I have long enjoyed police procedural literature as a means to let (what remains of) my hair down but have so often been disappointed by the quality of writing. Indeed, without any hint of arrogance, I have often judged my own works to be better than the majority currently in print.
I read the new authors as they come out on the daily Bookbub lists for Kindle. With free or very cheap novels - unhappily, you can get what you have paid for.
So many are consigned to oblivion before I am even ten pages in. (Weak, unrealistic dialogue immediately has my hackles rising and anything which is about the incredibly famous, the unbelievably talented - along with those featuring billionaires - are all promptly consigned unto the bin!)
I have discovered some with burgeoning talent but there has been none to match the mighty Peter Grainger.
This is an educated man who possesses genuine quality across the gamut of his writing skills.
DC Smith is arguably the best crafted detective I have encountered.
Smith is a finer creation than anything proffered by Dexter, Rendell, McBride, Rankin, Peter James etc. I have now read the first seven in the series. His writing begins well and simply gets better with every new volume.
Strongly recommended by this Blog.
From Book 1: An Accidental Death: A DC Smith Investigation
The story opens with the apparently accidental drowning of a British 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 an ex-Detective Chief Inspector, Smith could have retired by now, and it is clear that some of his superiors wish that he would do so. The latest trainee detective to work with him is the son of a member of his former team, and together they begin to unravel the truth about what happened to Wayne Fletcher.
As the investigation proceeds, it becomes clear 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 that his own life might be at risk but he has not calculated on the life of his young assistant also being put in danger.
Perfect for fans of Colin Dexter, Ruth Rendell, P D James, R D Wingfield or even John le Carre.
