Luck and Judgement

IN A NUTSHELL
Nicely written, as always. A strong start, but the focus slowly drifted from the plot to an elegiac reflection on the inner life of DC Smith, and then meandered to a realistic but unsatisfying stop.

‘Luck And Judgement‘ was my third visit with DC Smith. I read the first two books in this series, ‘An Accidental Death‘ and ‘But For The Grace‘ in 2019.

‘Luck And Judgement’ was a slightly disappointing read. It opened well, went on for too long, mutated from a police procedural into an elegiac reflection on the life of a widowed policeman who may have been in the job too long and then didn’t so much end as run out of energy.

The descriptions of the people were vivid and credible. There were a few memorable show more scenes: the first trip to the platform, the undercover visit to the club and the interrogation of the person Smith most wanted to charge with murder. The police procedural aspects of the story seemed believable as did the team dynamics. The reality being described wasn't particularly tense or dramatic. The sub-plot around Smith's fitness served no purpose except to trigger Smith to launch into morose ruminations and nostalgic remembrances that distracted from the plot.

For me, the main appeal of this series is the cadence of Peter Grainger’s prose. It’s easy on the ear without being bland or simple, like listening to Spanish guitar music that slips into your mind as familiar and stays because it’s surprisingly fresh.

The mystery plot is the wrought iron arch the text grows over, elegant and twisty, built to display the characters who drive the narrative, so I didn’t expect high drama. I also didn’t expect the book to lose its way and run out of momentum.

I'm hoping the next one in the series will be better because I'd like to listen to more of Peter Grainger's prose and Gildart Jackson's excellent narration. Click on the YouTube link below to hear how Jackson delivers Grainger's words.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOhsnLKCCkg show less

The initial depiction of life on a North Sea gas rig was really well done (and made me realize why working there has to be so well-remunerated). The plot of this one was devious, but it went on a bit long when the broad strokes of what must have happened were apparent to the reader as well as most of the police officers. One of those realistic but unsatisfactory endings...

What makes for an even more intriguing mystery than the age-old proven "who’s done it"? Well, the age-old missing person enigma, for it leaves you wondering whether a murder was even committed. The mind boggles at the possibilities. You guessed it, I just find the missing person scenario the most compelling of crime mysteries. "Luck and Judgement", is the third installment of Peter Grainger's D.C. Smith series. It has a well-developed protagonist in D.C Smith who convinces as a clear-thinking, sober in mind and action detective, solving cases par excellence, and all the while, and refreshingly so, remaining kind and empathetic. All in all as solid a fare

My favorite book in this series so far. D.C. and his team investigate the case of a missing person, and D.C. deals with physical limitations.

Having listened to the first two in this series, I looked forward to this one. Although the mysteries themselves are self-contained, I strongly recommend reading them in order. The style is that of a police procedural but one in which the characters reappear and their behavior and reflections are important to the stories. Indeed, in this book, the mystery seems almost incidental to D.C. Smith's interactions with friends and colleagues and his introspective reflections on his life and those with whom he comes into contact.

The writing is sound, and I find the reading by Gildart Jackson is outstanding. My reason for giving only 3 stars is that, given its content, the book is too long (400 pages, or nearly 12 hours of listening.) Even show more though I much prefer mysteries to thrillers, these books are strictly police procedurals, in which the investigation and build-up of evidence is very slow and pain-staking. The first book, [b:An Accidental Death|19074261|An Accidental Death (D.C. Smith #1)|Peter Grainger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385858274s/19074261.jpg|27100676], is about 250 pages or a little less than 7 hours of listening. The second, [b:But for the Grace|25069606|But for the Grace (D.C. Smith #2)|Peter Grainger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1428764875s/25069606.jpg|44754602], is 300 pages or 9 1/4 hours, and this one is over 400 pages or 12 hours. The lack of action and extremely slow progress in the case made it
hard for me to keep track of what was happening and who was doing what. After a while, I ceased to care, altough I did finish the book. For the most part, the villains and their motivations were alluded to rather than experienced. The next book, [b:Persons of Interest|26012175|Persons of Interest (D.C. Smith #4)|Peter Grainger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441636512s/26012175.jpg|45931953], is more like the second, about 350 pages (or 10.5 hours.) I'll probably give it a try at some point, but I need to give the series a rest for a litle while. show less

Third in the series. The DC Smith character is fleshed out a bit more. His character reminds me a lot of Jack Frost in the Touch of Frost tv series.
Jimmy Bell seems to have disappeared from a gas drilling rig in the North Sea. The company would like the police to think it was an accidental death, or even a suicide, but DC Smith is doubtful about that.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. The case felt kind of different and unfolded pretty well.