I Follow You
Page 34
One person I have to thank above all others is Dr Kathleen Gillies FRCOG, a consultant gynae-oncologist. Her enthusiasm for the story and her tireless patience in helping me get the key medical aspects correct extended to getting eager support from so many people at the hospital. I can’t now imagine how I could have written this book without her help. Dr Adrian Noon, MB ChB FIMC RCSEd, has also been quite wonderfully kind and helpful, too. And of course I owe a very big thank you to Robert Sainsbury MSC RN, Group Managing Director for Health and Community Services, for his kind sanction.
But I guess before any of the above I have to thank Kevin Lemasney, who opened so many doors for me in Jersey, and Dr James Mair, MBBS MRCGP, who kindly contacted me, as a fan, soon after we arrived on this island, offering any help I might need. He put me in touch with Matthew Stephenson MBBS MSc FRCS, who in turn introduced me to Dr Gillies.
The people from Jersey General Hospital I want to particularly thank, in addition, are Dr Sarah Butler BSc MB ChB, Dr Andrew Borthwick-Clarke MBBS FRCS, Samantha North BSc, Dr Nick Payne, Dr Robert Resmes, and Dr Alan Thompson BM FRCA FFICM.
I also owe a massive thank you to Julian Blazeby, Director General of Justice and Home Affairs for the Government of Jersey, as well as Deputy Chief Officer James Wileman, Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull QPM and Sergeant Callum O’Connor of States of Jersey Police. Also Mike Canas, Claire Forbes, Rupert Maddox, Richard Pedley, Dr Graham Ramsden and Tom Vautier.
Thanks also to Graham Bartlett, James Hodge, Martin and Jane Diplock, Anna-Lisa Hancock, Helen Shenston and Linda Buckley.
I’m blessed with wonderful agents: in the UK, Isobel Dixon, Julian Friedmann, Conrad Williams, Louisa Minghella, Sian Ellis-Martin, James Pusey, Hana Murrell, Daisy Way, Lizzy Attree, Samuel Hodder, Tia Armstrong and all the team of Blake Friedmann; and in the US, Mitch Hoffman of Aaron M. Priest. And my wonderful publicists, Preena Gadher, Caitlin Allen and Emily Souders at Riot Communications. And a very special thank you to Geoff Duffield, my long-term friend and mentor, and to the brilliant Susan Opie.
And I have so many to thank at my UK publisher, Pan Macmillan. The litany of names has to start with the main man, and my friend, MD Anthony Forbes Watson, and of course my superstar editor, Wayne Brookes, and the whole stellar team: Sarah Arratoon, Jonathan Atkins, Lara Borlenghi, Emily Bromfield, Stuart Dwyer, Claire Evans, Samantha Fletcher, Elle Gibbons, Richard Green, Emma Hetherington, Daniel Jenkins, Rebecca Kellaway, Neil Lang, Rebecca Lloyd, Sara Lloyd, James Long, James Luscombe, Holly Martin, Jo Mower, Rory O’Brien, Sarah Parry-Jones, Guy Raphael, Simon Rhodes, Alex Saunders, Holly Sheldrake, Jade Tolley, Jeremy Trevathan, Toby Watson, Karen Whitlock, Charlotte Williams and Leanne Williams.
I’m blessed with a wonderful team around me that we call Team James. First and foremost, after Lara, is my very good friend David Gaylor, who has a brilliantly creative mind as well as being ruthlessly analytic and a very trusted critic, and who is the one standing over me, cracking the whip on every book, demanding to know how many pages I’ve written each week! Susan Ansell, who is my long-term and much trusted ‘unofficial’ editor; Dani Brown, who does a terrific job as our social media manager; Sarah Middle, who tries to rein in our spending on animals and keep us solvent; Chris Webb and Chris Diplock, who keep our computers and all our tech going; Martin Walsh and Erin Brown, who curate our video content; and we are delighted to welcome on board our fabulous new PA in Jersey, Kate Blazeby.
And, as ever, a big thank you to our ever-growing menagerie of pets: our dogs Oscar, Spooky and Wally; our Burmese cats Woo and Willy; our ducks Mickey Magic, Clarissa, Locky, Maija and a dozen more; our pygmy goats Bouscaut and Margaux, Ted and Norman; our emus, Wolfie and Spike; and our alpacas Alpacino, Fortescue, Jean-Luc, Boris and Keith. In a world that sometimes seems a little crazy and scary, none of these beautiful creatures has a care beyond ensuring they get their food and their treats. Bones, carrots, blueberries, grapes, popcorn, ginger biscuits, sweetcorn and peas. Would that life should be so simple for us all!
