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The Rags of Time

A DC Smith Investigation Series, Book 6

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The Rags of Time

By: Peter Grainger
Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
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Mark Randall lay dead in a field near Lowacre long before Smith had done what he had to do in Belfast. By the time he went back to work, the investigation was well underway. "It's not my case," he says more than once, and he really doesn't need it to be; he has enough to think about as it is. But going around the Norfolk countryside dotting the i's and crossing the t's, speaking to the local farmers and the Brothers of St. Francis from Abbeyfields, Smith begins to suspect that the investigation might be heading in entirely the wrong direction. Arrests are made, charges are brought, and Christopher Waters asks Smith if he has ever seen the wrong man convicted in a murder case. The answer is yes, and the next question is, what can be done to prevent it from happening again?

©2016 Peter Grainger (P)2017 Tantor Crime Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Fiction Detective Crime Witty British Mysteries
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My listening to the quietly addictive DC Smith series, in book order continues. To do full justice to the characters & storylines, it is a must to do so.
After In This Bright Future, book 5 [review 'missing-in-action' due to Audible moderators!!!], a rather subdued, reflective DC has returned from Northern Ireland where his foray into his past there, dealt him an unexpected personal surprise in the form of a son, one he's not to acknowledge for young man's sake. Back in King's Lake, a murder investigations underway into the death of a metal detectorist, nighthawking on land owned by a Franciscan priory. It's not his case, he's just to tidy up loose ends as Detective Sargent Wilson's in charge, thinks he's got his man another nighthawker but DC soon throws doubt on that arrest. Attention then turns to the activities of badger baiters, digging out a set on the same land, another arrest, another man charged yet DC remains unconvinced, disputing the conclusions drawn by his superior & fellow officers, much to their annoyance. Only Chris Walters too suspects the evidence doesn't stack up.
That the Brothers of St. Francis from Abbeyfields were connected to the murder was evident from the start, that their 'Guardian' who confesses, is arrest no 3, was hiding the truth and that the suspiciously, on retreat friar was guilty, was not hard to deduce but that didn't spoil the unraveling of the case by DC. The nature notes were a bonus.

Three wrongful arrests before the truth is outed!

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I enjoyed this, but not nearly as much as the previous one. It felt rather like a link between an engrossing previous story and hopefully another more thrilling following one. The fact that DC wasn’t properly involved in the investigation made it seem less engaging. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Continuity from previous book.

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Loved the stories the reader draws you in with such feeling. I have enjoyed the books would recommend to anyone

Excellent reader

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I am so enjoying the DC Smith series. Such a great use of language the irony makes me smile. Thank you to both the author and narrator for great entertainment.

Clever use of language

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All the usual superlatives reside here and I needn't repeat the details I've referred to in my previous reviews of the DCI Smith series, all of which I'm familiar with now. Towards the end of Rags of Time, in particular, can be found extaordinarily witty and humourous prose that works even whilst describing a serious subject. I don't go in for fandom, but I'm a Grainger fan big time!

Another masterly Grainger yarn

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