Title: Death Comes Knocking
Author: Graham Bartlett and Peter James
Type: Non-Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 328
Rating: 8/10
Graham Bartlett and Peter James – Death Comes Knocking
Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.
This book was an interesting one, because it dips in between fiction and non-fiction, although it’s a non-fiction book overall. Graham Bartlett used to be Brighton’s top cop, and he’s uniquely served as every rank in the Brighton and Hove police force; Peter James, meanwhile, is a successful crime writer, best known for his Roy Grace series of novels.
What’s interesting about this book is that Bartlett uses his in-depth knowledge of policing to tell you the stories of some of the real crimes that took place in Brighton whilst he was serving as a policeman. He also references some of James’ books, although I hadn’t read any of the books that he referred to; that said, I’ve only recently read my first Peter James novel, and it was a new release and so I’m guessing that the source material just wasn’t available when Bartlett was working on the manuscript.
Despite the fact that I didn’t really understand many of the references to James’ body of work, I really enjoyed reading the book – in fact, I’d rather read another non-fiction book by Bartlett than one of James’ Roy Grace books, although it’s a close call. What I liked in particular about this was that you got a schooling in the way that the police force works, and the way that they approach different crimes. Bartlett also used plenty of gallows humour, something that the force is famed for, and that helped to keep me entertained throughout it.
Overall then, if you have an interest in either true crime or in the Roy Grace series, this is the book for you. And even if you have an interest in just one of them, you’re going to enjoy it.
Graham Bartlett
