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A Private Investigation
Brief Description
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the eighth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, DC Smith is ready to retire. But first, he must take one last look into the eyes of a serial killer. When...
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A Private Investigation
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Description
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the eighth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, DC Smith is ready to retire. But first, he must take one last look into the eyes of a serial killer.
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.
Series: A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series
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The first time in print for the million-copy-selling crime writer. This time, a cast of good coppers, a wily ex-detective and a shadowy, well-connected operative are brought together by an aristocratic fatality. Only there's no body, no forensics—and enemies in the highest places. When Caroline Thorpe succeeded in casting doubt on the verdict of the inquest into her brother's death,...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
An Accidental Death
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the first book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, an experienced detective's unorthodox methods land him in troubled waters. 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...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid September -
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A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the ninth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, Chris Waters is finally in charge of a crime scene. Now he has to make a career-changing decision. Detective Sergeant Chris Waters got the call at 05.29 that July morning. "This is it," said DCI Reeve,...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
A Private Investigation
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the eighth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, DC Smith is ready to retire. But first, he must take one last look into the eyes of a serial killer. When fourteen-year-old Zoe Johnson doesn't come home on a Monday night in early December, the...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
On Eden Street
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the eleventh book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, the Kings Lake detectives are on a routine case. This time the victim isn't who they think he is. The new Kings Lake Central murder squad is about to spend its first morning on team-building exercises...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Roxanne
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the eleventh book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, a young woman is missing, presumed dead. Cara Freeman's determination to find her is personal. Life, as DC Smith used to say, is just one thing after another - as one investigation ends, a new one...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Truth
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the twelfth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, an ex-sergeant might be in trouble. He reunites with DC Smith to discover the truth. He said if he hadn't heard from you by high noon today, he was going to strap on his six-guns and...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
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A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the second book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, death in old age shouldn't be suspicious. DC Smith thinks this one is. "We are living in the departure lounge," said Ralph Greenwood, "and flights leave with monotonous regularity." So when another resident of the Rosemary...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
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Luck and Judgement
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Persons of Interest
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the fourth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, DC Smith has solved hundreds of crimes, but he's never been accused of one. Until now. In the peace and tranquillity of the woods at Pinehills on a Saturday afternoon, a mobile phone begins to ring....Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Rags of Time
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the sixth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, other detectives are content to connect the dots of a case. DC Smith paints a whole picture. Mark Randall lay dead in a field near Lowacre long before Smith had done what he had to do...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781804961490
Publisher: Cornerstone
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 20 August 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin (Cornerstone)
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 35.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 500g
Pages: 304
About the Author
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.
Also by Peter Grainger
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16% offNew Release
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The first time in print for the million-copy-selling crime writer. This time, a cast of good coppers, a wily ex-detective and a shadowy, well-connected operative are brought together by an aristocratic fatality. Only there's no body, no forensics—and enemies in the highest places. When Caroline Thorpe succeeded in casting doubt on the verdict of the inquest into her brother's death,...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
An Accidental Death
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the first book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, an experienced detective's unorthodox methods land him in troubled waters. 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...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid September -
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On Eden Street
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the eleventh book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, the Kings Lake detectives are on a routine case. This time the victim isn't who they think he is. The new Kings Lake Central murder squad is about to spend its first morning on team-building exercises...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
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The Truth
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the twelfth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, an ex-sergeant might be in trouble. He reunites with DC Smith to discover the truth. He said if he hadn't heard from you by high noon today, he was going to strap on his six-guns and...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
But For The Grace
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the second book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, death in old age shouldn't be suspicious. DC Smith thinks this one is. "We are living in the departure lounge," said Ralph Greenwood, "and flights leave with monotonous regularity." So when another resident of the Rosemary...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
In This Bright Future
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the fifth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, DC Smith is recuperating. Then an unexpected call sends him to Belfast. Two weeks of rest and recuperation – that's what the doctor ordered. Detective Sergeant DC Smith could listen to some music, make some of...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Luck and Judgement
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the third book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, DC Smith is looking for a body. What he finds is far more sinister. When a worker goes missing from a North Sea gas platform, there seem to be just two possible explanations: it was a...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Persons of Interest
A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the fourth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, DC Smith has solved hundreds of crimes, but he's never been accused of one. Until now. In the peace and tranquillity of the woods at Pinehills on a Saturday afternoon, a mobile phone begins to ring....Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Rags of Time
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