4 Stars from me

Right up until about 3/4 of the way through this book I was fully intending to give it 5 stars as it was really good – but then towards the end it just kind of drifted, loose ends got lazily tidied up and rather random disconnected storylines seemed to get bundled together.

Dead Letter Drop was Peter James‘ first novel and I think bearing that in mind I can forgive some of the more cliched elements of the story – the almost naff MI5, playboy, macho, studly, oh so undercover lead character for example.

Having said that, if you put the naffness to one side then it is a very enjoyable read, take the plausibility with a pinch of salt and you’ll find yourself whizzing through to the pages in no time.

For a first novel, much like a first crush, I’m sure Mr James is a little embarrassed by it – but I for one am thankful that the publishers had faith as this rough little diamond gave the author the encouragement and belief to keep on writing, which in turn lead to us readers being able to enjoy the Roy Grace series.

Synopsis: Max Flynn, undercover agent, has the unenviable job of spying on his own side. When to kill, who to kill, whether to kill are all questions which have to be answered at great speed if he wants to stay alive.

But why does an innocuous airline ticket No. 14B matter so much? Who has gone to the trouble of committing suicide? And could Flynn’s beautiful companion be a spy? The hazy, murky world of counter espionage leaves no room for errors of judgement and Flynn knows he’s finished if he makes one false move.