Dead at First Sight

In British author James’s enjoyable 15th novel featuring Det. Supt. Roy Grace (after 2018’s Dead if You Don’t), international criminal Mr. Barrey uses his team of merciless internet scammers, children trained in Ghana, to trick elderly singles on dating sites into falling in love and giving up their life savings. When Mr. Barrey’s business partner, Jules de Copeland, who has a penchant for wearing red shoes, goes rogue and sets up his own dating service, Mr. Barrey hires Grace’s nemesis, the assassin Tooth, to find and kill de Copeland. Meanwhile, a man wearing red shoes is implicated in the death of a scam victim, initially believed to be a suicide, in Grace’s territory of Brighton. This straightforward police procedural offers no plot twists or surprises, but James does a good job of detailing how the same modern technology that can wreak havoc can also help bring crooks to justice. Grace’s accepting a new position in London at the end promises a fresh direction for this long-running series. James’s many fans will look forward to seeing what’s next for Grace.(Aug.)