An Accidental Death
A Novel
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An experienced detective’s unorthodox methods land him in troubled waters in this first book in the DC Smith/Kings Lake Investigation series by prolific British crime writer Peter Grainger.
The story opens with the apparently accidental drowning of a sixth form student in the Norfolk countryside. As a matter of routine, or so it seems, the case passes across the desk of Detective Sergeant Smith, recently returned to work after an internal investigation into another case that has led to tensions between officers at Kings Lake police headquarters.
As a former Detective Chief Inspector, Smith could have retired by now, and it is clear some of his superiors wish that he would do so. With a new trainee detective in tow, Smith begins to unravel the truth about what happened to Wayne Fletcher. As the investigation proceeds, it becomes obvious that others are involved—some seem determined to prevent it, some seem to be taking too much interest. In the end Smith operates alone, having stepped too far outside standard procedures to ask for support. He knows his own safety might be at risk but he has not calculated on the life of his young assistant also being put in danger.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this excellent British procedural—Grainger's first in a series originally published in the U.K.—recently demoted detective constable Peter Smith returns to work for England's Kings Lake police department despite pressure from his superiors to retire after an internal investigation into one of his previous cases. Smith is saddled with the tedious tasks of training new hire Christopher Waters and reviewing the apparently straightforward drowning of 17-year-old Wayne Fletcher after an afternoon of drinking and smoking near a river. Smith takes on both assignments with unflappable dignity, grating the nerves of his former underling and new boss, Det. Supt. Allen. Bothered by contradictory details in Fletcher's postmortem report and conflicting statements from witnesses, Smith, with the eager Waters in tow, probes the boy's death, only to be met with opposition from department heads focused more on budget cutbacks than justice. Soon, Smith and Waters uncover a twisted history of persecution that casts Fletcher's death in a new light. The gruff and uncompromising Smith is a copper in the spirit of George Gently and John Rebus—that is, complicated and not cartoonish—and the core investigation spirals into a chilling look at social exile. Readers will be eager for the next installment.
