This final book was especially welcome, positioned as it is before, or in between, dramatic entanglements with Annie (and others). This is a fantastic procedural novel and I was truly surprised on how it all came together. Highly Recommended! This is the last of the Alan Banks books, and I think it's better than the last few. It's told in two ways, by a university student in 1980 describing his life after the murder of his girlfriend, and by Banks and his crew trying to learn the identity of a skeleton dug up from land that will be developed into a shopping centre. While neither of the stories was particularly exciting or unusual, the ending was where all was revealed, and was a nice surprise. I was glad there was less emphasis on music and hardly anything about Zelda. I guess Banks is about ready for retirement, so this was a good finish to his story. He was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, to Clifford Robinson, a rent collector, and Miriam (nee Jarvis), a cleaner, and grew up in Armley, a working-class suburb of Leeds (also home to fellow writers Alan Bennett and Barbara Taylor Bradford). It is not too much of a stretch to assume that aspects of Inspector Banks’s adolescence in the 1960s, as described in Close to Home (2003), the 14th novel in the series, mirrored Robinson’s own.

Dear Peter Robinson: I can never thank you enough for the countless hours of delicious distraction, reading (and watching) DCI Banks solve crimes while trying to manage the ups and downs of his personal life. The second plot narrative involves an archaeological team working to see if there are any Roman artifacts to be found on some land designated as a future shopping area. One of the archaeologists unearths a skeleton andcalls the police when she realizes that the skeleton seems to be of fairly recent origin. Detective Superintendent Banks and his team don’t find anything that identifies the skeleton so they begin a long, detailed investigation to discover the identity of the skeleton. It’s pretty fascinating to watch these two stories commingle but I could see what was coming and there were too many convenient coincidences for my liking. Robinson also does a good job of balancing the investigation with character development, giving the reader a sense of who the characters are, how they fit into the plot, and their motivations. I will say that readers new to Robinson may find the pacing of the book to be slow at times, as Robinson takes the time to build world and characters within the narrative. I’ve always enjoyed his style and love to sit with Banks as he listens to music, sees a piece of art, or reads a book of verse. Robinson pulls the reader in with deft characterizations, powerfully understated action scenes, and strong locales . . . A s trong addition to the Banks series that suggests tantalizing possibilities for the next installment * Kirkus * The twenty-eighth installment of the #1 bestselling Inspector Banks series by "the grand master of the genre" ( Literary Review), Peter Robinson.The coroner establishes that death came through the aegis of some hard blows to the skull. After the turbulence of the past few years, which culminated in the events of Not Dark Yet , Banks welcomes an outwardly straightforward investigation. In his off hours, he’s diligently working his way through the LP collection left to him by his friend Ray Cabbot. Nevertheless I enjoyed the book, and have enjoyed most of the series. It was far better than the previous trilogy.

O]ne of the finest police procedural writers around... [ Standing in the Shadows] is as narratively rich and surprising as Robinson's best work' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW The second part of the story of the past starts with Nicholas Hartley living in a student housing at college. His ex=girlfriend is killed and he is suspected of killing her. This story takes off telling the story of why and who killed her. Again I will leave this to the reader to enjoy. Both stories unite at the end with the exciting ending. This book is a bit unusual in that it focuses on a "cold case," a homicide that comes to Banks' desk when a body is unearthed by chance on a remote Yorkshire farm. Banks and his team have to start from zero; the body, though only a few years in the ground, is not identifiable and doesn't match anyone who was ever reported missing. Through painstaking detective work, they eventually link the body to scandals involving undercover policing during a period of political turmoil in England more than 30 years earlier that are only now (in 2019) coming to light. It's an interesting, if not terribly suspenseful, story. People who enjoy the British television series 'Unforgotten' will definitely like this. Readers will love getting a fascinating primer in both modern forensics and archaeological techniques.... As usual, Banks’ steadfast, multifaceted character holds his team and the story itself together....The ending, in which the two narratives join, is a stunner." — Booklist on Standing in the ShadowsThis one is, sadly,the last one there will ever be,and it´s more of the same. It drags a lot,the dual timelines contribute nothing and what starts as a puzzle turns into unbelievable scenarios. Standing in the Shadows is the twenty-eighth and final installment in the late Peter Robinson's long-running Inspector Banks series. Reading this novel is bittersweet, like the affectionate and protracted goodbye of a very dear friend. Meanwhile…….Late November, 2019. On an archaeological dig near Scotch Corner, Grace Hutchinson unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more recent than the Roman remains she is looking for. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called in, and the investigation into the find begins.

Robinson is an author with amazing empathy, a snare-trap ear for dialogue, and a clear eye for the telling detail.”— Michael Connelly on Many Rivers to Cross MICHAEL CONNELLY calls Peter Robinson "an author with amazing empathy, a snare-trap ear for dialogue, and a clear eye for the telling detail."The latest case is a puzzler. It sets Banks to reminiscing about his previous cases and marriage. This is a new side of Banks and I liked it. The first episodes of the Inspector Banks TV adaptation came along in 2010, with Tompkinson well received playing the title character. It ran for five series. Characters are luminous conduits through which the narrative unfurls, bursting forth vividly under Robinson’s hand. This sorcery of characterization allows the story to coalesce around their palpable presence, creating an immersive experience that ignites the imagination.

Peter Robinson's DCI Banks series was made into a major ITV1 drama starring Stephen Tompkinson ( Wild at Heart, Ballykissangel) as Inspector Banks, and Andrea Lowe ( The Bill, Murphy's Law) as DI Annie Cabbot. Mr. Robinson has always been consistent with his characterizations of Banks and his team. He paints them brilliantly. The reader feels like they are old friends and gets to witness their conversations and actions. I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know them all. One of the finest police procedural writers around... [ Standing in the Shadows] is as narratively rich and surprising as Robinson's best work. Knowing it's his last makes the reading bittersweet."— New York Times Book Review In 1974 he moved to Canada, to take an MA in English and creative writing at the University of Windsor, Ontario. One of his tutors was the prolific and highly esteemed American author Joyce Carol Oates, who taught him, among other things, to take his writing seriously. Up until book #24,this was one of my favourite series. Solid police procedurals,interesting characters, good writing. Then the author decided to veer into international politics, (botched) undercover operations,war crimes,etc. It wan´t a turn he could pull off,and the series lost its charm. Most of it pivoted on a character very irritating to many readers.I am a first-time reader of acclaimed author Peter Robinson’s DCI Alan Banks police procedurals! I know, I know. Imagine coming into the series at #28 … cheeky, right?! No, I haven’t even seen the TV adaptations, either. An honest-to-goodness newbie. He claimed it got harder as time went on to maintain the high standard he had established for himself in the series, but it was not noticeable in his output. Banks went on through divorce, further success in his career and no let-up in the complexity and sometimes brutality of the cases he investigated. I've thoroughly enjoyed Peter Robinson's police procedural novels featuring DCI (now DS) Alan Banks & it's with great sadness that after the author's death this will be his final story. He then moved to Toronto, to York University, to take a PhD in English. There he organised various poetry events and helped set up a small press with friends, whose publications included a volume of his own poems. He settled in the city after meeting his future wife, Sheila Halladay, a lawyer, there. The book has layers upon layers. While describing two main plots, the reader is well aware that the plots must come together as one, but getting there is more than half the fun. There are surprises in this story. Many coming at the end of the novel. The involvement ranges from a lonely college student all the way to police corruption and the IRA. Good stuff!