What do you think?
Rate this book
Smeg
Former detective and perpetual grouch Charlie Smeg is old–at least that’s the way he feels–and newly retired from the Edmonton Police. He's washed up, burnt out, and unappreciated by younger cops clawing for his job. He’d been a good detective but methods change, times change.
He’s looking forward to a life of solitude, a good book, and staying indoors during the winter months. Unfortunately, his former boss has other plans. He’s not even a week out of the job when she asks him to mentor rising star Meaghan Byatt–one of those upstart detectives–on her first case in the homicide department.
The case is an odd one from the get-go, enough that Smeg decides, against his better judgment, to help.
With a jobless stepson living at home who won't stop encouraging him to get with the times, and his growing fondness for Byatt making him begrudgingly look forward to human interaction, this case might be what Smeg needs to get back in the game.
He’s looking forward to a life of solitude, a good book, and staying indoors during the winter months. Unfortunately, his former boss has other plans. He’s not even a week out of the job when she asks him to mentor rising star Meaghan Byatt–one of those upstart detectives–on her first case in the homicide department.
The case is an odd one from the get-go, enough that Smeg decides, against his better judgment, to help.
With a jobless stepson living at home who won't stop encouraging him to get with the times, and his growing fondness for Byatt making him begrudgingly look forward to human interaction, this case might be what Smeg needs to get back in the game.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 2026
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 25, 2025
3.5
Let’s rip the plaster off straight away and comment on the name Smeg, which, in addition to being the title of the book, is the name of the main character. For British readers, this is an unfortunate choice: it’s best known as a term of abuse or comic expletive from the cult sci-fi series Red Dwarf. To me, the name Chamberlain Smeg instantly conjured a sketch in which Kryten was in fancy dress, performing the functions of Lister’s butler in some sort of time-slip to the eighteenth century. Smeg is also a well-known brand of kitchen appliances, which only reinforces the comic association. I suspect this will have a negative impact on the book’s reception in the UK, regardless of its content.
Right, that’s done. I shall not mention it again.
Smeg is a Canadian detective, recently retired and living with his stepson, his wife having died of cancer a few years earlier. His old department is under pressure, and before his retirement papers are properly processed, Smeg is persuaded to return for one last case—and the chance to mentor Meaghan Bryant, a detective on her first murder investigation. And it’s an odd one.
The text flows easily, but at first I found the clipped sentence style a little jarring—for example, “Worked to keep horses away,” rather than “It worked.” I had to reread a few sections before settling into the rhythm and accepting that this was Smeg’s own voice: terse, irascible, and economical.
There are points where the action jumps abruptly without much sense of progression in the timeline. For example, Smeg tells Paul about a job being advertised the next day; when tomorrow arrives, Meaghan somehow already knows that Paul has both applied and secured an interview. There are a few moments like this where I wondered if I’d accidentally skipped a few pages. The text could do with some tightening. I did have a chuckle when one character told Smeg that she was a grammar freak with a devotion to Strunk and White—but did so in a paragraph that violated so many style rules it would have had Messrs Strunk and White spinning in their graves.
I’m being picky, though, as none of the errors were serious enough to impair the storytelling. The novel is a well-thought-out police procedural that flows along nicely, if occasionally a little slowly. I found that I enjoyed the relationship between Smeg and his stepson more than anything else—the awkwardness and Smeg’s lack of understanding of what makes young people tick came across well. The case itself seemed to meander too slowly, and I did wonder whether the police could really devote weeks of resources and run an increasingly complex operation, to a death without any clear evidence that it was a murder.
I appreciate that as an ARC reviewer I should confine my comments to the content, but my copy suffered from severe formatting issues that made several passages difficult to read. Whenever Smeg’s thoughts were presented in italics, they appeared several lines ahead of where they should be, usually interrupting clauses. There are a number of abrupt transitions which I assume are also an issue with formatting.. I’ve tried not to let that colour my overall view.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.
Let’s rip the plaster off straight away and comment on the name Smeg, which, in addition to being the title of the book, is the name of the main character. For British readers, this is an unfortunate choice: it’s best known as a term of abuse or comic expletive from the cult sci-fi series Red Dwarf. To me, the name Chamberlain Smeg instantly conjured a sketch in which Kryten was in fancy dress, performing the functions of Lister’s butler in some sort of time-slip to the eighteenth century. Smeg is also a well-known brand of kitchen appliances, which only reinforces the comic association. I suspect this will have a negative impact on the book’s reception in the UK, regardless of its content.
