Crime author’s tales told to packed crowd

Mr James, famous for his series of Roy Grace novels set in and around Brighton, attended the dinner at the college’s Durrington campus, in Littlehampton Road, and spoke to a packed audience of dedicated fans.

His first Roy Grace novel, Dead Simple, is now a play that is currently touring and will be visiting the Connaught Theatre in July this year.

Northbrook councillor Sean McDonald, a friend of the author, organised the event.

He said: “Peter spoke about his experiences from when he was a young novelist and film producer through to his first novel featuring Roy Grace. He was born in Brighton and grew up in the town.

“His novels centre around the homicide detective Roy Grace who is based on the former Worthing police officer, detective chief superintendent Dave Gaylor.

“The audience was entertained with a mix of personal experiences and stories from police officers.

“After his talk, he signed books for fans and posed for a number of photographs.”

The author’s next novel in the ‘Dead’ series will be published on May 21.

Mr McDonald is featured in one of the books as a poker dealer, with the setting for the tales including Worthing, Brighton and the surrounding towns.

Mr James has seen his works published in a total of 36 languages.