Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
littlebit2991's review
sad
tense
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
emceehache's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
theirresponsiblereader's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
But now, change is coming, and change is inevitable.
Except from vending machines.
What’s A Private Investigation About?
I haven’t really talked much about the Andretti case and the book that Jo Emerson is working on about the investigation—with Smith as a significant source. I haven’t talked much about Jo Emerson at all, either. Mostly because I wasn’t really sure where Grainger was going with this storyline. It’s the biggest case of Smith’s career, and in many ways defined it. It’s also the case that led to Chris Murray’s father leaving the police. There was a serial killer preying on young women. Smith and Murray stopped the killer, put him away years ago–—but questions have lingered.
But now, a young woman has gone missing in King’s Lake—so here in the last three weeks of Smith’s career, he’s pulled off the bench to take point on it—he’s headed a search for missing girls—no one else around has. At a certain point, Smith starts to see similarities between this missing girl and some of those related to the Andretti case. Then there’s an individual who popped up during both investigations. Suddenly the one man the police need to run things, the man who knows more about the Andretti case than anyone else alive is prevented from taking part in this new case. A logic that I don’t quite follow, but am sure it makes sense to someone.
Smith, however, keeps working the case—as off the radar as he can. What’s going to happen to him if he ignores an order or two at this point?
A Matter of Budget
It’s realistic, I’m sure, but there’s a lot of discussion about the budget for this investigation and what King’s Lake Central can spend on the search for this teen. While it’s come up before in this series—in almost every book—it’s very prominent here.
It’s also despair-inducing, while I understand that governments have to take this kind of thing into account—when a missing teen’s life could possibly be endangered, to think that the efforts to find her are governed by a financial report as much as—even more than—clues the investigation has picked up is hard to come to terms with.
Except for the cost of forensic tests, I don’t remember too many American procedurals hitting this point as hard as Grainger and other UK authors do (am thinking Rankin and Aaronovich in particular—even Paul Cornell’s Shadow Police series). I wonder if that’s more to do with the state of procedural fiction or if it’s the way different governments think about such things.
Smith’s Train of Thought
One of my favorite parts of these books is when we follow along with Smith’s Stream of Consciousness as he works through a part of a puzzle—or when he guides DC Chris Murray through something similar to help him build the same patterns. There’s something idiosyncratic about Smith’s thinking (although it never seems that way while listening, it seems like the only possible way to work through it) that is addicting.
We’re treated to multiple sessions of that this time out, and I thoroughly enjoyed them all. Even when I didn’t like the actions that Smith was taking after those trains of thought.
A Neat Cliffhanger that Time Ruined
This is slightly spoilery, unless you can do the very basic math. Still, feel free to skip to the next heading.
We all clear now? Last chance to skip ahead…
DC’s fate is very uncertain at the end of this book—it could very easily go either way, and with this very clearly the end of the series, it felt like Grainger was hinting in one direction.
However, this was published in late 2018, in 2021—book nine of the series came out (and there are some indications that Smith was a presence in at least the first of the Kings Lake Investigations series that came out after this book–I’ll be listening to that soon). This kind of kills the suspense for me—which is a shame, because that ending really could’ve gone either way and I’d have been going crazy if I listened to it new.
So, what did I think about A Private Investigation?
I’m so, so, so glad that we’ll get to hear what happens next with the group from King’s Lake Central in a new series. I don’t want to leave this world and these characters behind. I got too busy last year to stay on my schedule of listening to them, but I’m pretty sure that’s over.
This book was bittersweet, while the last book felt like the last gasp of DC Smith’s career, this definitely is. The case was compelling, the search for the girl was tense, and the emotions of Smith’s team—and Smith himself—were so well-depicted to make this a knockout of a book. But man…I just didn’t want to deal with Smith being done. Police procedurals don’t normally get that emotional for me—but several of these books have got me wrapped up in the characters’ lives–and this more than the rest.
This is absolutely, positively, not the book to start with for this series—almost any of the others would be, but the first would be best. But you absolutely, positively start this series if you haven’t yet. Jackson’s narration is outstanding, making the audiobooks my strongest recommendation, but I bet the charm of the characters would be evident in the print version as well.
joikeen's review
5.0
It has taken me a few days since finishing to get past the book hangover that this novel has given me. In fact, I am not sure that I am over it. I have read and loved all of the DC Smith books - they are some of my favorites. I am grateful to Audible that the first in the series was a deal of the day or a freebie that enticed me enough to see what the series was about. Otherwise, I am afraid that I might have missed out. I did not take the time to re-listen to all of the series before I stated book 8, but I did take the time to listen to #7 as a refresher before I dived in to A Private Investigation. One of my favorite aspects of Peter Grainger’s writing is his ability to make me laugh out loud. I am happy to report that I did that again many times in book 8. The natural arc of DC’s career and the realities of leaving behind a profession that has defined most of you (if not all of you) rang so true as I flipped the pages and listened to Gildart Jackson. And let me just say that Gildart Jackson is the perfect voice for DC and the whole cast of characters.
Now, to the ending. There are no spoilers here, only the chance to say that I hope we are able to learn more. I have read that Peter Grainger is not leaving King’s Lake behind for good - and I fervently hope that is the case. I have not been left this emotional by the ending of a novel in a very long time. Many days later, I am still not sure I have reconciled myself with it. I am not quantifying good or bad (it is good - achingly so), but it is just so gut-wrenching. It makes me think of Dickinson and her line - “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” My head (and heart) were most definitely “taken off.” I want the chance to re-visit this place I have come to love with the cast of characters who feel like family.
Now, to the ending. There are no spoilers here, only the chance to say that I hope we are able to learn more. I have read that Peter Grainger is not leaving King’s Lake behind for good - and I fervently hope that is the case. I have not been left this emotional by the ending of a novel in a very long time. Many days later, I am still not sure I have reconciled myself with it. I am not quantifying good or bad (it is good - achingly so), but it is just so gut-wrenching. It makes me think of Dickinson and her line - “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” My head (and heart) were most definitely “taken off.” I want the chance to re-visit this place I have come to love with the cast of characters who feel like family.
mvptp's review
5.0
This series was so amazing. I'm not happy with the way this ended but I loved every single book and will continue to read anything Peter Grainger writes.
I loved DC and I'm sad he is no longer in the force but I like Waters enough to keep reading about Kings Lake
I loved DC and I'm sad he is no longer in the force but I like Waters enough to keep reading about Kings Lake
elusivity's review
4.0
Excellent narration as per usual.
DC Smith is weeks away from actually retiring. With an awkward new Detective Inspector appointed, there is no more reason to stay and try to adapt to more changes. However, a young girl vanishes, and ties to an old, notorious case come back to haunt DC.
A detective's one last case that leans into the trope of it being his most dangerous. Let's hope we see more from DC in the future.
DC Smith is weeks away from actually retiring. With an awkward new Detective Inspector appointed, there is no more reason to stay and try to adapt to more changes. However, a young girl vanishes, and ties to an old, notorious case come back to haunt DC.
Spoiler
Andretti's cousin--suspected of helping him disposed of the bodies back in the day--kidnapped the girl as a way to capture DC's attention. He goes to a warehouse, finds her, fights with the cousin, and hangs on the edge of death as the book ends.A detective's one last case that leans into the trope of it being his most dangerous. Let's hope we see more from DC in the future.