Innocent Graves

An Inspector Banks Novel #8

By: Peter Robinson

Narrated by: James Langton

The worst that can possibly happen... has. A beautiful child is dead - defiled and murdered in a lonely graveyard on a fog-shrouded evening. It is the sort of horrific crime Chief Inspector Alan Banks fled the city to escape. But the slaying of a bright and lovely teenager from a wealthy, respected family is not the end of a nightmare. Lies, dark secrets, unholy accusations, and hints of sexual depravity swirl around this abomination like leaves in an autumn wind, leading to a shattering travesty of justice that will brutally divide a devastated community with suspicion and hatred. But Banks must remain vigilant in his hunt - because when the devil is left free to pursue his terrible calling, more blood will surely flow.

Investigate another case with Inspector Banks.©2004 Peter Robinson (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Entertaining and sophisticated, crime writing of a high order." (The Washington Post)

Skip this one

This was just poorly written and hard to follow! Skip and read the others which are fantastic.

Falsely Accused!

We listeners all know, right from the get-go, that poor Owen Pierce has been falsely accused of murder ... but the townsfolk don't. Given their druthers, they would lynch him for the murder of beautiful young Deborah Harrison, leaving the real killer running around free. I like it when an author uses that technique: allowing the reader to know something that none of the novel's characters -- including the protagonist -- know. Then we get to watch our hero figure out the secret. 𝘞𝑒 know that Owen Pierce didn't do it, partly because of Peter Robinson's writing skill, but also thanks to James Langton's excellent acting chops. Langton possesses the rare gift of voice. I was admiring his skill throughout this audiobook, particularly because the plot presents us with so 𝘮𝑎𝑛𝑦 different suspects. A less skilled actor could have made Owen sound as guilty as all the townsfolk think that he is. Langton clearly read "Innocent Graves" all the way through before he began recording it, so that he knew which voices to give each character -- sending exactly the right subliminal clues to us listeners.

I also liked "Innocent Graves," because it includes some intriguing courtroom scenes -- the first novel in the Alan Banks series to do so. The evidence seems stacked so profoundly high against Pierce -- and his solicitor seems so disinterested -- that we see no way for him to escape false conviction. Then his brilliant barrister (the Brits make a distinction between the lawyer that takes the case and the lawyer that argues the case) saves Pierce in court by casting reasonable doubt on all the supposed "evidence." Still, the townsfolk believe that Pierce did the murder and got away with it; so that his release puts him in grave danger of vigilante violence. Inspector Alan Banks needs to work fast to find the real killer.

Some people find that Robinson's Inspector Banks novels move too slowly, with insufficient excitement. I confess to a weakness for thrillers, myself; but I make an exception for the Inspector Banks series. Robinson's beautiful writing and Langton's masterful narration trump any problem that I might have with insufficient action. So I recommend this series to any listener with the patience to appreciate these qualities ... provided that you listen to the books in chronological order, from the beginning, starting with "Gallows View." Don't try jumping into the series in the middle -- you will miss a lot and get grumpy.

Well done!

Where does Innocent Graves rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I don't understand why people didn't like this book. Plot and characters were well developed. Narration was also terrific. The only down side was the rather abrupt ending. I expected a few more chapters at least!

Dropped of at the end

I'm not sure if the author just gets tired of the story near his finishing his book, or doesn't know how to close out, or even is just in a hurry due to some deadline but they seem to leave unfinished business that could be more smoothly and with a more gratifying end with an answer in regards to all his characters. I have read/listened to many of his books and think he is, as most people do, one of the top authors of our time and am not complaining about his stories overall, I've just noticed this seems to be how I feel at the end of his books and it seems so dissatisfying when the story has been so gratifying until then.

Lots of forensics and courtroom drama

Three and a half stars. I didn’t mind that this book in the series seemed to have much more forensic detail and courtroom drama than previous episodes. To some extent it was a refreshing change. But DCI Banks was so much more hardcore and abrasive this time that I didn’t find him very appealing. I hope it didn’t presage a permanent change in his character, in future books.