Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke, and we both love mystery. Brooke. Hi, Sarah. We are back today with another modern great to discuss.
Speaker: I think this is going to be a really interesting conversation, Brooke. We are talking about Peter James, who has written many novels featuring a detective set in Brighton, as well as some other works. And so we will kind of dig into his career. And he's been really well recognized for his contributions to the mystery space.
Speaker: Peter James was born in Brighton in 1948, which serves as the setting for many of his stories. After attending film school, James started working in Canada, writing children's television in 1970.
Speaker: From there, he went on to write and produce film and television in North America and in the UK. His first novel, Dead Letter Drop, was published in 1981, followed by two other spy novels.
Speaker: Those early books had limited success, but he continued writing. He credits two conversations with his change in direction, one with another author who advised him to write what he knew or could research, and one with a police officer who offered to help with his research.
Speaker: Through the late 1980s and 1990s, he wrote several crime novels, one of which is considered to have been published as the first electronic novel. There's a copy of it on two floppy disks, which is storage media that would be virtually unreadable today.
Speaker: And that's included in an exhibit in the Science Museum. In 2001, the first book in the Roy Grace series was published. This series cemented James's position as a leading crime writer with television and theatrical adaptations.
Speaker: He has received over 40 awards, including recognition from police for his accuracy. He was appointed to the Order of the British Empire earlier this year and received the Crime Writers Association Diamond Dagger, which is why we've selected him as our modern great for this season.
Speaker: Thank you, Sarah, for that great overview and a place to start. um I think that it's really interesting that he started in TV and then having read his books. I think that that shines through. And even kids' TV, there's something that you obviously learn in telling stories in that manner that's super accessible that I think still is recognizable in his books. Yeah.
Speaker: I would agree with that. Certainly um his chapters are really short. Some of them just a couple of paragraphs, right? And so you can really easily imagine how that is portrayed visually on screen.
Speaker: Something else he does is end those very brief chapters in what we would call a cliffhanger. And sometimes we get persuaded not to do that as writers, but I think when you do it skillfully, like he does, um it can be really impactful. And I also, again, see that as working on kids TV, because it's that suspense that you want to create for every audience, but even especially younger audiences where, oh my gosh, what's going to happen next? And he does that really, really well in his books.
Speaker: you know i think children can be a really... hard group to entertain, right? They are a tough audience. And so i think you're right. If you can write for children and and write television for children, you can probably write television for anybody.
Speaker: I think it's really interesting that some of his work has been adapted for stage because that's not something that we see a lot of now.
Speaker: No, or and especially in police procedural type mysteries. Yeah. you know We know that several of Agatha Christie's books were adopted um for the stage. ah Mousetrap was written for the stage. um And it's a very entertaining um ah ah very entertaining production.
Speaker: i think it would be really interesting to see one of his plays, Mm hmm. And just because ah it feels like a art form that is maybe a little past its prime. I shouldn't say that there's going to be theater buffs out there coming after me, but you know, at this day and age, you might think that, well, they would write a screenplay for Netflix or another streaming service. But like, as you started this out with, it's interesting that ah his very contemporary stories have been adapted in this way. And I think it goes back again to his background. It must be, you know, having been to to film school and a screenwriter himself, like it's likely something that is important to him.
Speaker: It's a good background for any writer if they've if they've worked in television and done screenwriting. And I think you just have a different, so you can tell when that is what someone's background is.
Speaker: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: um He really prides himself on accuracy. That chance conversation that he had with um a police officer, um i saw an interview where he talked about that it was his home had been burgled and it was the the police officer who came in to you know talk to them ah after that had happened. And he saw um one of James's books on the on the table and and and said, look, if you ever...
Speaker: want some help, I'd be happy to be a resource for you. And he obviously took him up on that on that offer. yeah so he he has quite a strong connection with the police. um you know He's ah a patron of charities related to the police and has served on the board of the police museum in Brighton.
Speaker: He's also donated, i believe, two police cars to two different police forces. And the one that's in Brighton, apparently it gets updated so that it looks like the cover of his latest book.
