Peter James: Need You Dead

There’s the sense that being an author is a solitary profession. But as my acknowledgements show, there is a vast, largely invisible team behind every book, without whom it simply would not exist. I am enormously grateful to every single person listed below, and to those I may have missed erroneously, my apologies. A single word, a single thought, can sometimes have as profound an effect on a book as pages of criticism. So to all of you who are mentioned, I owe each of you a debt and I can never ever thank you enough for your kindness and willingness to help me.

So very key to the authenticity I seek for my novels are the many officers, former officers and support staff of Surrey and Sussex Police, the Metropolitan Police, City of London Police, Munich Police and other forces. A big thank you to:

Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne; Chief Constable Giles York QPM; Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp; Chief Superintendent Steve Whitton; Detective Superintendent Mike Ashcroft; Detective Superintendent Nick Sloan; Superintendent James Collis; Superintendent Jayne Dando; Superintendent Jason Tingley; DCI Miles Ockwell; Chief Inspector Katherine Woolford; DI Mick Richards; DI Bill Warner; DI Andy Wolstenholme; Inspector Roy Apps; Inspector James Biggs; Inspector Gareth Davies; Inspector Keith Ellis; Inspector Adele Tucknott; Sgt Lee Alvin; Sgt Dave Groombridge; Sgt Russell Phillips; DS Phil Taylor; Sgt Andy Newman; Sgt Chris Thompson; DS Peter Billin; Kelly Nicholls, Accredited Financial Investigator; PC Hilary Bennison; PC Philip Edwards; PC Andy Eyles; PC Jason Hill; PC Maz Knight; PC Graham Lewendon; PC Dale Nufer; PC Fran Parsons; PC Matt Smith; PC Nick Smith; PC Paul Smith; PC Richard Trundle; PC Mark White; PC Pete Williams.

Katie Perkin, Jill Pedersen, Oliver Lacey, Suzanne Heard.

Maria O’Brien, James Stather, Chris Gee, James Gartrell, Crime Scene Services, Annabel Galsworthy, Call Taker. Julian Quigley, Peter Johnson & Jolene Thomas of LGC Forensics. Commissioner Adrian Leppard of the City of London Police; Commander Christopher Greany, Economics Crime Unit, City of London Police; Superintendent Paula Light, Metropolitan Police; DCI Mick Neville, Scotland Yard Super Recognizers Unit; Detective Inspector Richard Haycock, Surrey Police; DI Matt Mountford, City of London Police; Inspector Paul Davey; DS Grant Webberley; PC Jonathan Jackson; DC Martin Light, Metropolitan Police.

Mark Howard, Michelle Websdale, Sean Didcott.

Former Chief Superintendent Graham Bartlett, Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Bowles and Inspector Andy Kille.

Further key background research came from: the Beachy Head Chaplaincy; Gail Gray, Rise; Anne Goddard and Graham Hill, Victim Support; Ross Birch; Jeanie Civil; Andrew Collins; Sigrid Daus and Klinikum Munich — Krankenhaus Schwabing; Andy Dickenson; Chris Diplock; Mike Gilson; Jon Goddard; James Hodge; Anette Lippert; Ian and Georgie Maclean; Lee Marshall; Rachel Millard; Gordon Oliver; Mike Parish; Judith Richards; Moira Safaer; Richard Skerritt; Hans Jurgen Stockerl; Reverend Stephen Terry; Ian Tompson, IG Segmantics; Stan Tingley; Stuart Young.

There are numerous people in the background working on the editing, sales and marketing, who are as vital as all my research helpers. My agents Isobel Dixon and Julian Friedmann and the team at Blake Friedmann. My publisher, Jeremy Trevathan, my fabulous editor, Wayne Brookes, my wonderful mentor and mate, Geoff Duffield, and all at Pan Macmillan, singling out just a few: Sarah Arratoon, Jonathan Atkins, Anna Bond, Stuart Dwyer, Daniel Jenkins, Sara Lloyd, Charlotte Williams, Alex Saunders and Jade Tolley. Brooke O’Donnell and all at Trafalgar House in the USA. Elena Stokes, Tanya Farrell & Taylan Salvati of Wunderkind and all the rest of Team James Stateside. My editor Susan Opie. My publicists, Tony Mulliken, Sophie Ransom and Alice Geary.

I’m fortunate to have a brilliant support team who help me to hone the manuscript into shape long before it reaches my agent and publishers, and to help with the management of Team James UK. My brilliant PA, Linda Buckley, who manages calmly to keep my head above water! My terrific bookkeeper Sarah Middle, and my crucial first-look editorial team who give me so much guidance: Anna Hancock; Helen Shenston; Martin and Jane Diplock; Susan Ansell.

I’m not sure if I would have ever created the character of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace if it had not been for my chance meeting with then DI David Gaylor back in 1995. He’s not only become the role model for Roy Grace, but one of my closest friends, utterly selfless, dependable and seemingly indefatigable. He takes me to task on every police detail of every book — and many other details besides — and makes sure that to the very best of his ability, I get it right. My gratitude to David is just enormous.

My biggest thank you of all is to my wonderful wife, Lara. She sustains me, through the long and often antisocial hours writing takes, always with encouragement, enthusiasm and wise criticism of the pages as I write them. In addition, brilliantly assisted by lovely Danielle Brown, she has the massive task of running all the growing strands of our social media. Not to mention looking after our expanding menagerie — with our latest additions being three emus!

Oscar and Spook, our gorgeous dogs, would prefer I spent more time walking with them out in the fields than writing, and our five alpacas, Al Pacino, Jean-Luc, Fortescue, Boris and Keith, would prefer I spent more time feeding them carrots and apples.

A big shock has been the unexpected and sad farewell to my amazing agent and close friend for sixteen years: RIP Carole Blake. A star that will forever shine bright in the publishing firmament.

A huge thank you to my readers! Your emails, Tweets, Facebook, Instagram and blog posts and YouTube comments give me such constant joy. Keep them coming, I love to hear from you!

Peter James

Sussex, England

These can vary between forces.