Absolute Proof

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The thing about this book is that there’s so much going on here that there’s a little bit of something for everyone. Even though the majority of it is all about action and the oddities of religion, there’s also a bunch of other stuff along with great characterisation and an ensemble cast where no one is safe. You never know who might die next. Apologies to you if you loved the book but there was so much I just couldn't get past with this one and we will have to agree to disagree. I was a little skeptical about the subject matter and whilst I can see the parallels to The Da Vinci, it made me wonder why James took so long to write this book both with his own experience and using Dan Brown's hit as a perfect opportunity to release something similar. Ross begins to investigate, this could be the biggest scoop of his career, but others are interested and will stop at nothing to get their hands on the evidence. First off, if you have read Peter James before and loved his D.I.Grace books then don’t imagine this is like them, its a total stand alone book, and completely different to his other books ( btw I love the D.I.Grace series )

Absolute Proof: The Thrilling Richard and Judy Book Club Pick

I am addicted to Peter James’s, the Roy Grace series, so I was excited to read something completely different from his usual works.

Publication Order of Roy Grace Short Stories/Novellas Books

Sensational – the best what-if thriller since The Da Vinci Code ' - Lee Child, author of Killing Floor . Now that is out of the way I am going to confess and say I hated this book. I did manage to read it all but it was a good job it was in the stave format from The Pigeonhole as I could portion out the ridiculousness. I was rather sceptically going along with it all (not because of the Religious aspects to the book but rather the main character, Ross Hunter's actions) and then the author showed a basic misunderstanding of Mitrochondrial DNA - numerous times he mentioned it was only in the female line - no it is passed intact through the female line but it is present in all creatures that have a cell structure. As soon as I hit that road bump I realised that the research done for this book was a little scant. A thought provoking stand alone novel from top author Peter James that will certainly entertain. This book is different from the Roy Grace novels I have read by this author and is more akin to Dan Brown's Da Vinci code as pointed out by others. H: It was about January 2011 when we met. It was in the East Beach Café in Littlehampton, and we met to talk about the possibility of developing one of Peter's most famous characters, Roy Grace, for TV. Is that right? Born again evangelist Wesley Wenceslas has built a multi-million dollar business around his style of religion, preaching all over the world. Would Hunter’s discoveries ruin his empire and show Wesley as a phoney?

Absolute Proof – Peter James

Cousins Angus and Pete live in separate monasteries but both live a life of silence, solitude and devotion to The Lord. They need no ‘proof’ to hold onto their faith. To read for enjoyment it is necessary to suspend rational thoughts and disbelief, and just let the story carry you along on this strange and dangerous adventure. A complicated story with many characters, but easy to follow. There is a contradiction here. The search is based on finding true relics of Jesus Christ would lead to mankind believing in God, restore peace and harmony and save the world. Others fear that such discoveries would cause disharmony amongst Christian factions, and these findings based on Christian beliefs would not persuade the other major religions to accept the absolute proof of God. Though I appreciate authors like to flex their muscles by writing a different genre from time to time.If you are expecting that a mathematician reviewing Absolute Proof will be writing about the nature of mathematical truth, then you may be disappointed. This book is written by “that” Peter James, the well-known and award-winning author of mysteries and police procedurals, who has 19 novels featuring DSI Roy Grace, and a similar number of stand-alone books, to his name. James’ interests include religion, science, and the paranormal, as well as criminology and fast cars. In Absolute Proof he puts the ideas he has distilled from sincere personal research undertaken over more than 30 years into the mouths of a diverse assembly of characters encountered by his protagonist, war-hardened investigative journalist Ross Hunter, in a pacy and far-fetched thriller. With that said, there were also a few things that I wasn’t too keen on, including the ending, which sort of just petered out. I wasn’t particularly keen on the secondary romance plot either, which didn’t really need to be there. I suppose it was okay though, and it was kind of interesting to look at the death of love and what happens when a married couple no longer trusts each other. I really enjoyed the structure of the book. I LOVED the short chapters. Because I have two small children, reading time is extremely limited and I really appreciated the short chapters. It made it a lot easier to read than it could have been. And it really could have been! It's a BIG book! This book is based on Peter James getting a phone call in 1989 from a gentleman claiming he had proof of Gods existence. This lead to Peter spending 28 years on a journey of exploration. The end result is this amazing book. I also wasn't a fan of the ending. It felt unresolved and I was angry about where his relationships went.

Standalones – Peter James Standalones – Peter James

And Ross himself. I had major issues with Ross. For a smart guy, he made some incredibly silly decisions. His relationship with his wife... Whatever that was going on with Sally... His decisions and naivety through 99% of the book floored me and I got so frustrated with him. I enjoy a book with romance, I don't enjoy a romance when the man is married to someone who is NOT the love interest. It felt like his wife's behaviour in the beginning of the book was used as an excuse to why he was behaving like he was later on, even though years had passed. The phone call that could ultimately change the whole of mankind, is from an elderly gentleman claiming that he has absolute proof of God’s existence, and he believes Ross is the only person who can help him get the message out there, and ultimately save the world! The characters are above interesting as is the ‘plot’ ( I say plot because at times I forgot this was a work of fiction ) The storyline that takes us from Britain to Monaco, Egypt, and Los Angeles is far-fetched, as is that of any thriller. International readers may not be aware of the legend that Joseph of Arimathea travelled after the death of Jesus to first-century Britain with the chalice from the Last Supper, concealing it near Glastonbury. As an evangelical Christian, that the improbable survival of holy relics (the chalice is not the only one) might play a role in a proof of God’s existence troubled me. However, I don’t suggest you read this book for the realism of the storyline or the subtlety of the characters. What I think James has done successfully is to put forward many of the important ideas and viewpoints in the science and religion conversation in everyday language. As a starting point or an overview in popular and palatable form, this book could be recommended to enquiring young adults. They will be taken on a whirlwind tour of the problem of suffering, the multiverse, Paley’s watch, natural selection, coincidence, miracles, New Atheism, Deism, and Theism. Those more familiar with these ideas who like some escapist reading will also enjoy this book. In short avoid this book. It has a meandering and unconvincing plot, characters that are simply laughable (even the peripherals such as Ainsley Bloor, Big Tony - yes, REALLY, Harry F Cook and Wesley Wenceslas are all caricatures) and so many holes in the research that it is really a chore to read.

Absolute Proof, Peter James

With his well-honed curious nature, and look out for the next ‘big story’, Ross agrees to meet Dr Harry Cook, where he produces a manuscript he’d scribed from a direct message from God himself, through a medium. Reluctantly, against his better judgement, opinion that Dr Cook is probably no more than a crazy old man, Ross agrees to read the manuscript. Alas, upon finding the body of murdered Dr Cook a matter of days later, Ross is compelled to take up the staff, beginning his treacherous adventure. Plus I tend to get interrupted a lot during the day so having to stop what I am listening to is sometimes harder than just putting a bookmark in. However, I have been spending more time in my car lately with my little one. Investigative reporter Ross Hunter nearly didn’t answer the phone call that would change his life – and possibly the world – for ever. And the ending? Where do I start? The ending left far too many unanswered questions (see spoiler protected bit below). It was ambiguous and anti climactic and I expected more from an award winning author who has sold more than 19 million books. Absolute Proof was a meandering novel with some interesting points about religion but the unresolved ending left me underwhelmed and unlikely to seek out any of his other novels. I found that the storyline required the reader to suspend disbelief at times, but you know something? I was happy to do just that, for such an exciting and compelling read!