On Eden Street

Get ready to be hooked by the fourth thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: the Kings Lake detectives are on a routine case. This time the victim isn’t who they think he is... 
 
'Pitch-perfect crime writing.' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
The new Kings Lake Central murder squad is about to spend its first morning on team-building exercises and reviewing cold cases when the call comes in that the body of one of the city’s rough sleepers has been found in a shop doorway. 
 
It happens, someone says, he isn’t the first to die on the streets and he won’t be the last. But the story the new team begins to uncover is far from routine, as previous investigations resurface and unexpected characters appear. All the while, DCI Cara Freeman is under pressure to deliver a result and demonstrate that her first specialist team is worth the money. 
 
‘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

If you love British crime fiction such as Morse, then this is a brilliant series for you.

An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.

I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!

Engaging characters, intriguing plots and occasional humour make for a page-turning read.

Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.

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.

The new Kings Lake Central murder squad is about to spend its first morning on team-building exercises and reviewing cold cases when the call comes in that the body of one of the city’s rough sleepers has been found in a shop doorway. 
 
It happens, someone says, he isn’t the first to die on the streets and he won’t be the last, but the story the new team begins to uncover is far from routine. New characters appear and new relationships form as the pressure grows on Detective Chief Inspector Cara Freeman to deliver a result and show that Kings Lake’s first specialist team is worth the money. Detective Sergeant Christopher Waters discovers links to a previous investigation, learns that there is more than one way to run a successful squad and finds flower-arranging more interesting than he would ever have imagined.

Roxanne

Get ready to be hooked by the fourth thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: a young woman is missing, presumed dead. Cara Freeman’s determination to find her is personal... 
 
'Pitch-perfect crime writing.' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
Life, as DC Smith used to say, is just one thing after another: as one investigation ends, a new one begins. 
 
But, for reasons unknown to the rest of the Kings Lake Central murder squad, their next case will haunt DCI Cara Freeman. It will plunge the team into the seamy side of life in the town, and one of their number will have departed before the investigation is over. Perhaps DS Chris Waters should have seen it coming – but he has a lot more than work on his mind these days. 
 
‘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

Life, as DC Smith used to say, is just one thing after another – as one investigation ends, a new one begins. 
 
But, for reasons unknown to the rest of the Kings Lake Central murder squad, their next case will haunt DCI Cara Freeman. It sends them into the seamy side of life in the town, and one of their number will have departed before this new investigation is over. Perhaps Detective Sergeant Chris Waters should have seen it coming – but he has a lot more than work on his mind these days.

The Truth

Get ready to be hooked by the fourth thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: an ex-sergeant might be in trouble. He reunites with DC Smith to discover the truth... 
 
'Pitch-perfect crime writing.' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
‘He said if he hadn’t heard from you by high noon today, he was going to strap on his six-guns and ride back into town. So I think you should call him, Charlie. Call him before you come home.’ 
 
Charlie Hills, former desk sergeant at Kings Lake Central, is in trouble. He hasn’t told Smith, his old friend and sparring partner – but someone else has, and now the two former policemen are about to embark on a difficult and potentially dangerous search for the truth. 
 
‘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

He said if he hadn’t heard from you by high noon today, he was going to strap on his six-guns and ride back into town. So I think you should call him, Charlie. Call him before you come home. 
 
Charlie Hills, former desk sergeant at Kings Lake Central, is in trouble. He hasn’t told Smith, his old friend and sparring partner, but someone has, and now the two former policemen are about to embark on a difficult and potentially dangerous search for the truth. For one of them, it could be life changing.

Songbird

Get ready to be hooked by the fourth thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: Chris Waters is finally in charge of a crime scene. Now he has to make a career-changing decision... 
 
'Pitch-perfect crime writing.' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
Detective Sergeant Chris Waters got the call at 05.29 that July morning. This is it, said DCI Reeve, you’ll be first there, it’s all yours, you’re the crime scene manager. Suddenly, after months of waiting and wondering, Waters finds himself in at the deep end, and alone at the scene of a puzzling murder. 
 
As the investigation proceeds, the detectives at Kings Lake Central find themselves visiting familiar places and talking to some familiar faces, while old enmities reappear in the incident room. Before this is over, Chris Waters will need to make a career-changing decision, and another member of the CID team will find herself facing an unexpected challenge. And Smith? Gone but not forgotten? Surely, he would say, you cannot write me off with a worn-out cliché like that… 
 
‘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

Detective Sergeant Chris Waters got the call at 05.29 that July morning. This is it, said DCI Reeve, you’ll be first there, it’s all yours, you’re the crime scene manager. Suddenly, after months of waiting and wondering, Waters finds himself in at the deep end, and alone at the scene of a puzzling murder. 
 
As the investigation proceeds, the detectives at Kings Lake Central find themselves visiting familiar places and talking to some familiar faces, while old enmities reappear in the incident room. Before this is over, Chris Waters will need to make a career-changing decision, and another member of the CID team will find herself facing an unexpected challenge. And Smith? Gone but not forgotten? Surely, he would say, you cannot write me off with a worn-out cliché like that…

In This Bright Future

Get ready to be hooked by the fifth thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: DC Smith is recuperating. Then an unexpected call sends him to Belfast... 
 
'Pitch-perfect crime writing.' DAILY EXPRESS 
'Peter Grainger's books are addictive.' CRIMINAL ELEMENT 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review 
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review 
 
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. 
 
‘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.

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 bestselling crime writer: while other detectives are happy to connect the dots of a case, DC Smith paints a whole picture... 
 
'Pitch-perfect crime writing.' DAILY EXPRESS 
'Peter Grainger's books are addictive.' CRIMINAL ELEMENT 
 
'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review 
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** 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?

Peter Grainger

When fourteen-year-old Zoe Johnson doesn’t come home on a Monday night in early December, the alarm bells in Kings Lake Central police station do not ring straight away – after all, she’s from the Dockmills, one of the toughest estates in the town. But for Detective Sergeant DC Smith, due to retire in just three weeks’ time, there are some strange echoes of the case that has haunted him for the past thirteen years. Maybe it’s simply his over-developed sense of irony, or maybe, in his final days as a police officer, Smith must look once more into the eyes of a serial killer.

Peter Grainger

Praise for A Private Investigation

If you love British crime fiction such as Morse, then this is a brilliant series for you.

I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!

An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.

If you love British crime fiction such as Morse, then this is a brilliant series for you.

I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!

An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.

If you love British crime fiction such as Morse, then this is a brilliant series for you.

I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!

An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.

Books by Peter Grainger

Series by Peter Grainger

A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series17 Books

Willows and Lane3 Books

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