Standing in the Shadows by Peter Robinson Book Review

About the Book:

In November 1980, Nick Hartley returns home from a university lecture to find his house crawling with police. His ex-girlfriend, Alice Poole, has been found murdered, and her new boyfriend Mark Woodcroft is missing. Nick is the prime suspect. The case quickly goes cold, but Nick cannot let it go. He embarks on a career in investigative journalism, determined to find Alice’s murderer—but his obsession leads him down a dangerous path.

Decades later, in November 2019, an archaeologist unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more contemporary than the Roman remains she is seeking. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called in to investigate, but there is little to be gleaned from the remains themselves. Left with few clues, Banks and his team must rely on their wits to hunt down a killer.

As the two cases unfurl, the investigations twist and turn to an explosive conclusion.

My Review:

This is a good police procedural and a fitting end to the Inspector Banks series. (Peter Robinson passed away.) There are two narratives and for most of the book, they do not intersect. I do wish there had been some hints along the way as to how the two would come together in the end.

The attractive feature of this novel and the series in general was getting to know Inspector Banks. He is a capable detective and a sensitive boss. Robinson was good at developing characters and that is the case here. I have enjoyed reading several of this series and will miss it.

This is part of a series and some of Banks' actions, such as his love for music and LPs from Ray do come from previous novels. Nonetheless, it does read pretty well on its own.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

One of the world’s most popular and acclaimed writers, Peter Robinson is the best-selling, award-winning author of the DCI Banks series; he has also written two short-story collections and three stand-alone novels, which combined have sold more than ten million copies around the world. Among his many honors and prizes are the Edgar Award, the CWA (UK) Dagger in the Library Award, and the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy Martin Beck Award.

William Morrow, 368 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)