Standing in the Shadows (Inspector Banks, #28) (2024)

The 28th and the last in series, not because the series is getting stale, but because this amazing author has passed. In fact, many of my favored authors seem to be moving on to, well who knows, but they are leaving a hole in my heart and my future reading plans. After writing so many books, I felt connected to Robinson, as I have to his character Alan Banks.

Not only are his mysteries always well plotted but Banks, as a lover of music, was never shy of sharing his choices with the reader. I will miss that. This mystery includes two separate time frames, years apart but of course there is a connection, though I wasn't smarmy enough to figure out exactly how.

Thank you Mr. Robinson for the many years you gifted us with your talent. Now I will turn to Britbox and watch the Banks series there.

In 2019 skeletal remains are found on an old, unused farm property which will eventually be the site of a huge new shopping mall. With barely a trace of identification except the possibility of a gold filling in a tooth, Inspector Alan Banks and his team of detectives will be called in to discover who this person was and then try to solve the case if the remains are the result of a murder since it was obvious that this was a buried body that someone thought would never be found.

In 1980, Nicholas Hartley returns from class to a scene of police cars at the rooming house where he lives while attending university. Nick has no idea what has happened but two detectives immediately take him to his room and begin questioning him about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Alice who still lived in an apartment on the top floor while not realizing that Alice has been murdered, Nick will soon be their prime suspect even though Alice had a current boyfriend who appears to be missing yet the detectives only seem to be focused on Nick.

The two storylines will interplay throughout the book and eventually the past and present will.coincide to bring about an explosive climatic ending.

What an enjoyable and entertaining police procedural book this was for me. This was my first novel in the series by Peter Robinson yet it was so well-written that I felt as if I met these characters before and they already felt like old friends. The two storylines bounced off each other so well and I never felt lost with the large cast of interesting characters. I enjoyed how realistic and relatable that the characters were conveyed to the reader. The descriptive background and scenery was an extra plus. I just loved Inspector Banks and his warm persona that was portrayed as a good man and a solid, sensitive and fair boss who cared very much for each member of his team while he worked the daily grind as much if even harder than his beloved team. I'm sure I will read many of the past books that I have missed because this seems to be a great series to dive into when you want that feeling of warmth and likability surrounding the characters you are reading about.

I highly recommend this police procedural novel.

I want to thank the publisher "William Morrow" for the opportunity to read this book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating if 4 SOLID AND SATISFYING 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

Publication Date: April 11, 2023

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.
This 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.
I wish what was once a great series could have ended on a much higher note.

RIP Peter Robinson. No, I haven't read the book yet, but so sad at his passing. I'm sure I'll love this one as much as the others. Will really miss these stories and characters.

UPDATE: I finished the book. Honestly, it wasn't my favorite but I'm keeping the 5 stars for the body of work.

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.

It didn’t take me long to question if there was a link between the 1980 unsolved murder and the discovery of a body in a field, but it took me to the end of the book to discover if I was correct in my assumption. Despite there being a thorough investigation, Detective Banks feels the need to do some final checks because he thinks it all wrapped up too smoothly. I’ve been told each of his previous stories conveys the same message; it’s important to get to the real story behind the story. Distrust the easy answer! This one was no different.

I loved the characterization! I remarked several times on the descriptive, deep characters as well as the vivid, authentic-sounding Eastvale, Yorkshire Dales setting. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the superb plotting, too. If you’ve read this series from the start, I imagine you continue reading for the same reasons I enjoyed this one.

Sadly, this author passed away last year after a brief illness. ‘Standing in the Shadows’ was completed before his death. I will definitely be going back and starting this series from the beginning because I enjoyed looking for clues about motives and loved being kept in suspense. Robinson doesn’t hand it all on a silver platter, he makes readers work for it … and I love that. I’m glad I read one of this established author’s mysteries. I had to find out for myself why he was dubbed “the master of the police procedural.”

If you are like me and wondering if this could be read as a stand-alone - yes! Go for it!

I was gifted this copy by Penguin Random House Canada, McClelland & Stewart and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Standing in the Shadows was an interesting book. I did not realize when I started reading that there was two parts to the story, the past and the present. It takes place in the town of Eastvale. The story starts with Grace Hutchinson who works for the Northern Archaeological Associates who is there digging at the dig site. She hits something and finds a skull. The police are called in. DS Banks arrives at the scene with policewoman, Gerry Masterson. The skeleton is removed and taken to the lab. Dr. Galway and Dr. Francis Runcorn, a forensic anthropologist are examining the skeleton. He is a man between the age of 50-60 years old. The skull shows signs of being hit in the head twice. This is where the story takes off in an exciting adventure of finding out who he is to the exciting and surprising ending.

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.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishing for this ARC.

In 1980, the body of a a young girl is found in a park in Leeds. The Yorkshire Ripper was terrorizing England at the time and, at first, she was thought to be one of hid victims. However, the method of her death doesn’t match his other victims and her case is put on the back burner and is seemingly forgotten at least by everyone except her ex-boyfriend, Nick Hartley.

