Stylistically it has more of an American feel than say a traditional English crime fiction feel about it. As has been referenced elsewhere the author I believe has been a scriptwriter in the States and at times there is an Americanisation to the story that grates ever so slightly, including the use of American type terminology that wouldn’t naturally be used here. And speaking of confines, some of the coffin scenes really are claustrophobic to read. Therein hangs the first of many twists there are several, yet somehow they are nearly all credible within the confines of this tale. When the perpetrators are killed in a van crash our man is trapped in the coffin with only one person in the world knowing where he is and that person has most to gain by him staying lost (trust me I give nothing away, we’re only up to page 40 or 50 here!). If this seems somewhat unlikely, James does get away with explaining the history that leads to this event, making it plausible enough to stick with it. The book involves a stag night prank of burying a mate in a coffin. I for one am glad that this was the first book I read this year and 2011 has begun with a bang! It really is a page turner! The chapters are very to fairly short which makes it a great book for people like me who have a 25 minute train commute – you can usually time the finishing of the chapters just right for your stop. This is the first time I’ve read Peter James after hearing it reviewed positively on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Peter james dead simple review