Luck and Judgement
Published on 4. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-1-80496-141-4 (ISBN)
Description
Get ready to be hooked by the third thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer: this time DC Smith is looking for a body, but what he finds is far more sinister...
'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
When a worker goes missing from a North Sea gas platform, there seem to be just two possible explanations: it was a tragic accident or a suicide.
It does not take Smith and his detectives long, however, to discover that James Bell led a double life back onshore in Kings Lake -- a life complicated enough to make him at least one dangerous enemy. Before the case can be unravelled, Smith must get a new team working together; Waters and Murray are still there but one of Wilson's men is transferred to him, and the female detective constable from Longmarsh poses some unexpected problems for her new sergeant.
Together they begin to investigate the links between the companies and the people that bring ashore the oil and gas, and they also find themselves caught up in the seamier side of life that exists beneath Lake's everyday comings and goings. The curious writer Jo Evison begins to delve more deeply into the story of the Andretti murders, and Smith himself has to face the fact that he might no longer be considered fit for duty.
'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
'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
When a worker goes missing from a North Sea gas platform, there seem to be just two possible explanations: it was a tragic accident or a suicide.
It does not take Smith and his detectives long, however, to discover that James Bell led a double life back onshore in Kings Lake -- a life complicated enough to make him at least one dangerous enemy. Before the case can be unravelled, Smith must get a new team working together; Waters and Murray are still there but one of Wilson's men is transferred to him, and the female detective constable from Longmarsh poses some unexpected problems for her new sergeant.
Together they begin to investigate the links between the companies and the people that bring ashore the oil and gas, and they also find themselves caught up in the seamier side of life that exists beneath Lake's everyday comings and goings. The curious writer Jo Evison begins to delve more deeply into the story of the Andretti murders, and Smith himself has to face the fact that he might no longer be considered fit for duty.
'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
Reviews / Votes
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 * The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping. * The Times *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 200 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 42 mm
Weight
301 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80496-141-4 (9781804961414)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
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.
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.