Speaker: Oh, that is fantastic. Right? Yeah. He is a very charitable guy. And that's something that I really admired when learning about him is his giving back to his community. i mean, you mentioned at the top that he um has recently been awarded an OBE and these were for his services to literature and charity. So he's very recognized for being a giving guy. I was a little bit confused though when I saw that he had donated police vehicles I started to wonder if they were um like new to use for the police force which is definitely the case now that you've explained that or some sort of vintage model because he is a car collector hu yeah no I think these are like meant to be actively used by the police but by the police forces ah that said I don't know if they are like
Speaker: kind of like community vehicles, they go out to events and that kind of thing, or if they're actually out on patrol. I i don't know. ah So and another feature of his books that I think is pretty unique is all of the different points of view.
Speaker: And we might get one point of view for only a very short scene or a handful of scenes. As a reader, you don't feel like you need to have this map of all of these different characters and and who they are and how they're related. It's really just to convey some information about the story. And I think that's a really interesting approach because we often either get just the view of the detective or we get a few of the characters. You know, often if it's a domestic thriller, you get the perspective of um several of the different characters who are, you know, trapped in the um in the mountain resort or whatever it is, right?
Speaker: um But he gives the reader insight into some very... let's say superficial characters, the police investigation, definitely, you know, several of the characters you get to kind of um see what their thoughts are, the criminals as well.
Speaker: And then, yeah, just other people that these characters encounter over the course of the, of the story. And I think that that is really interesting.
Speaker: I do too. It's a very unique experience. I can't really think of anyone else who weaves their stories together like that. Because sometimes you'll get a piece of information because the detective goes and talks to someone. He's going to interview the housekeeper at the hotel, for instance.
Speaker: we're able to get this key piece of evidence, but he'll just put us in the perspective of the housekeeper and to provide that. Um, and sometimes you're reading and you're thinking, I wonder why we're in this person's head, but it's tantalizing because you know that there's a reason. And so it's, it, it just pushes you forward. I thought that was really unique too. Yeah.
Speaker: And then I think he, um, even researches some of those secondary characters and their experiences. So I know he's just got a new book that was very recently released. And for that book, i some of it is set in a hotel. And he spent some time working as the concierge in that hotel.
Speaker: Right, right. I think that's so fascinating. and And there's, you know, examples of him doing different kinds of jobs to research. I think that's great. And I think that it's something you might imagine an author just starting out would do. But, you know, here he is 20 some books deep in a series and he continues to do that. Like he's still learning. He's still learning.
Speaker: wanting to enrich his stories, even though he may not need to at this point, they're very beloved and he's got this fantastic career, but I just think that says a lot about him.
Speaker: Well, in terms of beloved ah in 2024, Queen Camilla announced that Peter James's character, Roy Grace was her favorite fictional detective, ah which I can't imagine What kind of an honor that must have been to learn that this person who is incredibly influential, regardless of how you feel about monarchy, this is a very influential person saying that they read, and not only read, but really enjoy your books.
Speaker: Yes, she said even over Poirot or Sherlock Holmes, which I agree. just don't know what that would feel like. um And this ties back into your research comments, Sarah, because Camilla encouraged the idea of a London set Roy Grace story. Like you were saying, usually he's in Brighton, but she really wanted him to come to London. And this was for his 2025 novel, The Hawk is Dead. and um offered to receive him at buckingham palace so that he could research so there we have that putting himself in the position once again and i mean i don't think anyone could turn down that that invitation but i i think it just shows how that commitment to getting things right and um
Speaker: you know We were talking earlier about his starting with writing children's television and that kind of making his writing accessible. i i think having that grounding in research means that readers can can identify with the characters and the experiences that they um that he writes about.
Speaker: Yeah, that's a really good point. You know, you've been to a hotel, you've um spoken to somebody at the front desk or, ah you know, you've had your room cleaned by a by a maid. um So you can imagine what, you know, what those interactions and those those experiences are like.
Speaker: Yes, yes. And In addition to that, I find Roy Grace just really likable as well.
Speaker: We don't always get that in a police detective, but he just seems like a really wonderful person. Yes, he's got some baggage. He's got some um darker background, but I feel like he's somebody that you want to root for. And I wonder if that also plays into Queen Camilla's like for that character.
