of the plotlines from the main books but it's a bit of scary fun to pass a wet afternoon (seriously it's rained nearly every day in May what else can we do??). If you've not read any of the Roy Grace books it's also a nice little introduction.
July 7, 2021
A good friend of mine told me this read like a students first attempt at writing, and at first I disagreed with her, until about 85 pages in!
Why the 4 stars then? Because it was immense fun, lol. I loved the first 85 pages, and genuinely thought this was heading for perfection, when suddenly silliness turned into stupidity :)
That being said, this is well worth a read.
Great fun....
4 stars 😁🤣😁
Why the 4 stars then? Because it was immense fun, lol. I loved the first 85 pages, and genuinely thought this was heading for perfection, when suddenly silliness turned into stupidity :)
That being said, this is well worth a read.
Great fun....
4 stars 😁🤣😁
April 20, 2022
Not a bad little novella from Peter James to pass the time before #18 is out in September. There were copious amounts of suspense for such a short read and it was nice to see the characters out of their usual setting. I think this should definitely be #16.5 though as I was pretty shocked to be reading about a certain someone who is no longer with us after #17!! (IYKYK).
June 29, 2021
These little Quick Read books are great if you want a short read or as an introduction to an Author.
Wish You Were Dead is a short story and part of the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace book series.
Roy Grace and his family go on a week's holiday in France and well let's just say it's not a Dream Holiday. I can't say to much as it will give the game away.
I enjoyed this book and I'm giving it three stars
Wish You Were Dead is a short story and part of the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace book series.
Roy Grace and his family go on a week's holiday in France and well let's just say it's not a Dream Holiday. I can't say to much as it will give the game away.
I enjoyed this book and I'm giving it three stars
September 28, 2022
A Detective Roy Grace novella - 2.5 stars
This book is not at all to the standard of the Roy Grace regular novels...but it was still kind of fun and I do love Peter James so I can't give it a crappy review! (but I wouldn't recommend it - sorry)
This book is not at all to the standard of the Roy Grace regular novels...but it was still kind of fun and I do love Peter James so I can't give it a crappy review! (but I wouldn't recommend it - sorry)
February 18, 2024
For a book that is only 124 pages this was really good! Good story , nice and tense!
December 12, 2024
The story starts with Debbie a nosy cleaner in a mortuary where she can sneak a look at the ledger in order to obtain information about details of her boss Cleo Grace's holiday destination for a dodgy friend of her husband for £500 cash in hand a nice little earner.
Detective Superintendent Roy Grace along with his wife Cleo who is five months pregnant, their son Bruno and his brother Noah and also Kaitlynn their twenty-eight year old nanny who was also a friend of the family were on a mission by car to start their much longed for holiday in a French chateau for a week's holiday which had stunning reviews on TripAdvisor.
Jack Alexander a Detective Sergeant on Roy's team was also to join them at the chateau but had to finish a work related case in Paris and Jack was also the boyfriend of their nanny Kaitlynn so it was going to be a free holiday for him and he would love to get to know Roy outside of work and pick his brains about policing in order to advance himself in the force.
There is an exasparating journey by car to finally locate the chateau which does not look like anything they had seen online. Monique and Vicomtesse her husband who is wheelchair bound sternly greeted them as they arrived rather late due to getting lost on the way.
When they all settled down they kept trying desperately to get in touch with Jack via thier mobiles as Jack still hadn't arrived and his car was nowhere to be seen nor was any other car on the grounds outside the chateau. They asked to use the landline but their hosts told them that the phone line was down due to the current storm.
Little did they know that their holiday is going to become a living nightmare as someone from the past is out for revenge.
Detective Superintendent Roy Grace along with his wife Cleo who is five months pregnant, their son Bruno and his brother Noah and also Kaitlynn their twenty-eight year old nanny who was also a friend of the family were on a mission by car to start their much longed for holiday in a French chateau for a week's holiday which had stunning reviews on TripAdvisor.
Jack Alexander a Detective Sergeant on Roy's team was also to join them at the chateau but had to finish a work related case in Paris and Jack was also the boyfriend of their nanny Kaitlynn so it was going to be a free holiday for him and he would love to get to know Roy outside of work and pick his brains about policing in order to advance himself in the force.
There is an exasparating journey by car to finally locate the chateau which does not look like anything they had seen online. Monique and Vicomtesse her husband who is wheelchair bound sternly greeted them as they arrived rather late due to getting lost on the way.
When they all settled down they kept trying desperately to get in touch with Jack via thier mobiles as Jack still hadn't arrived and his car was nowhere to be seen nor was any other car on the grounds outside the chateau. They asked to use the landline but their hosts told them that the phone line was down due to the current storm.
