Brighton's crime laureate has had quite a year.

He’s done “the double” in topping both hardback and paperback charts with his latest novel, picked up a readers’ award for his Perfect Murder novella and is in talks to bring his hero, detective Roy Grace to the big screen.

So it’s rather a good time to catch a public appearance from the thriller maestro as he gives city fans a flavour of the inspiration for Grace’s Brighton.

“I’m going to be talking about why I decided to make Brighton the victim!” he laughs. “Being born and brought up in the city, it seemed like a natural progression. When I was a kid I read Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock, and as soon as I put it down I knew I wanted to write about the city in that way.”

Proceeds from the evening are going to Lifecentre, the Chichester-based centre that offers support for victims of sexual assault. The centre’s knowledge and experience proved an invaluable source of research for Dead Like You, which sees Grace pick up the trail of a serial rapist.

“The book was inspired by the real-life case of the Rotherham Shoe Man, who took his victims’ shoes. Rape is a crime that’s probably the least understood, one of the least solved, and in many ways the most destructive.”

Ever fastidious in his research – James goes out with Sussex Police almost every week to gather real-life detail – the writer said investigating the way rape affects people’s lives is the most harrowing background work he’s done on a novel.

“One victim said to me it’s like being in a car wreck – one moment you’re walking along and everything’s fine, and the next you’re lying in the wreckage of your life. It’s a massive rebuilding process, and thankfully there are organisations such as Lifecentre to help.”

James is playing his own part in working with Sussex Police Rape Prevention Unit, which he says has utterly transformed the way victims are questioned and supported. He’s written a short film in collaboration with the unit that will be shown in schools from January with the aim of preventing date-rape situations.

“We’ve had some phenomenal help from the University of Brighton, which has provided us with two of its recently graduated film students to direct. We’ve got local theatre workshops to provide a cast, and I’ve blagged the houses of some of my friends to shoot in – it’s been a real community effort.”

James is also on “the home stretch” with his next novel, due for publication in May 2011.

“I’ve got about three weeks more writing to do to have it finished. It’s called Dead Man’s Grip and I’ve been doing some really interesting research on the Mafia for it.

“I’ve spent some time out in the US with these two Brooklyn cops who’ve spent the past 35 years busting organised crime – they had some amazing stories.”

*Starts 6.30pm, tickets £5, call 0845 2938480 or visit www.komedia.co.uk