In the Dark Places

An Inspector Banks Novel

By: Peter Robinson

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Published in the United Kingdom and Canada as Abattoir Blues.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is back in this crackling novel of suspense, a moody and sophisticated mystery full of serpentine curves from New York Times best-selling, Edgar Award-winning author Peter Robinson.

One of the world's greatest suspense writers returns with this sensational new novel featuring Inspector Alan Banks, hailed by Michael Connelly as "a man for all seasons".

It's a double mystery: Two young men have vanished, and the investigation leads to two troubling clues in two different locations - a scorched van and a peculiar bloodstain in an abandoned airport hangar.

As Banks and his team scramble for answers, the inquiry takes an even darker turn when a truck careens off an icy road in a freak hailstorm. In the wreckage, rescuers find the driver, who was killed on impact, as well as another body - a body that was dead well before the crash.

Snow falls. The body count rises. And Banks, perceptive and curious as ever, feels himself being drawn deeper into a web of crime and at its center something - or someone - dark and dangerous lying in wait.

Vibrating with tension, ingeniously plotted, and filled with soul and poignancy, In the Dark Places is a remarkable achievement from this masterful talent.

©2015 Eastvale Enterprises, Inc. (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Feeling rather flat.

This book was overlong and the solution was a bit obvious to me. I suppose, because of this I started to notice things that in other books was just background noise. Such as: almost all of Bank's staff are female, as if Banks couldn't handle any other strong males in his pack. Banks' musing about loneliness, relationships, aging and friendships were pathetic for a man of his age and presumed maturity. Gee wiz, why would a guy whose major requirement for a "relationship" is her willingness to have sex with him not have friends or close family ties. Hum ... What could it be? Mr. Robinson, can't our hero age gracefully and have a meaningful relationship with a member of the opposite sex instead of this shallow, aging shell?
As to the story, the descriptions of the places and weather were very lovely and evocative . I felt along for the ride. But the plot had very few twists and felt formulaic. Most of the characters, other than the old familiars, were stock and one-dimensional.
Perhaps because of many happy hours reading this series my expectations were set too high but this is not the author's best effort.

Another Excellent Banks Investigation

Mature Robinson. Elegant and insightful. Robinson entertains as he challenges the reader with troubling social and criminal ills, while advancing the lives of his central characters. Robinson never dips below his high fictional standards.

Tedious

Way too much superfluous description. It seems as if the story is being padded to make it long enough to justify a higher price. I know this is a really long series, and this book is pretty far down the chronological list. Maybe there’s just not sufficient unexplored material to make the characters more interesting.

One of the best

I didn't read this book for a long time, because I was looking for Abattoir Blues, which is what this novel is supposed to be called. I can only assume they changed the name for the sake of dumb American audiences. Unfortunate, because this novel was a joy. It highlights all the strengths that makes the Banks series one of the best. Great characters, solid police procedural plot, and sprinkled with humor. It's extremely difficult to keep a long-running series fresh and interesting. Peter Robinson has done a masterful job. Highest marks.

Engrossing procedural, despite soporific narrator

I love books that describe events which could only take place in that location, at that time, to those people. Alan Banks is back home in Yorkshire, and his team is fighting rural crime on an extraordinary scale. The sense of place is palpable throughout and the characters, from an aging “master of the universe” to a war veteran recovering from disabling injury, are vivid. Robinson gives loving attention to each member of Banks’s CID team, as well. Simon Prebble’s sonorous, languid tones are pleasant, but the lack of variety in characterization, emotion, or pacing left me thinking that a different narrator could have provided so much more. Nevertheless, highly recommended to fans of the tightly-knit modern police procedural.

My kind of mystery!

Recommended by Louise Penney, says much about plot and characters. I missed Penney's ability to draw me into the "world" of the drama. Very little but weather was revealed

Banksie

I like the Inspector Banks series, One murder in a mystery isn't enough. Though impatient for action , I slogged along and was rewarded with the springing up of quiet threads woven into a satisfying melange of action , suspence and white hat victory.

great, as always!

Peter Robinson and Simon Prebble are an unbeatable combination. DCI Banks and Northern England are wonderful!

Kind of disappointing.

I love this series about Inspector Banks but this one seemed a little too introspective and filled with melancholy. Is Mr Robinson tiring of Inspector Banks and moving towards the end of the series?

Another good Chief inspector Banks Mystery

Excellent, saw the fatherly side of Banks, got to know Winsome better also her beau will he play on later episode? Highly recommend .