Get ready to be hooked by the second thrilling and atmospheric murder mystery from the million-copy-selling crime writer. Death in old age shouldn't be suspicious. DC Smith thinks this one is...

'Pitch-perfect crime writing.' DAILY EXPRESS
'Peter Grainger's books are addictive.' CRIMINAL ELEMENT

'Had me gripped from the very start to the extremely satisfying ending.' ***** Reader Review
'Where has Peter Grainger been my whole life?' ***** Reader Review
'I read a LOT of murder mysteries and this series is one of the best!' ***** Reader Review

"We are living in the departure lounge," said Ralph Greenwood, "and flights leave with monotonous regularity." So when another resident of the Rosemary House care home is found dead in her chair one Saturday evening in December, no-one is very surprised – not until the results of a routine post-mortem reveal something extraordinary.

Police Sergeant DC Smith and his team have to tread carefully as they investigate what took place, and Smith himself has to confront some difficult memories. Others, meanwhile, seem intent on getting him to leave the force altogether, while, despite his best efforts, his social life also becomes a little more complicated.

To top it all, Kings Lake has been waiting weeks for the snow to fall, in a winter that seems as if it will never end...

'Ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave.' FINANCIAL TIMES
'The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping.' THE TIMES

"Once I was ensconced in Kings Lake, in the company of Smith and his team, I didn’t want to leave … What sets Grainger’s books apart from the typical police procedural is the fully realised characters, who appear to live in a gentler world, on a time continuum that makes sense, progressing and evolving from book to book." - Financial TImes

"The books are comforting, the writing is subtle and the plots are gripping." - The TImes

"A slow-burning mystery with an intelligence of its own, driven by strong characters and thought-provoking questions about humanity. Fans of Louise Penny's Three Pines series or Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club are sure to appreciate this series as well." - Booklist