Little did they know that their holiday is going to become a living nightmare as someone from the past is out for revenge.
October 1, 2025
4 🌟
It's the first book I've ever read from Peter James. I don't usually read anything that has a police officer in it but I found it on sale in my local bookstore and I've been in a slump for a while now so I figured it wouldn't hurt to read this one since it's so short and the letters were really big. No regrets.
The story was really fast-paced and entertaining. I didn't know any of the characters but all the characters were introduced properly that I didn't feel like there was a need to backtrack to the other books just to get the plot. It's straightforward, intense, and just a really fun read. Finished it in 2 hours.
I will recommend this book to other people for sure 😁
It's the first book I've ever read from Peter James. I don't usually read anything that has a police officer in it but I found it on sale in my local bookstore and I've been in a slump for a while now so I figured it wouldn't hurt to read this one since it's so short and the letters were really big. No regrets.
The story was really fast-paced and entertaining. I didn't know any of the characters but all the characters were introduced properly that I didn't feel like there was a need to backtrack to the other books just to get the plot. It's straightforward, intense, and just a really fun read. Finished it in 2 hours.
I will recommend this book to other people for sure 😁
November 7, 2025
I read 'The Perfect Murder' by Peter James first & really enjoyed it.... it was one of those books that you still think about a couple of days later. I was hoping for the same feeling from this book but unfortunately I didn't find this one as intriguing. It was a nice, easy read & I enjoy the style of writing but the storyline itself wasn't overly exciting.
October 27, 2025
*3.5*
August 30, 2022
I always enjoy these 'Quick Reads' books.
Another good read by Peter James. I look forward to reading more in his Roy Grace series.
Another good read by Peter James. I look forward to reading more in his Roy Grace series.
June 14, 2021
I've only read the first couple full-length novels in this series, but I really like it. I couldn't resist reading this Quick Read story even though I've missed a lot that happened before. I enjoyed this novella a lot and am glad I read it. There is some fairly violent scenes, but loved see Roy Grace and his family on a vacation that goes VERY wrong. For a shorter story, there is a lot of suspense that builds up and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. As Roy says in the book, it was a "holiday to die for." I recommend this to both new and returning readers of this series.
June 8, 2021
This is the third book I’ve read in the current Quick Reads list, and sadly to say I was thoroughly disappointed.
Whilst the concept is good, and the first few pages were gripping, ultimately I found the dialogue to be very stilted and immature, and the general plot quite ridiculous. There are, without question, limitations on what you can do with a shorter story, but this felt needlessly repetitive and patronizing and had no “oomph” behind it at all.
Maybe I’d feel differently if I’d read anything featuring Roy Grace before, but I have to admit, this has completely put me off. Very monotonous, cliched and bland.
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December 14, 2022
Two cons just out of prison get revenge on the cop who sent them down.
An enjoyable read, my only bone of contention is the appearance of a character who died in the previous book.
An enjoyable read, my only bone of contention is the appearance of a character who died in the previous book.
July 3, 2021
Like many of us, I've just about come to accept, if not particularly like that the internet knows more about me than I do. Goodreads, for example, knows my reading tastes pretty well now and never hesitates to recommend a load more books that are similar to one that I've given a good review for - which isn't necessarily something I need to see when the likes of Netgalley, Booksirens and various Facebook groups are all doing the exact same thing. And speaking of Facebook, I've come to accept that I sometimes miss updates from my friends because my news feed is full of posts about books, caravan holidays and outdoor swimming.
But even I had to do a double-take when an email from Amazon arrived, that specifically recommended a short story (of 97 pages length) by Peter James (one of my favourite authors) precisely at a time when my next reading challenge was to 'read a book with less than 100 pages'. How the hell did it know??
Whatever, I downloaded it immediately and the first thing I noticed was that it had been written for a programme called 'Quick Reads'. This is something that had passed me by, but started as long ago as 2006 with the aim of providing easy reading for adults who either struggled with reading or, for various other life-centred reasons, do not regularly read for pleasure. So far, there have been six new titles published in 2021 and other authors that have signed up to the scheme include Ian Rankin - another of my favourites - Anne Cleeves and Jojo Moyes. Given that reading has been proven to result in mental health benefits, this is something that I can only wholeheartedly applaud.
This particular book though? To be brutally honest, there's not a lot I can say about it.
The story is centred around Brighton police detective Roy Grace, the lead character in a series that is currently 17 novels strong and counting. He goes on holiday to a chateau in France with his family. Things go horribly wrong but - spoiler alert - come right in the end, in a plot that feels rushed and somewhat implausible.
