Katie Bishop, esposa de un multimillonario hombre de negocios, aparece asesinada de un modo brutal en su lujosa casa de Brighton. Su marido, Brian, está en Londres por asuntos profesionales cuando se produce el crimen; sin embargo y a pesar de una coartada aparentemente sólida, poco a poco las sospechas se ciernen sobre él hasta convertirlo en el único sospechoso. Poco después, otro terrible asesinato golpea su entorno, y de nuevo él es el principal sospechoso: parece culpable. Pero ¿es posible que un hombre esté en dos sitios a la vez? Al frente de la investigación se coloca el comisario Roy Grace, cuyo instinto, desde un primer momento, le dirá que algo en la historia de los Bishop no encaja. Todas las pruebas -algunas de ellas parecen incontestables- señalan que Brian es el asesino que buscan..., pero los métodos de Grace siempre llegan más allá de las apariencias. Por otra parte, la investigación se verá alterada cuando el comisario reciba una llamada desde Múnich. En ella le informan de que acaban de ver a su mujer -desaparecida en extrañas circunstancias hace diez años- paseando por esa ciudad alemana. Entre dos aguas, Roy Grace tendrá que decidir si aparcar sus sentimientos y centrarse en desentrañar el asesinato de Katie Bishop, así como en su actual vida, o si viajar a ese pasado, que casi ya no le pertenece, para perseguir el fantasma de su esposa.

I enjoyed this book, as I did the previous books in the series, but I think it suffered from too much in one story. It was fairly long, and there was a lot happening, but it felt a little incomplete to me. It's as if the author had to either leave out a lot to keep it reasonable, or simply got in too deep and wasn't up to completing the loose ends.

I don't know how to explain further without giving away too much, but I thought one of the main characters simply disappeared at the end, and we don't know what happened to him. It wasn't important to the story, I suppose, but when you get to know a character, you like to know how things turn out for him or her.

Anyway, the book had a lot going on to keep it interesting, and has some interesting recurring characters, so I'm pretty sure I'll continue with the series. ( )

Once in a while I like to reread favorite series by favorite authors, and Peter James's Roy Grace series certainly meets the criteria. As usual, Peter James has written a well plotted thriller with an elusive criminal who continues to wreak his havoc while being pursued by the intelligent and determined Detective Superintendent Roy Grace and his crew. The process involves several of the characters that we've already met in the previous books. His characters are smart, funny, and utterly human. No superstars here able to wave a magic wand and solve a complicated crime. It's all about hard work, ferreting out the facts, and working them together with his peers. Kinda like putting together a 1,000-piece puzzle. The problem with this case is that the pieces keep moving. It's fun watching Roy move the pieces around until he has the answers. I seldom recommend books since everyone has different tastes, but I diffidently would recommend this series to anyone that enjoys tense crime thrillers. ( )

Interesting, but not enthralling. ( )

Loved the plot in this book, gripping and suspenseful, kept me engaged. Interesting characters. Not much to complain about but I don't think I will be reading any more of this series. Way too long for my limited patience - over 600 pages! A good crime novel, in my eyes, should be a bit more compact, not being more than 400 pages max to keep me interested. I was looking at Stephen Booth, another highly thought of British crime writer I haven't read as yet but his books are also way too long for my taste so will be giving them a miss too, for now at least. ( )