A slow burner with some poignant moments and a lively finale. ( )

On a busy Sunday afternoon Niall Paternoster drops his wife Eden at a busy supermarket so she can purchase a bag of kitty litter. She vanishes without a trace and within a day Niall is in police custody accused of Eden's murder. This is one of three storylines in Peter James's 17th Roy Grace series of police procedurals. The others deal with Roy's son Bruno, who is struck by a car, and with Roy's immediate superior, Assistant Chief Constable Cassian Pewe, who is unmasked as benefitting from some insider stock tips.

The storytelling moves along briskly even though the book is lengthy and maybe suffers some unnecessary padding. The missing person storyline is dominant and is full of surprises, with an exciting "do-or-die" conclusion. Bruno's story comes to a bold resolution that seems premature as well as shocking. We need to get to the last pages to find out the fate of ACC Pewe: will he be able to return? All told, there's a satisfying conclusion to the book, and I was left looking forward to the next Grace novel. James writes well about police procedure and the internal organization of a "Major Crimes" investigation which adds authenticity; this detail is often missing from British police procedural crime novels. The glossary of police acronyms at the end of the novel is helpful too.
This book can be read as a standalone although some nuance and backstory will be lost.
In short, this is a fascinating and readable crime novel.
I received a complementary advance reading eBook copy of "Left You Dead" from the publisher via Netgalley for my independent review. The comments about it are my own. ( )