Some Sort of Justice

Get ready to be hooked by the thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer, where an aristocratic fatality leaves behind no body, no forensics, and enemies in the highest places... 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.' ***** Reader Review 
'Engaging characters, intriguing plots and occasional humour make for a page-turning read.' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
When Caroline Thorpe succeeded in casting doubt on the verdict of the inquest into her brother’s death, she could not have anticipated what would follow. 
 
Freddie was Earl Thorpe of Burnham, and as the Kings Lake detectives, headed by DCI Cara Freeman, soon begin to realise, influential people have gone to considerable lengths to cover up a potential scandal surrounding the young man’s death. 
 
Their investigation will take them from Norfolk into the capital, and from idealistic young campaigners to people at the heart of government. The stakes have never been higher for the detectives from Kings Lake Central. 
 
'Once I was ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn't want to leave' FINANCIAL TIMES 
'The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.' THE TIMES

What sets Grainger’s books apart from the typical police procedural is the fully realized characters ... That and his elegant prose, with its pitch-perfect dialogue, which gets more assured and more playful in each book.

The books are comforting, yet the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.

When Caroline Thorpe succeeded in casting doubt on the verdict of the inquest into her brother’s death, she could not have anticipated what would follow. 
 
Freddie was Earl Thorpe of Burnham, and as the Kings Lake detectives, headed by DCI Cara Freeman, soon begin to realise, influential people have gone to considerable lengths to cover up a potential scandal surrounding the young man’s death. 
 
Their investigation will take them from Norfolk into the capital, and from idealistic young campaigners to people at the heart of government. The stakes have never been higher for the detectives from Kings Lake Central.

But For The Grace

Get ready to be hooked by the second thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer. Death in old age shouldn't be suspicious. DC Smith thinks this one is... 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.' ***** Reader Review 
'Engaging characters, intriguing plots and occasional humour make for a page-turning read.' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
"We are living in the departure lounge," said Ralph Greenwood, "and flights leave with monotonous regularity." So when another resident of the Rosemary House care home is found dead in her chair one Saturday evening in December, no-one is very surprised – not until the results of a routine post-mortem reveal something extraordinary. 
 
Police Sergeant DC Smith and his team have to tread carefully as they investigate what took place, and Smith himself has to confront some difficult memories. Others, meanwhile, seem intent on getting him to leave the force altogether, while, despite his best efforts, his social life also becomes a little more complicated. 
 
To top it all, Kings Lake has been waiting weeks for the snow to fall, in a winter that seems as if it will never end... 
 
'Ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave.' FINANCIAL TIMES 
'The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.' THE TIMES

Once I was ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave …  What sets Grainger’s books apart from the typical police procedural is the fully realised characters, who appear to live in a gentler world, on a time continuum that makes sense, progressing and evolving from book to book.

The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.

"We are living in the departure lounge," said Ralph Greenwood, "and flights leave with monotonous regularity." So when another resident of the Rosemary House care home is found dead in her chair one Saturday evening in December, no-one is very surprised – not until the results of a routine post-mortem reveal something extraordinary. 
 
Police Sergeant DC Smith and his team have to tread carefully as they investigate what took place, and Smith himself has to confront some difficult memories. Others, meanwhile, seem intent on getting him to leave the force altogether, while, despite his best efforts, his social life also becomes a little more complicated. 
 
To top it all, Kings Lake has been waiting weeks for the snow to fall, in a winter that seems as if it will never end...

Luck and Judgement

Get ready to be hooked by the third thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: this time DC Smith is looking for a body, but what he finds is far more sinister... 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.' ***** Reader Review 
'Engaging characters, intriguing plots and occasional humour make for a page-turning read.' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
When a worker goes missing from a North Sea gas platform, there seem to be just two possible explanations: it was a tragic accident or a suicide. 
 
It does not take Smith and his detectives long, however, to discover that James Bell led a double life back onshore in Kings Lake -- a life complicated enough to make him at least one dangerous enemy. Before the case can be unravelled, Smith must get a new team working together; Waters and Murray are still there but one of Wilson’s men is transferred to him, and the female detective constable from Longmarsh poses some unexpected problems for her new sergeant. 
 
Together they begin to investigate the links between the companies and the people that bring ashore the oil and gas, and they also find themselves caught up in the seamier side of life that exists beneath Lake’s everyday comings and goings. The curious writer Jo Evison begins to delve more deeply into the story of the Andretti murders, and Smith himself has to face the fact that he might no longer be considered fit for duty. 
 
