Some Sort Of Justice – Peter Grainger

Some Sort of Justice, the 17th mystery in the DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation series by Peter Grainger, follows the previous novel The Late Lord Thorpe. DCI Cara Freeman of the Norfolk Constabulary is asked to reopen the investigation into the death of Lord Thorpe. There have already been three investigations. One was by the police, one was a coroner’s inquest, and one was by a private detective agency where the now retired DC Smith is now working.

At the same time there seems to be a secondary story about a woman whose father has just died and the goings on related to that. Halfway through Some Sort of Justice it is revealed the woman works for some British spy agency. Grainger then reveals her name and that there is a connection between the two story lines.

The detectives soon find out the witnesses to Lord Thorpe’s death have been threatened. Later, DCI Cara Freeman decides all communications will be done within the office walls and not over the phone. There is no reason given for that. Eventually the detectives in Peter Grainger’s Some Sort of Justice must decide if they are going to limit themselves to going through with a routine investigation that will not change much to the previous results or if they are going to delve deeper into something that is becoming more and more mysterious and may prove dangerous to their carreers.

In terms of the actual investigating, i.e. talking to witnesses and so on, you have to wait to halfway through Some Sort Of Justice. Just when things start going somewhere DCI Freeman is given to the end of the next day to shut everything down. This is what she does with 100 pages left in Peter Grainger’s Some Sort Of Justice.

Then woman who works or worked as a British spy gets in contact with one of the detectives. This blos everything wide open. This brings this mystery novel to a close.

If you are new to this mystery series by Peter Grainger you will feel as if you are a step behind everybody as Grainger assumes the reader is familiar with the DC Smith series. It is unsettling. It is also unfair. Some readers will find some of Peter Grainger’s idiosyncracies irritating. One is how detailed he gets like specifying the name brand of the pen and then the pencil a detective puts on his desk. Another is using information he has not introduced to the reader. There is also Freeman’s decision that all communications between the detectives must be made within the office but there is no reason given for that decision

Some Sort Of Justice
Peter Grainger
Uniono Square & Co 2026
439 pages

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