CLOSURE: Central Library will be closed Tuesday, July 21 through Saturday, July 25 while emergency repairs are made to the building’s cooling system. We expect to reopen Monday, July 27. Click for more details on holds, program schedule and returns during this closure. 

An accidental death

Call Number

  • MYSTERY GRAI (CEN, EAS, OSH)

Edition

First U.S. edition.

Publication Information

New York : Union Square & Co., 2026.

Physical Description

315 pages ; 21 cm

Summary

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.

Notes

First self-published by Peter Grainger in 2013.