Right, that’s done. I shall not mention it again.
Smeg is a Canadian detective, recently retired and living with his stepson, his wife having died of cancer a few years earlier. His old department is under pressure, and before his retirement papers are properly processed, Smeg is persuaded to return for one last case—and the chance to mentor Meaghan Bryant, a detective on her first murder investigation. And it’s an odd one.
The text flows easily, but at first I found the clipped sentence style a little jarring—for example, “Worked to keep horses away,” rather than “It worked.” I had to reread a few sections before settling into the rhythm and accepting that this was Smeg’s own voice: terse, irascible, and economical.
There are points where the action jumps abruptly without much sense of progression in the timeline. For example, Smeg tells Paul about a job being advertised the next day; when tomorrow arrives, Meaghan somehow already knows that Paul has both applied and secured an interview. There are a few moments like this where I wondered if I’d accidentally skipped a few pages. The text could do with some tightening. I did have a chuckle when one character told Smeg that she was a grammar freak with a devotion to Strunk and White—but did so in a paragraph that violated so many style rules it would have had Messrs Strunk and White spinning in their graves.
I’m being picky, though, as none of the errors were serious enough to impair the storytelling. The novel is a well-thought-out police procedural that flows along nicely, if occasionally a little slowly. I found that I enjoyed the relationship between Smeg and his stepson more than anything else—the awkwardness and Smeg’s lack of understanding of what makes young people tick came across well. The case itself seemed to meander too slowly, and I did wonder whether the police could really devote weeks of resources and run an increasingly complex operation, to a death without any clear evidence that it was a murder.
I appreciate that as an ARC reviewer I should confine my comments to the content, but my copy suffered from severe formatting issues that made several passages difficult to read. Whenever Smeg’s thoughts were presented in italics, they appeared several lines ahead of where they should be, usually interrupting clauses. There are a number of abrupt transitions which I assume are also an issue with formatting.. I’ve tried not to let that colour my overall view.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Smeg by Diane Wishart is about a Canadian cop by the name of Chamberlain “Charlie” Smeg, who attempted to retire but was pulled back in by a case. A woman’s gone off the road and crashed, but it looks as though her real cause of death was arsenic poisoning. Who could have done it? Family? Her co-workers?
Let’s look at the positives. Smeg is a terse Canadian who still manages to be progressive, or at least he attempts to catch up with the times that have left him behind. He is aching to be closer to his stepson, and he wants to mentor his partner Meaghan Byatt. All of that works in terms of dynamics and building a character who can be interesting.
It is not an exceptionally long read, and there are enough characters that the book can presumably trick some readers into going down the wrong hole. I knew almost immediately who had done it, however, but at least the suspects all had plausibility.
A negative for this book is the style. The dialogue feels choppy. Many of the sentences are basically the same length/cadence no matter who is speaking, so it can at times feel like volleying a ball back and forth. I just didn’t jive with it.
Another negative is the actual investigation itself, but that’s more my own personal flavour. Sifting through environmental workers’ occupations and what it is they do and why they do it is a little dull to me, and I admit a good knifing would have held my attention more.
All in all, I would be willing to try a second volume in a series. It’s a low-stakes quieter type of mystery, so it would appeal to the readers who prefer that.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Let’s look at the positives. Smeg is a terse Canadian who still manages to be progressive, or at least he attempts to catch up with the times that have left him behind. He is aching to be closer to his stepson, and he wants to mentor his partner Meaghan Byatt. All of that works in terms of dynamics and building a character who can be interesting.
It is not an exceptionally long read, and there are enough characters that the book can presumably trick some readers into going down the wrong hole. I knew almost immediately who had done it, however, but at least the suspects all had plausibility.
A negative for this book is the style. The dialogue feels choppy. Many of the sentences are basically the same length/cadence no matter who is speaking, so it can at times feel like volleying a ball back and forth. I just didn’t jive with it.
Another negative is the actual investigation itself, but that’s more my own personal flavour. Sifting through environmental workers’ occupations and what it is they do and why they do it is a little dull to me, and I admit a good knifing would have held my attention more.
All in all, I would be willing to try a second volume in a series. It’s a low-stakes quieter type of mystery, so it would appeal to the readers who prefer that.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 1, 2025
Canadians are known for how nice they are. Well, Charlie Smeg is nice, but he is grumpy. He’s a police detective that has an incredible success rate at clearing cases. But he’s tired. Ready to retire. Tired of the new, young detectives that think his time is done and want his spot. So “Smeg” as he is affectionately known, just retires.
