The Rags of Time
Published on 4. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-80496-147-6 (ISBN)
Description
Get ready to be hooked by the sixth thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy bestselling crime writer: while other detectives are happy to connect the dots of a case, DC Smith paints a whole picture...
'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
Mark Randall lay dead in a field near Lowacre long before Smith had done what he had to do in Belfast.
By the time he went back to work, the investigation was well underway. "It's not my case" he says more than once, and he really doesn't need it to be; he has enough to think about as it is. But going around the Norfolk countryside dotting the i's and crossing the t's, speaking to the local farmers and the Brothers of St Francis from Abbeyfields, Smith begins to suspect that the investigation might be heading in entirely the wrong direction.
Arrests are made, charges are brought and Christopher Waters asks Smith if he has ever seen the wrong man convicted in a murder case. The answer is yes, and the next question is, what can be done to prevent it happening again?
'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
Mark Randall lay dead in a field near Lowacre long before Smith had done what he had to do in Belfast.
By the time he went back to work, the investigation was well underway. "It's not my case" he says more than once, and he really doesn't need it to be; he has enough to think about as it is. But going around the Norfolk countryside dotting the i's and crossing the t's, speaking to the local farmers and the Brothers of St Francis from Abbeyfields, Smith begins to suspect that the investigation might be heading in entirely the wrong direction.
Arrests are made, charges are brought and Christopher Waters asks Smith if he has ever seen the wrong man convicted in a murder case. The answer is yes, and the next question is, what can be done to prevent it happening again?
'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: 197 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
258 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80496-147-6 (9781804961476)
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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.