This is another well written, interesting British murder mystery.

What I liked best is the lead — Detective Sergeant Smith. Now a widower, his superiors expect him to retire and enjoy his pension.

But Smith wants to stay on. He’s excellent at his job. And very funny in a subtle way.

The story opens with the apparently accidental drowning of a sixth form student in the Norfolk countryside. …

The latest trainee detective to work with him is the son of a member of his former team, and together they begin to unravel the truth about what happened to Wayne Fletcher. As the investigation proceeds, it becomes clear that others are involved – some seem determined to prevent it, some seem to be taking too much interest.

In the end Smith operates alone, having stepped too far outside standard procedures to ask for support. He knows that his own life might be at risk but he has not calculated on the life of his young assistant also being put in danger.

petergrainger.com