Inspector Banks: Book 28
Publication Date: April 11, 2023
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.
For the 28th book in the DCI Alan Banks series, author Peter Robinson uses dual storylines with events almost two decades apart and successfully delivers a fascinating mystery.
Standing in the Shadows opens in 1980 with university student Nick Hartley the prime suspect in his ex-girlfriend’s death and the disappearance of her new boyfriend. However, with a stalled investigation, the only outcome is Hartley’s decision to become an investigative journalist so he can track down the real perpetrator.
This part of the storyline is set against a rich tapestry of the time period, with cultural references to music and events. Hartley’s initial belief that Alice has been a victim of the Yorkshire Ripper guides much of his focus, but it fails to explain the boyfriend’s disappearance.
Meanwhile, the narrative shifts to the discovery of skeletal remains by archaeologists digging in a field for ancient artifacts. DCI Banks spearheads the investigation that is rich with detail about forensics. When it is determined that the remains are much more recent than anything the archaeologists are seeking, DCI Banks and his team are left with very few clues.
However, as readers who follow the DCI Banks series know, this is one investigator who has a knack for making connections. When he ties the two narratives together, it’s explosive, bringing forth an unexpected conclusion.
Standing in the Shadows delivers a true whodunit mystery packed with details. When the dust settles, readers will find a satisfying ending that ties up all the loose ends.
Peter Robi
nson was born in Yorkshire. After getting his BA Honours Degree in English Literature at the University of Leeds, he came to Canada and took his MA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor, then a PhD in English at York University. He has taught at a number of Toronto community colleges and universities and served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Windsor, 1992-93.
