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  • Published: 25 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9781804961407
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $24.99
Categories:

Songbird



A million-copy-selling crime writer comes into print for the first time. In the ninth book of A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series, Chris Waters is finally in charge of a crime scene. Now he has to make a career-changing decision.

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 cliché like that…

  • Published: 25 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9781804961407
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $24.99
Categories:

About the author

Peter Grainger

Peter Grainger is the 'creator of the greatest fictional sleuth you’ve probably never heard of' (FT magazine). A former sixth-form English teacher, Peter is the author of 23 self-published novels, 19 of which are now scheduled for release by major British and North American publishers. Peter lives with his wife, sometimes a grandson and a dog in a cottage in the Cambridgeshire fens. He travels as often as possible to the Norfolk coast he once called home.

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Praise for Songbird

If you love British crime fiction such as Morse, then this is a brilliant series for you.

***** Reader Review

I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!

***** Reader Review

An excellent, intelligent and believable crime series which just gets better.

***** Reader Review

Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.

***** Reader Review

Engaging characters, intriguing plots and occasional humour make for a page-turning read.

***** Reader Review