‘Ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave.' FINANCIAL TIMES 
'The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.' THE TIMES

When a worker goes missing from a North Sea gas platform, there seem to be just two possible explanations: it was a tragic accident or a suicide. 
 
It does not take Smith and his detectives long, however, to discover that James Bell led a double life back onshore in Kings Lake -- a life complicated enough to make him at least one dangerous enemy. Before the case can be unravelled, Smith must get a new team working together; Waters and Murray are still there but one of Wilson’s men is transferred to him, and the female detective constable from Longmarsh poses some unexpected problems for her new sergeant. 
 
Together they begin to investigate the links between the companies and the people that bring ashore the oil and gas, and they also find themselves caught up in the seamier side of life that exists beneath Lake’s everyday comings and goings. The curious writer Jo Evison begins to delve more deeply into the story of the Andretti murders, and Smith himself has to face the fact that he might no longer be considered fit for duty.

Persons of Interest

Get ready to be hooked by the fourth thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: DC Smith has solved hundreds of crimes, but he's never been accused of one. Until now... 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.' ***** Reader Review 
'Engaging characters, intriguing plots and occasional humour make for a page-turning read.' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
In the peace and tranquillity of the woods at Pinehills on a Saturday afternoon, a mobile phone begins to ring. The phone belongs to DC Smith and it isn’t unusual that the call is from Kings Lake Central police station; what is unusual is the fact that he seems to be the subject of an investigation rather than taking part in one. 
 
What can the links be between a prisoner’s violent death in another county, the disappearance of two teenagers and the highest profile case in Kings Lake for many years? As Smith and his team begin to untangle the threads, one thing becomes clear – they are dealing with some of the most dangerous people that they have yet encountered. 
 
‘Ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave.' FINANCIAL TIMES 
'The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.' THE TIMES

In the peace and tranquillity of the woods at Pinehills on a Saturday afternoon, a mobile phone begins to ring. The phone belongs to DC Smith and it isn’t unusual that the call is from Kings Lake Central police station; what is unusual is the fact that he seems to be the subject of an investigation rather than taking part in one. 
 
What can the links be between a prisoner’s violent death in another county, the disappearance of two teenagers and the highest profile case in Kings Lake for many years? As Smith and his team begin to untangle the threads, one thing becomes clear – they are dealing with some of the most dangerous people that they have yet encountered.

In This Bright Future

Get ready to be hooked by the fifth thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: Belfast seems like a perfect place for DC Smith to recuperate. And then there’s a knock on the door... 
 
‘Ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave.' FINANCIAL TIMES 
'The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.' THE TIMES 
 
Two weeks of rest and recuperation – that’s what the doctor ordered. Detective Sergeant DC Smith could listen to some music, make some of his own and maybe even catch up on his reading; he is almost looking forward to it. And then there is a knock on the door. 
 
It’s only his next-door neighbour but it is the beginning of a sequence of events that will bring him face to face with some of the darkest episodes and the most dangerous people from his own past. Smith has done countless investigations, but this time it’s personal. 
 
------------------------------- 
 
Readers love A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series 
 
***** Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending. 
 
***** Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life? 
 
***** An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better. 
 
***** Engaging characters, intriguing plots and occasional humour make for a page-turning red. 
 
***** I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!

Peter Grainger is the 'creator of the greatest fictional sleuth you’ve probably never heard of' (FT magazine). A former sixth-form English teacher, Peter is the author of 23 self-published novels, 19 of which are now scheduled for release by major British and North American publishers. 
 
Peter lives with his wife, sometimes a grandson and a dog in a cottage in the Cambridgeshire fens. He travels as often as possible to the Norfolk coast he once called home.

Two weeks of rest and recuperation – that’s what the doctor ordered. Detective Sergeant DC Smith could listen to some music, make some of his own and maybe even catch up on his reading; he is almost looking forward to it. And then there is a knock on the door. 
 
It’s only his next-door neighbour but it is the beginning of a sequence of events that will bring him face to face with some of the darkest episodes and the most dangerous people from his own past. Smith has done countless investigations, but this time it’s personal.

The Rags of Time

Get ready to be hooked by the sixth thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer. While other detectives are happy to connect the dots of a case, DC Smith paints a whole picture... 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.' ***** Reader Review 
'Engaging characters, intriguing plots and occasional humour make for a page-turning read.' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
Mark Randall lay dead in a field near Lowacre long before Smith had done what he had to do in Belfast. 
 
