Not without faults. Review on Dead Simple - Peter James

Dead Simple

Peter James

Dead Simple is the story of a prank gone horribly wrong. Four friends decide to play a prank on the fifth friend, a declared prankster, to get revenge. They organize a stag night a few days before his marriage and get him drunk, put him inside a coffin and seal it, and then proceed to bury him under the ground, leaving him with a bottle of alcohol, a torch, a porn magazine, a breathing tube, and a walkie talkie, the second of which belongs to them, so they can chat. Unfortunately, the friends all die in a car crash soon after, leaving the guy six feet under, and alive.

The story then follows events after the crash; the consequential investigations that follow begin to dig up facts that were unknown, very disturbing facts. There are lots of characters, but revealing them ruins half of the fun of the book, since none of the characters are what they look like at the first introduction. Unknown facts are revealed about every character, and that thickens the plot and keeps it going. The book is no simple murder mystery; it’s a tale of love, lust, deceit, greed, seduction, manipulation and betrayal. Every character has disguised intentions; every action has hidden motives, which are revealed along the way. The book explores the dark side of human emotions, and the lengths people go to so they can achieve their wants.

My view: The author has an attractive style of writing which will glue you to the book, but somewhere down the line, he seems to lose track of the story’s progress. He introduces characters that act in ways they aren’t supposed to, yet he offers explanations to their behavior so late in the book, that it’s not helpful anymore. The investigators in this story will appear to be extremely stupid and lethargic at first, they start acting more like they should after the middle. The shocks and twists and turns all start form a certain point and than come crashing in huge numbers, it’s like the author suddenly decide to put a few twists and turns in his story, but they won’t amuse you. One of the biggest twists in the novel can be easily predicted at least 7 pages before it is revealed. But it is towards the end of the story that all hell seems to break loose. The novel picks up an extreme pace, and the final twists seem to be lifted out of a crime movie or serial. Those are the two major flaws in the story; the characters don’t act like they are supposed to and the twists are possible, but illogical, and not at all shocking, they won’t make you go, “What the hell???” New characters are thrown in to fill up blank spaces, but it doesn’t work and only brings down the quality of the story. Some characters are introduced with a motive, but vanish without a trace.

Flaws aside, the author does a good job, the descriptions are wonderful, and the situation descriptions and placements excellent. The workings of the dark side of the mind are done nicely, and you will have a good time wading through the thoughts of the characters.

Recommended, but not highly.