Cover

ATOM BOMB ANGEL

Peter James was educated at Charterhouse then at film school. He lived in North America for a number of years, working as a screenwriter and film producer before returning to England. His novels, including the Sunday Times number one bestselling Roy Grace series, have been translated into thirty-six languages, with worldwide sales of fifteen million copies. Three of his earlier novels have been filmed. His novella The Perfect Murder and his first Roy Grace novel, Dead Simple, have both been adapted for the stage. James has also produced numerous films, including The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes. He divides his time between his homes in Notting Hill, London, and near Brighton in Sussex.

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By Peter James

The Roy Grace Series

DEAD SIMPLE   LOOKING GOOD DEAD

NOT DEAD ENOUGH   DEAD MAN’S FOOTSTEPS

DEAD TOMORROW   DEAD LIKE YOU

DEAD MAN’S GRIP   NOT DEAD YET

DEAD MAN’S TIME   WANT YOU DEAD

Other Novels

DEAD LETTER DROP   ATOM BOMB ANGEL

BILLIONAIRE   POSSESSION   DREAMER

SWEET HEART   TWILIGHT   PROPHECY

ALCHEMIST   HOST   THE TRUTH

DENIAL   FAITH   PERFECT PEOPLE

Short Stories

SHORT SHOCKERS: COLLECTION ONE

SHORT SHOCKERS: COLLECTION TWO

A TWIST OF THE KNIFE

Children’s Novel

GETTING WIRED!

Novella

THE PERFECT MURDER

Title Page

ATOM BOMB ANGEL

PETER JAMES

PAN BOOKS

Dedication

To my Mother and Father

It would take another whole book to list the reasons

Acknowledgements

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the very many people and organizations who have, in person or through their publications, given me invaluable assistance in my writing of Atom Bomb Angel: in particular, my wife, Georgina, for endless patience and encouragement, and Jesse, for not eating all the manuscript; Peter Bunyard, the Central Electricity Generating Board, Peter Taylor and the Political Ecology Research Group Ltd, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, the union of Concerned Scientists, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, Dungeness Power Station, Ontario Hydro, Louis Kates, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd, Hilary woolley, Margot kirk, Phillip Cochrane, the Namibia Information Office, Via Rail Canada, Laurie Drury, and many, many others.

The ignorant man always adores what he cannot understand.

CESARE LOMBROSO (1836–1909)

Foreword

FOREWORD

Welcome to the second novel I ever had published, back in 1982. I was cutting my teeth on my craft then (although I guess I still am!) so please forgive any rough edges and, hopefully, enjoy Atom Bomb Angel for the period piece it now is.

Although it was the second novel I had published, Atom Bomb Angel was actually my fifth novel: there are four that I wrote in my late teens and early twenties that, fortunately, never got published – although the first got me an agent – and these manuscripts will remain for ever in a trunk in the attic.