Standing in the Shadows by Peter Robinson Book Review

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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My
rating: 4/5 stars.

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.)