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An Accidental Death
  • Published: 28 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9781804961384
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $28.00
Categories:

An Accidental Death

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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 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.
  • Published: 28 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9781804961384
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $28.00
Categories:

About the author

Peter Grainger

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.
PG

Also by Peter Grainger

Some Sort of Justice
Arcadia
Lane
One-Way Tickets
Missing Pieces
The Camera Man
Another Girl
See all

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 live in a gentler world, on a time continuum that makes sense, progressing and evolving from book to book.

Financial Times

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

Reader review

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

Reader review

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

Reader review

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

The Times

Excellent ... the gruff and uncompromising Smith is a copper in the spirit of George Gently and John Rebus -- that is, complicated and not cartoonish ... readers will be eager for the next instalment.

Publishers Weekly, Starred review

A compelling read. Readers new to the series will look forward to seeing where the mentor-mentee relationship between Smith and Waters goes, as well as learning more about Smith and his storied, albeit controversial, career.

Booklist

I loved it. Smith is an amazing creation, and I can’t believe that no mainstream publishers grabbed the book when it first came out.

David Prestidge

Perfect for readers who like thoughtful, well written crime fiction [...] A deeply satisfying read for anyone who enjoys crime fiction with real substance and a strong sense of authenticity.

Anne Cater, Mature Times

DC Smith’s investigatory methods are unorthodox, rather old-fashioned, but Smith’s thoroughness and unwillingness to close cases for the sake of expediency pay off. Smith’s modus operandi sounds almost simplistic, though it’s anything but—he’s thorough deliberate, and a past master at the art of interviewing suspects. New readers might want to inhale books 1-16 before reading Some Sort of Justice. Set aside some time because Peter Grainger’s books are addictive.

Criminal Element

DC is such an original voice, and the books are complex explorations of character and relationships. The series is now at the top of my list of British procedurals, and that's saying a lot.

Deborah Crombie