Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “An Accidental Death (D.C. Smith #1)” as Want to Read:
An Accidental Death
(DC Smith #1)
by
The story opens with the apparently accidental drowning of a 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 DCI,
...more
Kindle Edition, 5th Edition, 251 pages
Published
October 3rd 2013
by Covey Publishing
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
An Accidental Death,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of An Accidental Death (D.C. Smith #1)
So once again I'm asking myself....how have I missed this series?! Instead of being fashionably late to the party, apparently I've shown up after everyone ate, drank, danced, got arrested & made bail.
This is a wonderful read, a straight up procedural full of well developed characters that grow on you with each passing page. The MC is D.C. Smith, a seasoned detective in Kings Lake, Norfolk. He's a widower who can't imagine not being on the job despite some not so subtle hints to retire. After a ...more
This is a wonderful read, a straight up procedural full of well developed characters that grow on you with each passing page. The MC is D.C. Smith, a seasoned detective in Kings Lake, Norfolk. He's a widower who can't imagine not being on the job despite some not so subtle hints to retire. After a ...more
I did not expect to like this British police procedural and its characters so much. I honestly checked the publishing date more than once
because it felt like it was so well-crafted and I could not believe it was a newer author. The character DC Smith is not at all the stereotypical hard-beaten detective. The murder (or is it?) is not gruesome and the language is clean and yet for all that it doesn't feel like some light cozy mystery at all but rather a real story about real people in a real plac ...more
because it felt like it was so well-crafted and I could not believe it was a newer author. The character DC Smith is not at all the stereotypical hard-beaten detective. The murder (or is it?) is not gruesome and the language is clean and yet for all that it doesn't feel like some light cozy mystery at all but rather a real story about real people in a real plac ...more
I have just discovered Mr Grainger's - DC Smith series and if this first one is any indication then I am off and running on another series marathon. DC Smith is a fascinating, endearing character with hidden depths some of which we are shown in full and some which are merely hinted at. He is real and believable with a poignant history and the hint of mischief and subversiveness about him that will be loved by fans of David Jason's - Frost.
This first story is much deeper (sorry) than it first app ...more
This first story is much deeper (sorry) than it first app ...more
Peter Grainger’s An Accidental Death was an accidental discovery, and what a hidden gem! I’d not read anything by this author until I found this lovely police procedural, and now I will definitely be looking to continue the series.
DC Smith is a nearly 30-year veteran of the Kings Lake police force. He’s a recent widower, so rather than retiring, as some of his superiors no doubt would prefer, Smith keeps on truckin’. When a teenager’s body is found in the river after a gathering of his peers for ...more
Amazing. A police procedural which makes your heart thump at every small step of the investigation purely through good quiet writing and not by thrills being provided by the villains committing audacious acts in quick succession.
Sergeant DC Smith (DC) has been a policeman for over thirty years. What makes him unique is that at some point he took a voluntary demotion for reasons unknown to us. This means that he is never in awe of his superiors. His DI was once his trainee and the way DC deals wi ...more
Sergeant DC Smith (DC) has been a policeman for over thirty years. What makes him unique is that at some point he took a voluntary demotion for reasons unknown to us. This means that he is never in awe of his superiors. His DI was once his trainee and the way DC deals wi ...more
Hmmmm? 3 or 4 stars. Narrative was a 5. I am on the fence with this first book in a cozy detective series. I liked the main character and the fact that a case can be investigated without gunfights and brutality. A bit of a throw back to Agatha Christi and maybe even Louise Penny’s, Three Pines series, but, I felt the story just plodded along. I would have liked more of a back story of DC Smith and a faster pace. That being said I would not pass up another book in the series should it be on sale.
Great read, if you like Touch of Frost you will like this
I got this on my Prime monthly loan after reading the sample for book three of this series. I was interested in the characters and decided to read the series from the start. I intend to buy the rest as a result of reading this first DS Smith story - not something I can afford to do often on my limited budget !
I like a lot of British police procedurals, but have found some recent ones on Amazon's list to be disappointing in view of what se ...more
I got this on my Prime monthly loan after reading the sample for book three of this series. I was interested in the characters and decided to read the series from the start. I intend to buy the rest as a result of reading this first DS Smith story - not something I can afford to do often on my limited budget !
I like a lot of British police procedurals, but have found some recent ones on Amazon's list to be disappointing in view of what se ...more
I got this as a free book for the Kindle. I wasn't familiar with the author but I like detective stories. It was free so I wasn't expecting anything from it. It was very interesting! I liked his characters and the plot was well thought out. I guess the highest praise that I can offer is that I would like to read the other two books in the series! I had just finished watching the Inspector Morse series and it reminded me of Morse.
