Standing in the Shadows

A Novel (Inspector Banks Novels, Book 28)

By: Peter Robinson

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

The 28th twisting installment in the DCI Alan Banks mystery series that Stephen King calls “the best now on the market.”

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 Woodley 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.

©2023 Peter Robinson (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Finished the book them found that Peter had passed away.

Very sad, he will really be missed. Not my favorite Banks story but enjoyed it just the same. Missed Annie! Peter RIP

Not Very Exciting

The story seem to drag in the middle with too many references to what music he was, listening to, which woman he was sleeping with, instead of building on the crime, the mystery, the suspense.

Great story

Enjoyed this one very much. The back and forth storytelling created an excellent narrative. So sorry to see this series end. Hopefully another author can take over for the late Mr Robinson and continue with more Inspector Banks stories

I can’t believe it’s over

Wonderful story and one of PR’s best. Well read. He has been one of my two favorite detective writers along side Michael Connelly. You will be sorely missed.

Loved it.

Well written engrossing mystery by this author, as always. Simon Vance is a magician at conveying the subtle atmosphere and emotions required by Peter Robinson’s story, and indeed by Inspector Banks himself.

Wow! Really good

I’ve came to the Banks books originally through my local library and just really liked him. This is a special treat. Wonderful forward and backward flashing between two stories that tie together nicely. Bravo.

Disappointed

I was so looking for to the next Banks book, but this one didn’t draw me in. Disappointing because the other books in the series I had a difficult time putting down.
I also did not care for the narrator. That might seem unfair to him, but I guess I was used to Simon Simon was the voice of Banks.

I'll miss Peter and Alan--we had a good run

I enjoyed the book though it wasn't as outstanding as some previous ones. I guess the author had some health issues.

To be specific, I thought the ending was rather trite, rather overused in many other mysteries. Changing between time periods was interesting. However it was sometimes difficult in the audio to tell when the time had changed.

As always, Simon Vance was (and is) outstanding. If he is narrating a book, I feel comfortable listening to it.

Too much

I could have done without the excess of details related to the main character’s obsession with music. Switching back and forth in time is harder with an audio book. The narrator’s voice was very gravelly during the first half of the book, but the ending was Agatha Christie classic in its cleverness.

Another Banks

I think that Banks are too political these days. The story feels weak. Not one of the better Banks novel.
The reading of the book is as good as ever.