Speaker: Yeah, i I'm sure it does because, yeah, he is a very likable character. as you say, he has some wounds, but they aren't the, you know, often it's that the detective is an alcoholic or is divorced or can't, you know, have a a a relationship with outside of of work and that's not true for um for grace right he has a family he has a ah sad history with respect to his family but he is married and has children and um you see him making choices that
Speaker: demonstrate that he is, you know, committed to his family and, and he's, he's a really likable character. And I think that that um wounding backstory that you mentioned just adds to that and ah definitely draws people in because there's this long arc story of, ah you know, a background situation going on. So he's not only so solving the case in that particular book, but he's like solving an overarching mystery, which is just a really, it's something that mystery leader readers love, I think.
Speaker: So the um television adaptation is a show that's called grace and it's still being produced and it is, it is quite good. I i really like it. um And I think is pretty true to the books. Yeah.
Speaker: ah In terms of how the stories unfold. So it's, ninety I think, 90 minute episodes, and each episode is kind of one book.
Speaker: um And, you know, you and I have talked in the past about Whether books should be adapted as films or adapted as a series. And this is almost a hybrid because you get, you know, each season is maybe three novels.
Speaker: um But that long story arc that is part of um Roy Grace's life is woven throughout because it is woven throughout the books as well. And so it um I think works really well the way that it is ah that is that it has been adopted for the screen.
Speaker: That's great. Do we know if Peter James is involved in the writing of that as a screenwriter himself? I don't think he's done the adaptations, ah but I think he, I read somewhere that he does meet with John Simm, who's the actor who plays Grace. They meet, I don't know how frequently, but you know he has had an opportunity to talk a little bit about how he envisions that character.
Speaker: So in your research on James, Sarah, did you learn anything about how he writes? Yeah, I saw this in a couple of interviews where he talks about kind of the way that his day is structured. um And ah he says his writing day starts at six in the evening with a three olive martini. And then he writes a thousand words.
Speaker: um has dinner with his wife and then gets up early the next morning and revises those thousand words from the night before and gets ready for whatever he's going to be writing later in the day and then takes a break and um he's an avid runner so you know he goes for a run or he does Pursues some of his other interests and then comes back to um to write again. ah So, i mean, really, his writing day does start in the morning, but he's he's revising what he'd written the the day before. But he holds himself to a six day a week schedule.
Speaker: And he has several videos on his website. He's got a YouTube channel. um And one of the um clips that I watched, he talks about, you know, you should be able, if you're a writer, you should be able to write anywhere.
Speaker: you know People who have this routine that you know they can only write with this particular pen or if they're in this particular spot, because it just becomes really easy to ah make up excuses for why you can't write. And so you should be prepared to write anywhere. And I think, you know, a thousand words a day is a really reasonable number.
Speaker: Yeah, that's fascinating. I like that um that rhythm of writing at one point and in the day, whether that be morning or evening, and then at the opposite time, following up on it. He probably comes away in a few months because I will also say his books aren't incredibly long. They're in that probably medium range of novel. In the few months it takes for him to accumulate enough words to write the whole book, they're probably very clean. His revision process, I imagine then, is is quite short. so Yeah, that's that's really interesting. I like that.
Speaker: Well, and and you also can see that reflected in the fact that he's got these really short chapters, right? A thousand words could be two or three of his of his chapters, right? That's And so you really build momentum ah when that's the the way that you write. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: So you mentioned briefly there at the beginning, Sarah, some of his awards. How many books does he have in total? And what are some of those big awards that he's won? So he's written over 35 novels, ah and and 22 of those, I believe are in the Roy Gray series. Uh, and he's written some short stories as well. And, uh,
Speaker: I mentioned there were some um novels that he wrote earlier and then some standalones in the late 80s and 90s. But all of those have sold ah over 24 million copies worldwide, ah translated into over 35 languages. so he's received several awards for his work, including um nominations for some of the screen productions that he's written and produced as well as awards for his writing, ah both from um reader selected prizes as well as panel selected prizes. And I think that that is really a nice thing that he's recognized both by his peers as well as readers.
Speaker: But Brooke, I am so excited that we are going to speak to Peter James next week. I am still a little in awe that we get that pleasure, but that's right. Next week, he'll be joining us on Clued in Mystery, and we can't wait to have a conversation with him.
Speaker: So we hope that you'll join us again, listeners. But for today, thank you for being here on Clued in Mystery. I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah, and we both love mystery.
Speaker: Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers. If you liked what you heard, please consider telling a friend, leaving a review, or subscribing with your favorite podcast listening app.
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