...more
First book in the D.C. Smith series and it read like a first novel. I had planned on reading the second and am excited to have found a new series.
A young man on an outing with friends dives into the river to follow a canoe. He goes around the bend and his body is located the next day along the shore. At first glance it appears to be an accidental drowning, but a couple of things bother the pathologist and DS Smith (ex-DCI Smith who to confuse things more, is called by his first initials DC.) There was a bruise on the boy's head that suspiciously seemed to match the engraving on paddles rented by a canoe rental agency that had had a canoe
...more
A quirky but very interesting British Police detective story. The main character, DC Smith, is an older man of many hidden talents of which most are unknown to his colleagues. He is not afraid to use unorthodox methods to achieve successful results. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading other books in the series.
I have rated this book 4.25 stars.
I obtained this book from Amazon in Kindle format.
I have rated this book 4.25 stars.
I obtained this book from Amazon in Kindle format.
Detective Sergeant Smith is no longer a young policeman. He is no longer a Detective Chief inspector. With some people in the police department in Kings Lake, he is also no longer a friend. But, the upper officers in the department are well aware of Smith's abilities and the intend to use him whenever they can.
When a 16 year old young man drowns in a river, Smith is given the paperwork and told to check on things.
At the same time, he is given Waters. Waters is the son of an old friend and new ...more
When a 16 year old young man drowns in a river, Smith is given the paperwork and told to check on things.
At the same time, he is given Waters. Waters is the son of an old friend and new ...more
It's not really a cozy mystery, but there isn't any gore or even much violence for all that it's a murder investigation. An excellent start to a series new to me. Set in England, DC Smith is an old hand at investigating crimes & even took a demotion rather than get stuck behind a desk. He's not too old as he proves by following a very twisty trail. A real bonus is there is obviously a lot of backstory that is only slowly & partially filled in. He's an interesting, likable guy & really I'm intere
...more
I thought this was a very great book. I figured it was like the third or fourth book in the series and I was going to look up the earlier ones. But this was the first one with DC Smith. I found the characters were very real to me and so was the story. I liked the fact that as the story progressed so did my understanding of Smith and Waters. I will be reading more of DC Smith's Investigations. Peter Grainger will be going on my To Look For List.
I got the book for free off of Amazon but I don't re ...more
I got the book for free off of Amazon but I don't re ...more
Straightforward and enjoyable police procedural with likable protagonists
A waffly 3 stars. A writer of some skill and potential. A story alternately tepid and readable, predictable and insightful. Interesting enough to finish it. Unsatisfactory enough to be relieved to reach the end.
A very enjoyable police procedural in the British style.
Thank you, whoever read this book and posted a review. It’s such a happy feeling to find a good police procedural and know the author is off to a great start on a series. Good characters, good plot, good entertainment.
A promising new series for me. Detective Sergeant Smith is a shrewd policeman with years of experience. I immediately took to him as he solves a case while he mentors a new police recruit. I will read more of this series.
4.0 out of 5.0 - Splendid British police procedural. Great characters, smart, and witty (without going over the top).
A refreshing change of pace from the high adrenaline. thriller, An Accidental Death is a smartly crafted mystery with fully formed characters. The pacing is slower, giving the author time to focus on the environment and character development. Somewhat in the style of Colin Dexter's Morse.
I really liked this book and the characters of D.C. (David Conrad) Smith and his protege, D.C ...more
A refreshing change of pace from the high adrenaline. thriller, An Accidental Death is a smartly crafted mystery with fully formed characters. The pacing is slower, giving the author time to focus on the environment and character development. Somewhat in the style of Colin Dexter's Morse.
I really liked this book and the characters of D.C. (David Conrad) Smith and his protege, D.C ...more
"An Accidental Death", published in 2013, is one of the best British police crime novels I've read in a long time.
The first thing in its favour is that the whole novel is character driven. DC Smith is a wonderful invention: cliché-free and deeply imagined. In this first novel, he constantly surprised me, yet each new thing that I learned about him added to a picture that was as credible as it was intriguing. I liked his quietly unconventional, more than slightly subversive way of dealing with po
...more
An Accidental Death is my bookclubs December 2016 read.
I luckily purchased this book as a freebie on Amazon sometime ago. However after reading some freebie books in the past I was a little worried about the quality of this book.
There was no need to worry. I found Smith, the star of the book very complex and Mr Grainger has merely.scratched the surface of this character. Smith was a former DCI but was demoted to DS after an enquiry. Prior to joining the police he worked for the security service ...more
I luckily purchased this book as a freebie on Amazon sometime ago. However after reading some freebie books in the past I was a little worried about the quality of this book.