By the time he went back to work, the investigation was well underway. “It’s not my case” he says more than once, and he really doesn’t need it to be; he has enough to think about as it is. But going around the Norfolk countryside dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, speaking to the local farmers and the Brothers of St Francis from Abbeyfields, Smith begins to suspect that the investigation might be heading in entirely the wrong direction. 
 
Arrests are made, charges are brought and Christopher Waters asks Smith if he has ever seen the wrong man convicted in a murder case. The answer is yes, and the next question is, what can be done to prevent it happening again? 
 
‘Ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave.' FINANCIAL TIMES 
'The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.' THE TIMES

Mark Randall lay dead in a field near Lowacre long before Smith had done what he had to do in Belfast. 
 
By the time he went back to work, the investigation was well underway. “It’s not my case” he says more than once, and he really doesn’t need it to be; he has enough to think about as it is. But going around the Norfolk countryside dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, speaking to the local farmers and the Brothers of St Francis from Abbeyfields, Smith begins to suspect that the investigation might be heading in entirely the wrong direction. 
 
Arrests are made, charges are brought and Christopher Waters asks Smith if he has ever seen the wrong man convicted in a murder case. The answer is yes, and the next question is, what can be done to prevent it happening again?

Time and Tide

Get ready to be hooked by the seventh thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: two crimes take place a century apart. DC Smith is determined to find the connection... 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.' ***** Reader Review 
'Engaging characters, intriguing plots and occasional humour make for a page-turning read.' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
Change is afoot at Kings Lake Central police station. 
 
A most unexpected new detective inspector takes up his post this Monday morning, and the oldest detective in the place takes a momentous decision. Around them, other officers are considering their own situations, and even the building itself seems to be facing an uncertain future. But life and death go on, nevertheless, and by lunchtime someone will make a grim discovery on the Norfolk saltmarshes. A stranger seems to have suffered a slow and agonising death out there. 
 
As the team from Kings Lake uncover his story, they reveal another, much older one with its origins far back in the previous century. In the tide that governs the affairs of men, it seems, love and loss, betrayal and revenge are timeless themes. 
 
‘Ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave.' FINANCIAL TIMES 
'The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.' THE TIMES

Change is afoot at Kings Lake Central police station. 
 
A most unexpected new detective inspector takes up his post this Monday morning, and the oldest detective in the place takes a momentous decision. Around them, other officers are considering their own situations, and even the building itself seems to be facing an uncertain future. But life and death go on, nevertheless, and by lunchtime someone will make a grim discovery on the Norfolk saltmarshes. A stranger seems to have suffered a slow and agonising death out there. 
 
As the team from Kings Lake uncover his story, they reveal another, much older one with its origins far back in the previous century. In the tide that governs the affairs of men, it seems, love and loss, betrayal and revenge are timeless themes.

Songbird

On Eden Street

Roxanne

A Private Investigation

The Truth

Peter Grainger

Once I was ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave … What sets Grainger’s books apart from the typical police procedural is the fully realised characters, who appear to live in a gentler world, on a time continuum that makes sense, progressing and evolving from book to book.

A terrific police procedural series, up there with Bosch, Morse, Pascoe and Dalziel.

An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which only gets better as the characters develop.

This series is a delightful read … I am so looking forward to reading them all!

When a young man drowns after a boisterous party in a small riverside town, his friends and family report it to the Kings Lake police as a devastating accident. 
 
DC Smith, newly returned from leave, and the young, ambitious trainee Christopher Waters are assigned to the case as a routine investigation. But the post-mortem reveals violent injuries, witnesses give contradictory accounts of the events leading up to the drowning and locals seem determined to redirect their attention. 
 
Becoming increasingly suspicious of institutional caution and external interference, Smith and Waters strike out on their own. As they get closer to the truth, they realise the danger is not quite over.

Peter Grainger

Praise for An Accidental Death

Once I was ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave … What sets Grainger’s books apart from the typical police procedural is the fully realised characters, who appear to ...

The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.

A terrific police procedural series, up there with Bosch, Morse, Pascoe and Dalziel.

Once I was ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave … What sets Grainger’s books apart from the typical police procedural is the fully realised characters, who appear to ...

The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.

A terrific police procedural series, up there with Bosch, Morse, Pascoe and Dalziel.

Once I was ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave … What sets Grainger’s books apart from the typical police procedural is the fully realised characters, who appear to ...

The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.

A terrific police procedural series, up there with Bosch, Morse, Pascoe and Dalziel.

Books by Peter Grainger

Series by Peter Grainger

A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter