The latest novel in the DS Roy Grace series is out on Thursday. Crime reporter Flora Thompson speaks to author Peter James.

THE first real whodunnit, in the Agatha Christie sense of the word, he has ever written.

That is how the best selling Brighton-born author Peter James sees his latest work, Need You Dead.

It begins in a house likened to the large, gaudy kind which populates one of the wider Hollingbury avenues.

But before long, a murder investigation centres around a dingy flat near the King Alfred Leisure Centre in Hove.

Peter, 68, who now lives with his wife Lara and a menagerie of dogs, alpacas and emus near Henfield, said he felt this “forgotten” end of the city was the perfect place for a mystery to unfold. It struck him as the sort of place people would go to hide their movements.

“I always hope to take readers on a journey, and offer a scary read.

"This is the first time I have written a real whodunnit in an Agatha Christie sense but with a modern spin.

"There are multiple suspects, so for the sleuths among the fans they will have fun figuring it out. But I shall be very annoyed if they do.

"I try to write the kind of books I love to read. I want to be gripped from page one. I want to have a human connection and learn something new. I think if someone is reading it shows they are smart, intelligent people.

“They want more than just a simple tale being told. They want to learn about life.”

As with all of his books, Peter often “melds” the truth with fiction, taking inspiration from research carried out by shadowing police forces across the world over the last 20 years - New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Moscow, Munich, London and, of course, Sussex.

Not one shift he accompanied went by without a domestic incident being reported. In the 13th novel in the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, Peter explores the crime which is endured by millions of victims every year.

“It is a terrible indictment of how so many people live.”

A staunch supporter of the White Ribbon campaign to end violence against women, he called it a “terrible tragedy” that in many cases the victims are systematically abused over long periods of time. The toll it has on them leaves them feeling they are to blame, of no value, and that if they leave their abuser no-one else would want them.

Typically domestic abuse victims will endure 40 incidents before calling the police and even then many see it as a ‘better the devil you know’ situation, he said.

“I always try to raise issues in my books and this is a blight on so many lives.”

Around five years ago Peter was out on call with Sussex Police at 7am.

“They were called to go a nice house, a tearful woman had reported her live-in boyfriend had pushed dog faeces into her mouth.

“This immaculately and smartly dressed lady came to the door, dogs were yapping in the background. The police said they had the author Peter James with them and could he come in too. She said she wanted me to hear her story. I’ve only ever been refused access once in 25 years. Generally people like to talk to me about what’s happening.”

The female police officer Peter had accompanied said: “This is the third time this year he has attacked you and we’ve been called here. Why don’t you just throw him out?”

The woman showed them an entire wall covered by a huge fish tank, adding: “There’s five thousand pounds of tropical fish in there. He’s the only one who knows how to clean it.”

Peter said: “I replied ‘Have you thought about sushi?’ It made her laugh and broke the ice.”

He draws parallels to this experience and a 911 call he heard while with police in America in Need You Dead.

While he listened the caller - a woman fearing for her life at the hands of her abusive husband - was shot by him.

“It was one of the most terrible things I have heard in my life. It really shocked me how someone can turn abusive and things can escalate so quickly and the helplessness of it all.

“In my book she is taking a stand against it in her own way. It was an amalgam of quite a few incidents.

“Almost all the victims of abuse - they are nice people, kind people. They are true victims and generally haven’t done anything wrong, other than marry or live with the wrong guy. They can be very calculated, it’s all about the control. You’ll see victims of abuse who are punched below the neck line so it isn’t obvious. They whittle away the person’s confidence so there is no alternative and they will do anything they want them to do. It’s like training an animal.”

Ever fascinated with the evolving world of crime, he also delves into how police tackle the growing challenge of cyber crime.

He said internet fraud was one of the fastest growing crimes in the world and Commander Chris Greany, of the City of London Police’s economics crimes unit, told him the worst is dubbed the Friday night scam. Expectant home owners are robbed of their savings by unknowingly paying their down payments to an erroneous bank account which moves the money out of the country and never to be seen again within minutes.

“It strikes me there is a constant catch up or chase between the villains and the police. In 2007 Sussex Police had a small cyber crime uni -t at the head of which was a traffic cop. Now it’s become one of the biggest hubs in the force. Internet fraud is a £300 million a year industry.”