There was no need to worry. I found Smith, the star of the book very complex and Mr Grainger has merely.scratched the surface of this character. Smith was a former DCI but was demoted to DS after an enquiry. Prior to joining the police he worked for the security service ...more
I was bored. Very bored. The entire story is from one DC Smith's POV. He solved the mystery. In his head. Like a math problem. ;) I figured it out too. Except, it really wasn't a mystery. Then there was this side plot thread that added nothing to the story. Well, it added pages. It did not add suspense. Or anything interesting to the story. It took me 20 days to read 200 pages.
At least it was free. ...more
At least it was free. ...more
Along an English stream a trio of teens are swimming and call out teasingly to boaters as they drift downstream. One, a well-known sixth form* athlete, jumps in to swim toward a canoe as it is about to go around a bend. He laughs and yells that he's going to catch the boat. Hours later his body is found next to the stream.
The autopsy is generally straightforward, declaring it an accidental drowning. But there are a few confusing notes in the file. Detective Constable (DC) Smith has returned to w ...more
The autopsy is generally straightforward, declaring it an accidental drowning. But there are a few confusing notes in the file. Detective Constable (DC) Smith has returned to w ...more
This wasn’t a bad book by any means. It was capably written, and by the end it was easy to have become engaged with the principle characters. But my overall sense was that there was nothing exceptional about it. I’m always disappointed when the explanation of the mystery doesn’t emerge organically, when a character has to explain all the details.
I was probably influenced in my opinions by a couple of other books I’ve read this year. Elly Griffiths did a more effective job of describing Norfolk, ...more
I was probably influenced in my opinions by a couple of other books I’ve read this year. Elly Griffiths did a more effective job of describing Norfolk, ...more
Some books are written in such a way that you know you will come back to them when all else fails - and this is one of them.
Peter Grainger - a new author to me - gently and subtly takes the reader's hand and guides the way like an old friend, with beautifully crafted prose. Add to this some unusual and truly likeable characters, an excellent plot, and reading doesn't get much better.
I loved this, and have immediately started to read the next one in the series.
Five stars, and a definite 'will rea ...more
Peter Grainger - a new author to me - gently and subtly takes the reader's hand and guides the way like an old friend, with beautifully crafted prose. Add to this some unusual and truly likeable characters, an excellent plot, and reading doesn't get much better.
I loved this, and have immediately started to read the next one in the series.
Five stars, and a definite 'will rea ...more
Searching through available books available from Kindle Unlimited I found this series featuring DC Smith and decided to try it out. The author has won me over for now, so I shall proceed to book two. I guess I am a series glutton.
This book starts very slowly and somewhat wobbly, causing the reader to wonder if something is ever going to happen - or at least some clues provided as to what this dude's story is. It is dribbled out in a path of sparse breadcrumbs that Smith was formerly of higher r ...more
This book starts very slowly and somewhat wobbly, causing the reader to wonder if something is ever going to happen - or at least some clues provided as to what this dude's story is. It is dribbled out in a path of sparse breadcrumbs that Smith was formerly of higher r ...more
This is an unexpected find. While police procedurals tend to fit into the do-it-by-the-book-and -it-will-be-solved-by-superior-deduction category or that of the maverick-cop-who-cuts-to-the-chase, this one assumes the reader can follow a narrative that includes nuance. We are treated as intelligent readers who can , without elaboration, pick up the signals -often ambiguous- that alert an experienced detective that, for example, political forces are at play. This is a rare writing skill.
The devic ...more
The devic ...more
Feb 09, 2017
Blair Hodgkinson
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-mystery
This was a competent mystery to be sure, and there were some interesting tie-ins between an apparently accidental death and seemingly unrelated events in Eastern Europe years before. I was not bored with the story at all, but I found it a little too full of "lonely, maverick detective" tropes and it all felt a little too familiar.
...more
Investigation into an accidental death unveils a greater mystery. This story is filled with good characters and great character development. The plot develops steadily by slowly revealing new clues at each step.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kindle British My...: December 2016 Value Book Read - An Accidental Death, by Peter Grainger | 9 | 23 | Oct 07, 2017 05:54PM | |
| Kindle British My...: Spoiler Discussion (December 2016) - An Accidental Death, by Peter Grainger | 1 | 10 | Dec 01, 2016 12:15PM |
Readers also enjoyed
Other books in the series
DC Smith
(8 books)
Related Articles
We asked Alice Bolin, author of Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession, and journalist-turned-crime novelist Laura...
100 likes · 49 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“You think it’s just selfishness?’ ‘Just? Makes it sound trivial. All crime is caused by selfishness, I say. It’s the ‘Me first, my needs first’. Take that away and you’re about one step from paradise. Don’t ask me what the last step is, I don’t know, but it sounds good.”
—
4 likes
“providing food for people too vain or idle to work in such places themselves any longer.”
—
0 likes
More quotes…
