You Are Dead

Acknowledgements

As ever with my Roy Grace novels I owe an incalculable debt to so many people in different fields, who have generously given their sanction, advice or time to my research.

Starting with officers, former officers and support staff of Sussex Police, Surrey Police, and other law-enforcement agencies both in the UK and overseas: Chief Constable Giles York, QPM; Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne; Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp; former Chief Superintendent Graham Bartlett; Superintendent Paula Light; Detective Superintendent Paul Furnell; Detective Superintendent Nick May; Chief Inspector Jason Tingley; Detective Inspector Bill Warner; Former Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Bowles; Inspector Andy Kille; Sergeant Phil Taylor; Sergeant Lorna Dennison-Wilkins, PC Martin Light; PC Paul Quinn, PC Scott Kendal and all the team of the Specialist Search Unit. Suzanne Heard; Katie Perkin; Jill Pederson; Ray Packham formerly of the High Tech Crime Unit; Crime Scene Investigators James Gartrell and Chris Gee; Tony Case, Senior Support Officer; Juliet Smith JP, High Sherriff of East Sussex. And last, but also first, my close friend and Roy Grace alter-ego, former Detective Chief Superintendent David Gaylor, the career role model for Roy Grace.

Thank you to those who gave me invaluable medical, scientific or technical help: Dr Wilfrid Assin; Dr Neil Haughton; Iain Maclean; Dr Haydn Kelly; Dr David Veale; Michael Beard; Andrew Davey; Janet Blainey; Martin Pile; Nigel Ostime; Brian Price; Derek Middlehurst; Dr Mark Howard; Dr Nigel Kirkham; Father Martin; Hans Jürgen Stockerl; Wolfgang Barth at the Drogennotdienst, Frankfurt; Anette Lippert; and a particularly special mention to Sigrid Daus and Klinikum Munich, Krankenhaus Schwabing, for their enormous help with this book.

Although writing is a solitary task, there are numerous people in the background working on the editing, sales and marketing, without whom there would, quite simply, be no book. Starting with my computer guru, Chris Webb of MacService; my agent, Carole Blake and her team. My editor, Wayne Brookes; Geoff Duffield, Anna Bond. Sara Lloyd and all at Pan Macmillan. My US team — Andy Martin; Marc Resnick; Hector DeJean; Paul Hochman; Elena Stokes; Tanya Farrell and all the rest at Team James USA. My copy-editor Susan Opie; my publicists, Sophie Ransom, Becky Short and Tony Mulliken.

I’m fortunate to have a brilliant support team who help me to hone the manuscript long before it reaches my agent and publishers, and to help with the management of Team James UK; My incredibly hardworking and brilliant PA, Linda Buckley, who is an absolute treasure — as well as a stickler for detail(!) — and my book-keeper Sarah Middle; Helen Shenston; Anna Hancock; Martin and Jane Diplock; Susan Ansell.

A hugely special mention to my beloved Lara, who has put such huge hard work and energy into so many aspects of the research, writing and editing of this book.

And of course no acknowledgements would be complete without a mention of our dogs — who are the first to let me know if they think I’ve spent too long with my nose in front of my screen, and that I need a walk! — Oscar, and our recent puppy arrival, delightful Labradoodle, Spook.

Finally some sad farewells this year. RIP: Elsie Sweetman, the former Chief Mortician at Brighton and Hove Mortuary and the role model for Cleo Morey. A fantastic and wonderful character. Dr Dennis Friedmann, eminent psychiatrist who gave me so much help on shaping characters — particularly villains — over many books. Phoebe, our beloved German Shepherd who died at 13 — a great age, but she will always be missed with deep affection.

Above all, thank you, my readers! Your emails, Tweets, Facebook and Blog posts give me such constant encouragement. Keep them coming. I love to hear from you!

Bye for now!

Peter James

Sussex, England