His regular partner is out with an injury that Smeg blames himself for. Why stick around. So, he steps away. As he is trying to relax at home with his stepson, a knock at the door changes his life and he is back at it, teamed with a new up-and-coming detective.
I recently watched the BritBox show, Ludwig. That is who I pictured, but not as bumbling through the investigation. But the look and attitude. His growing relationship with his young partner and potential he sees in her is a thing of beauty. His relationship with his stepson is heartwarming and funny.
But that is just it. Smeg is Canadian. And the novel, “Smeg” is Canadian. It’s nice. It’s sweet. It’s polite. “Smeg” is going to fight for readers in an over-packed genre of mystery/thrillers. And as other authors/novels/characters are fighting their way to the top, “Smeg” just feels like it will be apologizing to the other books stepping on it on the way to the top. “Smeg” is good, not great, and not going to standout from the rest.
Saying that, I’m willing to see if book #2 in the series improves. There is a lot of potential to be a great series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an ARC for an unbiased review.
His regular partner is out with an injury that Smeg blames himself for. Why stick around. So, he steps away. As he is trying to relax at home with his stepson, a knock at the door changes his life and he is back at it, teamed with a new up-and-coming detective.
I recently watched the BritBox show, Ludwig. That is who I pictured, but not as bumbling through the investigation. But the look and attitude. His growing relationship with his young partner and potential he sees in her is a thing of beauty. His relationship with his stepson is heartwarming and funny.
But that is just it. Smeg is Canadian. And the novel, “Smeg” is Canadian. It’s nice. It’s sweet. It’s polite. “Smeg” is going to fight for readers in an over-packed genre of mystery/thrillers. And as other authors/novels/characters are fighting their way to the top, “Smeg” just feels like it will be apologizing to the other books stepping on it on the way to the top. “Smeg” is good, not great, and not going to standout from the rest.
Saying that, I’m willing to see if book #2 in the series improves. There is a lot of potential to be a great series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an ARC for an unbiased review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Smeg references aside (seriously, watch Red Dwarf), I am trying to include more Canadian content in my reading and this one is set in Edmonton. The characters are likeable. Chamberlain (Charlie) Smeg is set to retire after his partner was injured when he couldn't keep up. Meaghan Byatt is new to the squad and his old boss wants him to mentor her which is does, begrudgingly at first. His stepson Paul goes from sulky gamer to an assistant in a tech department for the police and gets to help solve the case. Over time, you warm to Smeg's grumpiness.
The writing style makes it a bit of a hard read. It is the first mystery for the author and an advance copy so perhaps fixed in later copies but feels clipped and in need of some more polishing. We see them get a search warrant, then suddenly Smeg is at home telling Paul about a job opening then they are serving the warrant and they already know that Paul has an interview. Later they are on a stakeout after Smeg picks up Megahan, but he goes back to the station so is she sitting in the cold? The timeline just doesn't make a lot of sense at times and distracted from the storyline.
There are lots of suspects though and plenty of twists where it seemed like it would be one of the others. The reasoning for the death was somewhat surprising in the end but I wish we saw more of the fallout. It does seem like it is being set up as a series though so maybe they follow up in a future book. I would probably give it another go as most second books are more polished.
The writing style makes it a bit of a hard read. It is the first mystery for the author and an advance copy so perhaps fixed in later copies but feels clipped and in need of some more polishing. We see them get a search warrant, then suddenly Smeg is at home telling Paul about a job opening then they are serving the warrant and they already know that Paul has an interview. Later they are on a stakeout after Smeg picks up Megahan, but he goes back to the station so is she sitting in the cold? The timeline just doesn't make a lot of sense at times and distracted from the storyline.
There are lots of suspects though and plenty of twists where it seemed like it would be one of the others. The reasoning for the death was somewhat surprising in the end but I wish we saw more of the fallout. It does seem like it is being set up as a series though so maybe they follow up in a future book. I would probably give it another go as most second books are more polished.
January 27, 2026
A fun mystery novel that follows the resurgence of Detective Smeg as he comes out of retirement for one more case. This cozy detective story was a fun read and showed an accurate description of Edmonton charm. Much like my favourite brand of kettle, Smeg was a delight I highly recommend!
November 21, 2025
fun mystery novel with some good plotting and great vibes throughout. would definitely recommend this one. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews