British Mystery Books can be more entertaining than the British Mystery TV programs. But, expect some violence and language not typically found on the TV programs.
Death by drowning — a young man who was partying with friends along the banks of an English Country river. Tragic accident? Or entangling mystery threatening the country, the community and leading to more deaths? “Accident-close quickly” — instructions from superiors.
DC Smith Will Get to the Answers
Small discrepancies get the case assigned to DC Smith whose experience on the force and in the military help him to observe even more. A quick close will also move D.C. Smith closer to retirement. Colleagues have already been pushed toward choices to leave the force. Never assume accident or coincident. Joined by a young, newbie officer, Waters, and a former colleague, D I Reeve, who is now a superior, DC Smith follows the clues to find the true crime and the truth about the ‘accidental’ death.
If you like to watch the British mysteries on TV, you will enjoy working with DC Smith. He is highly observant and better trained by life and experience that others are willing to credit him. His young officer partner learns fast and shows a lot of promise. That doesn’t surprise Smith when he learns Waters’ father had been on the force in the early days.
It’s All About the Good Guys Getting the Bad Guys
The gentle pace of Accidental Death – A DC Smith Investigation will surprise you sometimes when the action pops up. There is much more to D C Smith than we expected. After going down bunny trail after bunny trail with this team, learning who was a bad guy and who wasn’t, I found the ending to be the best part when we saw even another surprising facet of DC Smith’s abilities. The book has quite a twisting plot in its quiet British way. While the gentle pace took awhile to get started. Once things began to roll, my attention stayed with the story. I appreciate this style that doesn’t insist on trying to distract me with romantic trysts or other asides.
There is violence, drugs and profanity as part of this book. It is a sad, savage story where the extremes are acceptable and to be expected. If ‘non-finch-free’ books are not for you, be fair-warned.
Peter Grainger has other books in the D C Smith Investigator series that would be well worth your reading time.