The super recogniser - another valuable police resource - also inspired Peter’s latest book.

This is some whose accuracy rate for recognising an offender from the flair of a nostril, their lips, their ear lobe is 90 per cent. On average people can recognise 23 per cent of faces seen and police officers just 24 per cent.

These exceptional skills were discovered by The Metropolitan Police in the wake of the London Riots in 2011 when suspects concealed their faces with hoodies and caps. They found a tiny group of their staff could make highly accurate identifications.

When Peter spent a day studying these experts at Scotland Yard he met a custody sergeant who had an eye for it and has been responsible for 150 arrests and successful prosecutions so far.

While the investigation continues, readers will gain more of an insight into DS Grace’s personal life - the shock discovery of what happened to his missing first love Sandy, and another revelation which would change his world forever.

“I wanted a real shock that would come out of the blue. It all comes just as Roy has got his life back in order. I had kept the Sandy mystery going for long enough, I didn’t want to put people off by over playing it. Fans have really loved that thread of the book.”

So much so he received letters begging to know the secret - even from a terminally ill 92-year-old man who promised to take the answer to the grave.

Peter also delves more into the continual tug of war police officers – and anyone in a shift or emergency services job – faces in balancing work and private life, juggling long hours with emotional and physically exhausting tasks.

Grace is determined to make more time for family but inevitably needs to prioritise the murder enquiry.

“I believe overwhelmingly the police are good people. A force the size of Sussex or the Met is going to have the odd rotten apple. Almost every copy goes into it to make a real difference to the world. It’s not a high paid job. I have asked every copper I have ever met if they have ever had their life on the line during the line of duty. I’ve never met someone who hasn’t. People forget that about police work, once they are out the front door their partner has no guarantee they will be back again that night.”

He recalls a traffic officer who was first on the scene when a domestic incident turned into a mother gassing her two children as revenge against her husband. The officer tried in vain to resuscitate the children. That night he went home and put his own children to bed.

“I will always remember a phrase someone once told me: Putting on the uniform does not protect from trauma.”

True, there is a house in Dorset where troubled Sussex Police officers are sent to rest and recuperate when they need it. But generally no matter what they face they just go it and get on with it, he said.

The latest terror attacks in London and Paris were a testament to that, showing how police officers simply doing their job were killed in the line of duty. Peter said the outpouring of grief in the UK in memory of those who died was a reflection of a relationship between the public and the police where officers’ work was generally respected and appreciated.

He said it is something he has not experienced in other countries and the UK was incredibly lucky to still have.

“It’s quite important for that to be reflected. What is a police officer’s best weapon? It’s their mouth.

“I have heard that so many times. It’s the way they talk to people. It’s the emotional influence and the ability to connect with people.

“Dave Gaylor, the real Roy Grace, has that in spades.”

Need You Dead remains topical with reference to Brighton and Hove Albion working their way up the league, changes which saw a major office move for most police departments from Sussex House in Hollingbury to police headquarters in Lewes and the parking difficulties that caused, as well as the perpetual tussle between entry level officers and those who have worked their way up through the ranks.

He takes a great interest in the workings of the police. Click here to read his latest thoughts on Sussex Police's budget cuts

He is keen to continue to portray police work accurately, particularly how the senior investigating officer (SIO) handles the case.

But he launched a scathing attack on David Tennant’s portrayal of Detective Inspector Alec Hard in ITV crime drama Broadchurch.

“He is arrogant, rude, everything that a good SIO is not. It makes good drama but no a good police officer.”

Peter's perception of the police changed a long time ago when he met an officer who was moved from a response team he loved being part of for the adrenaline rush to the street team. He said the officer admitted at first he was unsure how rewarding he would find the role. But then he met a homeless man who he helped off the streets and get treatment – he had played a part in helping him turn his life around.

“That side of the police escapes so many people. They are in a position to be able to do that.”

Click here to read an exclusive extract from the book

  • Need You Dead by Peter James, the latest novel in the DS Roy Grace crime series, is out on Thursday in hardback published by Pan Macmillan costing £20