My final word is to thank all of you, my readers. I always love to hear from you – your letters, emails, blog posts, tweets, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube comments are wonderful to receive.
contact@peterjames.com
www.peterjames.com
peterjamesPJTV
peterjames.roygrace
@peterjamesuk
@peterjamesuk
@peterjamesukpets
@mickeymagicandfriends
COMING 2021
Peter James’s first two books in the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, Dead Simple and Looking Good Dead, have been commissioned by ITV. They are being adapted for television by screenwriter Russell Lewis and will star John Simm as Roy Grace.
OUT NOW
FIND THEM DEAD
By Peter James
After his secondment to London’s Met Police ends, Roy Grace is back in Sussex and right in the middle of a murder case.
Five years after the car crash that killed her husband and son, Meg Magellan feels she has her life back together. When she receives a summons for jury service, she feels this will help distract her from constantly worrying about her daughter, Laura, who is travelling overseas. But when she is selected for the trial of a major Brighton drugs overlord, everything changes.
Gradually, Grace’s investigation draws him into the sinister sphere of influence of the man on trial, a man prepared to order the death of anyone to enable him to walk free.
Arriving home late one night, Meg finds a photograph lying on her kitchen table of Laura, in Ecuador. Then the phone rings. The caller tells her that if she ever wants to see Laura alive again, all she has to do is make sure the jury says just two words . . . Not guilty.
OUT NOW
THE SECRET OF COLD HILL
By Peter James
Cold Hill House has been razed to the ground by fire, replaced with a development of ultra-modern homes. Gone with the flames are the violent memories of the house’s history, and a new era has begun.
Although much of Cold Hill Park is still a construction site, the first two families move in to their new houses. For Jason and Emily Danes, this is their forever home, and for Maurice and Claudette Penze-Weedell, it’s the perfect place to live out retirement. Despite the ever-present rumble of cement mixers and diggers, Cold Hill Park appears to be the ideal place to live. But looks are deceptive and it’s only a matter of days before both couples start to feel they are not alone in their new homes.
There is one thing that never appears in the estate agent brochures: nobody has ever survived beyond forty in Cold Hill House and no one has ever truly left . . .
‘James is a compelling storyteller and he ratchets up the tension in increments, so that his readers will be suitably terrified. By the time you want to scream “Look behind you!”, it’s already too late’
Daily Mail
I FOLLOW YOU
Peter James is a UK number one bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. Globally, his books have been translated into thirty-seven languages.
Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over forty awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons, for which he was an executive producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.
By Peter James
The Detective Superintendent Roy Grace Series
DEAD SIMPLE LOOKING GOOD DEAD
NOT DEAD ENOUGH DEAD MAN’S FOOTSTEPS
DEAD TOMORROW DEAD LIKE YOU DEAD MAN’S GRIP
NOT DEAD YET DEAD MAN’S TIME WANT YOU DEAD
YOU ARE DEAD LOVE YOU DEAD NEED YOU DEAD
DEAD IF YOU DON’T DEAD AT FIRST SIGHT
FIND THEM DEAD
Other Novels
DEAD LETTER DROP ATOM BOMB ANGEL BILLIONAIRE
POSSESSION DREAMER SWEET HEART TWILIGHT
PROPHECY ALCHEMIST HOST THE TRUTH
DENIAL FAITH PERFECT PEOPLE
THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL ABSOLUTE PROOF
THE SECRET OF COLD HILL I FOLLOW YOU
Short Story Collection
A TWIST OF THE KNIFE
Children’s Novel
GETTING WIRED!
Novella
THE PERFECT MURDER
Non-Fiction
DEATH COMES KNOCKING: POLICING ROY GRACE’S BRIGHTON (with Graham Bartlett)
BABES IN THE WOOD (with Graham Bartlett)
First published 2020 by Macmillan
This electronic edition first published 2020 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
The Smithson, 6 Briset Street, London EC1M 5NR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5098-1629-3
Copyright © Really Scary Books / Peter James 2020
Roy Grace®, Grace®, DS Grace®, Detective Superintendent Grace® and DI Grace® are registered trademarks of Really Scary Books Limited.
Jacket images: background © Arcangel, boots © Shutterstock, woman © Trevillion, Design by Neil Lang, Pan Macmillan Art Department
The right of Peter James to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Lines from ‘Queen of the Slipstream’ by Van Morrison on pages 67–8 copyright © 1987 Barrule UK Ltd. Lines from ‘Shotgun’ by George Ezra and Joel Pott on page 84 copyright © 2018 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. Lines from ‘Heavy Metal’ by Sammy Hagar and Jim Peterik on page 94 copyright © 1981 Warner Chappell Music, Inc. Lines from ‘Cookie Jar’ by Faheem Rasheed Najm, Sean Kirk Hall, Terius Youngdell Nash, Christopher A. Stewart, Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo, Travis L. McCoy, Matthew McGinley on page 108 copyright © 2008 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network. Lines from ‘The Longest Time’ by Billy Joel on page 354 copyright © 1983 Joel Songs.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Visit www.panmacmillan.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.