Above all though, it felt like it was written by an author who had nothing to lose. Which, dare I say it, is probably the case. Certainly the book isn't bad enough to put any of Peter James' fans off reading the next full-length Roy Grace novel, if it gets him any new fans, well, that's a bonus and if it gets more adults into reading, this deserves nothing but praise. However, I'm afraid that my final thoughts were as follows:
- If, like me, you're already a fan of the Roy Grace novels, the best thing you can do is wait for the next one.
- If you're looking for an excellent police procedural series to start reading, begin with the first Roy Grace novel - Dead Simple - and work your way through the books. I do have to concede that there are a couple of low points, but overall, they're excellent.
- But if all you're looking for is an easy to read short story, well, as I proved in my last review, you're better off reading Roald Dahl.
But even I had to do a double-take when an email from Amazon arrived, that specifically recommended a short story (of 97 pages length) by Peter James (one of my favourite authors) precisely at a time when my next reading challenge was to 'read a book with less than 100 pages'. How the hell did it know??
Whatever, I downloaded it immediately and the first thing I noticed was that it had been written for a programme called 'Quick Reads'. This is something that had passed me by, but started as long ago as 2006 with the aim of providing easy reading for adults who either struggled with reading or, for various other life-centred reasons, do not regularly read for pleasure. So far, there have been six new titles published in 2021 and other authors that have signed up to the scheme include Ian Rankin - another of my favourites - Anne Cleeves and Jojo Moyes. Given that reading has been proven to result in mental health benefits, this is something that I can only wholeheartedly applaud.
This particular book though? To be brutally honest, there's not a lot I can say about it.
The story is centred around Brighton police detective Roy Grace, the lead character in a series that is currently 17 novels strong and counting. He goes on holiday to a chateau in France with his family. Things go horribly wrong but - spoiler alert - come right in the end, in a plot that feels rushed and somewhat implausible.
Above all though, it felt like it was written by an author who had nothing to lose. Which, dare I say it, is probably the case. Certainly the book isn't bad enough to put any of Peter James' fans off reading the next full-length Roy Grace novel, if it gets him any new fans, well, that's a bonus and if it gets more adults into reading, this deserves nothing but praise. However, I'm afraid that my final thoughts were as follows:
- If, like me, you're already a fan of the Roy Grace novels, the best thing you can do is wait for the next one.
- If you're looking for an excellent police procedural series to start reading, begin with the first Roy Grace novel - Dead Simple - and work your way through the books. I do have to concede that there are a couple of low points, but overall, they're excellent.
- But if all you're looking for is an easy to read short story, well, as I proved in my last review, you're better off reading Roald Dahl.
June 27, 2021
Never been a fan of the "Quick reads" scheme really but some of them are good as some great authors write short stories for the series.
When Roy Grace and his family go on holiday to France the last thing he expects is to be terrorised by a pair of old arch enemies at a sinister old chateau.
But this time it's not just Roy who is targeted, his family are also caught in the crossfire...
An exciting fast paced little side story to the Roy Grace novels.
Although I have one small complaint, what happened to Debbie who gave away Grace's location.
Did she get fired???
Little loose ends niggle me like that.
When Roy Grace and his family go on holiday to France the last thing he expects is to be terrorised by a pair of old arch enemies at a sinister old chateau.
But this time it's not just Roy who is targeted, his family are also caught in the crossfire...
An exciting fast paced little side story to the Roy Grace novels.
Although I have one small complaint, what happened to Debbie who gave away Grace's location.
Did she get fired???
Little loose ends niggle me like that.
October 27, 2024
I decided to try a horror kind of book it was very intense with plot twists and mystery only problem is the ending seemed rushed and I wanted to be left on a cliffhanger not a happy ending but overall the book was goodd.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2021
This was a great chance to try a new author and was actually quite scary...full review to come!
July 16, 2021
This was a fun quick read, not as good as most of the full length Roy Grace novels, but still made for a nice evening read!
April 30, 2022
3.5* a great little story. I was a little irritated by the authors use of language which was a bit forced at times, but it is a really page turner.
May 28, 2022
Reminded me of Lupin quite a bit. A syrupy short read, good for an hour.
July 20, 2024
Good book.
Great pace, definitely a page turner!
Could have had a bit more of a storyline but I guess you can't fit too much more into just short of 130pages!
Great pace, definitely a page turner!
Could have had a bit more of a storyline but I guess you can't fit too much more into just short of 130pages!
August 22, 2024
short and sweet, definitely feel that I would still be hooked reading a longer book from the same series so will have to get another one!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 328 reviews