Peter Grainger Books in Order

Forty‑something Peter Grainger, a failed teacher and stalled novelist, retreats to a rented cottage in a remote Welsh valley hoping to finally write his second book. Instead he’s drawn into the lives, marriages and quiet battles of the Afon estate—and into a fight for the river that runs through it.

Since her husband’s death, university lecturer Ruth Chapman has drifted into a small, solitary life, soured further by the secrets she uncovered after his funeral. The arrival of a temporary ice rink—and its enigmatic French owner—nudges her toward new friendships, new desires and a risk she thought she’d never take.

Detective Sergeant DC Smith is easing back into work when a sixth-form student drowns on a riverside outing. The death looks like a tragic accident, but uneasy details and quiet interference from above push Smith and his new trainee to dig much deeper.

Archdeacon Michael Asher seems destined for the bishop’s seat: gifted, persuasive and eager to drag the cathedral into a new era. But a single mistake from ten years earlier, and the sinister Lucas Devereux, force him to confront guilt, damaged lives and the cost of choosing faith over love.

When an elderly resident dies in her chair at Rosemary House care home, no one is surprised—until a routine post-mortem uncovers something disturbing. DC Smith and his team must navigate vulnerable witnesses, family secrets and Smith’s own painful memories to find the truth.

A collection of linked and standalone tales, Paris and Other Love Stories follows middle‑aged men and women at turning points—a solo trip to a recital, a visit to a dying lover, a dreaded family party—exploring love through loneliness, regret and the quiet chances people almost miss.

A worker vanishes from a North Sea gas platform, presumed lost to accident or suicide. Back in Kings Lake, DC Smith uncovers the man’s tangled second life, forcing a newly assembled team into a case of toxic business ties and dangerous grudges.

On a quiet Saturday, DC Smith’s phone rings and, for once, he seems to be the one under investigation. A prisoner’s violent death, two missing teenagers and an old headline case are all connected, drawing Smith toward some of the most dangerous people he has faced.

Signed off for two weeks’ rest, DC Smith plans to do little more than listen to music and read—until a neighbour’s knock drags him back into a past he’d rather forget. Old enemies resurface, turning this investigation into something painfully personal.

Mark Randall’s murder is officially someone else’s problem, and DC Smith returns from Belfast determined to stay out of it. But routine follow‑up visits in the Norfolk countryside reveal a case veering off course—and the chilling possibility of an innocent man being condemned.

Middle‑aged, widowed and comfortably off, Emily Willows thinks her life’s biggest problem is boredom—until a violent break‑in turns her coastal home into a trap. Thrown together with her mysterious neighbour Summer Lane, she must survive a single terrifying day that changes them both.

Change is sweeping through Kings Lake Central as a new detective inspector arrives and DC Smith weighs a life‑altering decision. When a stranger is found dead on the lonely saltmarshes, the team uncover a story of love, betrayal and revenge stretching back generations.

Fourteen‑year‑old Zoe Johnson fails to come home from the Dockmills estate, and at first no one at Kings Lake Central panics. With retirement only weeks away, DC Smith senses echoes of a case that still haunts him and risks everything to stop a predator returning.

When a local man and Afghanistan veteran disappears, his parents are desperate for answers. Emily Willows seizes the chance to launch a detective agency, roping in ex‑cop Summer Lane for a search that leads back to London, old wounds and a buried wartime secret.

At 5.29 a.m. on a July morning, Detective Sergeant Chris Waters gets the call every young detective waits for: his first major crime scene. A woman’s body lies in the park, and as the Kings Lake team investigates, familiar faces and old grudges complicate the hunt for her killer.

On the first morning of team‑building exercises, the brand‑new Kings Lake murder squad is diverted to a body in a shop doorway. The dead man is a rough sleeper, apparently another street tragedy, but DCI Cara Freeman soon realises this is no routine case—and the squad’s future may hinge on it.

A request to “see if there’s any news about the missing girl” pulls the Kings Lake squad into a grim new case. As they trace Roxanne’s last movements through clubs, back rooms and shabby bedsits, Cara Freeman is haunted by the choices she must make—and one detective won’t stay with the team.

With new murders thin on the ground, the Kings Lake team is assigned a stack of cold files. One unidentified young woman, found in the countryside decades earlier, catches their attention—and as forgotten clues surface, they race to give her a name and a chance at justice.

Former desk sergeant Charlie Hills is in serious trouble, though he won’t tell DC Smith how deep it runs. When an old message finally forces the issue, the two friends set out to uncover the truth—a search that may reshape one of their lives.

Sir Roger Parkes is used to getting answers, but when his youngest daughter cuts all contact, even the police say it’s not their concern. Reluctantly, Summer Lane and Emily Willows take the case, uncovering family tensions, hidden loyalties and a young woman who may not want to be found.

A late‑night glimpse of a young woman being forced into a car outside a bar is over in seconds, but witness Sarah can’t forget it. Her call to the police sets off an investigation that soon strikes dangerously close to the Kings Lake squad itself.

A woman wants her long‑vanished husband declared dead so she can move on—and collect a very large insurance payout. Hired by the company to check the story, Diver and Diver call in DC Smith, dragging him into a web of half‑truths, financial pressure and a disappearance that won’t stay buried.

DC Smith’s third case for Diver and Diver begins with a discreet request from a Norfolk aristocrat: look again at her brother Freddie’s death. Officially it was a tragic accident, but as Smith digs into the late Lord Thorpe’s life, he starts to smell a serious injustice.