Songbird

Kings Lake Investigation Series, Book 1

By: Peter Grainger

Narrated by: Gildart Jackson

"He saw a bare arm first, the hand palm up with fingers curled inwards. Then he stopped and took a few breaths. He could hear the two constables making arrangements before they separated, one saying he'd bring the other some tape from the car, and then it was just the summer morning quiet again."

Detective Sergeant Chris Waters got the call at 05.29 that July morning. This is it, said DCI Reeve, you'll be first there, it's all yours, you're the crime scene manager. Suddenly, after months of waiting and wondering, Waters finds himself in at the deep end, and alone at the scene of a puzzling murder.

As the investigation proceeds, the detectives at Kings Lake Central find themselves visiting familiar places and talking to some familiar faces, while old enmities reappear in the incident room. Before this is over, Chris Waters will need to make a career-changing decision, and another member of the CID team will find herself facing an unexpected challenge. And Smith? Gone but not forgotten? Surely, he would say, you cannot write me off with a worn-out cliche like that....

©2019 Peter Grainger (P)2019 Tantor

Loved it...

So excited! Finished all of the DC Smith series, now this is just an off shoot of that with Snith's protege moving up and heading up his own case.
Rich in character development and life in the city on Kings lake is everything you could want in a mystery. No cursing, not extreme gore Ibut not a cozy either. Tics all the boxes for a great murder mystery. Many likeable characters some nasty ones too. I enjoyed this as much as the Smith series And Jackson can't be beat for narration. Perfection!

Kings Lake

This novel has a good plot but is incredibly slow-moving. The narrator’s style really grates and gets in the way of enjoying the story,

Songbitd

I like the story and Wil probably read more books by this author. If you enjoy police procedural you would like this.

The best of British

Brilliant narrator. True British crime, I will be reading all the others in this series

Hurrah! They're back!!!

Spoiler alert. At the end of the last DC Smith book I was afraid that I would have to say farewell to the wonderful, quirky, funny cast of characters that I had come to so enjoy. I was also in shock and dread about the fate of Smith himself. But with Songbird I can relax and look forward to many more opportunities to enjoy this world of crime as created by Peter Grainger. The newly promoted DS Waters takes center stage but is strongly supported by his fellow officers - the good, the bad and the cantankerous. He is also a bit haunted by the occasional voice of DC Smith speaking words of wit and wisdom over his shoulder. Added into this is the possibility of a move to the newly constituted murder squad headed by the interesting, sharp and a little bit scary DCI Freeman.

Narrator Gildart Jackson is as ever, an absolute joy. He adds to the pleasure of this series with just the right tone and an impressive bag of accents and individual vocal characterizations. Between author and narrator Songbird is filled with a population of fascinating individuals and I look forward to many more hours of time spent with them.