Flash forward to 2019. During an archeological dig in a field destined to become a shopping mall, the skeleton of a man is uncovered. It is clear, however, that his burial is much more recent than Roman times. It is also clear he was murdered. DCI Banks and his team are called in to investigate.

Standing in the Shadows is the 28th book in the DCI Banks police procedural series by Peter Robinson. It is also, sadly, the last. Like all of the preceding novels, it is well-written, well-plotted and smart, more puzzle than action

This is the last novel in this particular series as the author passed away last year. Like quite a few of its predecessors, the narrative alternates between two time frames and locations. In this case, the present day (or, at least, 2019) and Leeds back in 1980.
In the former, a skeleton is unearthed during an archaeological dig on a piece of wasteland near the A1. Far from being ancient Roman, forensics soon determine it to be less than a decade old. The 1980 story is told from the viewpoint of literature student Nick Hartley who returns home to discover his ex-girlfriend Alice Poole has been murdered. Could she be a victim of the Yorkshire Ripper who had murdered a female student one month before? Nick (who is initially a suspect himself) however suspects Alice’s recent boyfriend Mark Woodcroft, who disappeared after her murder.
As the novel progresses, both sides of the story are gradually drawn together and, the current events in the earlier story include the murder of John Lennon and the arrest of the Yorkshire Ripper a couple of months later.
The momentum built up nicely during the middle of the novel, but somehow seemed to tail off towards the end and the identity of the skeleton was pretty soon obvious. Sadly, the final chapter fell totally flat. This is a series which I’ve largely enjoyed and I was somewhat disappointed it couldn’t end on a higher point.

With the passing of author Peter Robinson, I assume this will be the last Inspector Banks novel, so it’s bittersweet how good this book is! I have to admit that the last couple of books in the series that focused on the side-character, Zelda, were not my favorites. This book has all the things that I love about the series, except I would have loved to have had more of DI Annie Cabbot who is on leave. Besides that, I have no complaints about the book. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team work well together to solve a complex cold case. A skeleton is found on a construction site for a shopping center on the outskirts of Eastvale, England and Banks and team are called in when it’s determined a murder has been committed.

The book has a dual timeline that includes flashbacks starting with 1980. These chapters are told from the point-of-view of a university student, Nicholas Hartley. Nicholas is devastated when his ex-girlfriend, Alice Poole, is murdered. Things get worse for Nicholas when he becomes one of the main suspects. At first as the story goes back and forth, it’s hard to see how these two seemingly separate storylines are related. However, things start coming together in unexpected ways as the story progresses. Each storyline was equally interesting to me and although I had my theories, I wasn’t able to guess the final twists in the case. At one time near the end, Banks and his team have mixed feelings over the resolution of the case. I feel the same about the end of the book. Overall, it leaves the main characters in a good place, but it makes me sad that I have to say good-bye to Banks, Annie, Gerry Masterson, and Winsome Jackman who have given me so much reading pleasure over the years.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an advance copy of this ebook. The ebook was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

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.
What I find incredible is that after 28 novels featuring Banks we still learn new things about him. The supporting characters are well developed & there are some nice touches of humour amidst the drama.
Like some of Robinson's previous novels this one is set across different time periods. In 2019 Banks & his team investigate the discovery of a skull by archaeologists & in 1980-81 the author mixes fact with fiction with the hunt for the real life Yorkshire Ripper.
While the story may not be one of the author's best his characters are spot on. It's been a pleasure to follow his creations for many years & they will be sorely missed.

This is a DCI Banks novel. It can be read as a stand-alone, even though there are references to previous characters and events. As always, I leave it to readers where you want to enter any series.

This is told in two timelines. The narrator for one section is Nick Hartley, a student turned journalist whose girlfriend, Alice Poole has been murdered in 1980.

The second timeline is 2019 when bones dated to approximately 2009-2016 have been discovered on a retired policeman, Harold Gillespie’s property.

Is he the perpetrator?

And…

Who is the deceased?

How will these two timelines matter?

And…

Will they eventually intersect to tell the story as to who killed Alice Poole, and who this dead person is?

An intelligent, satisfying police procedural that gives readers a true who-dunit mystery with many twists and turns and a satisfying ending all the way to the last page.

Postnote: Sadly, the author passed away after a short illness on October 22, 2022. So, this will be the last in the series written by him.

Standing in the Shadows is the last book in the Inspector Banks series. I read the first book in the series back in April 2011, so now, twelve years later, I have completed my journey.

The book itself doesn't feel like an ending, more like a continuation, and so it is left to our imaginations to ponder on what life might hold in store for Inspector Banks and his team.

This is a detective series well worth reading, and who knows, maybe, one day, I will begin at the beginning again.

Fabulous.

A fabulous end-of-the-line for DCI Banks, who I have been reading since the 1990s. I remember reading Gallow’s View and loving it because the book was brilliant, and I had found a new author. We don't have a TV, and I've never been a fan of books adapted for a film or drama, anyway, my imagination never matches who they pick for the main characters. The book was great and kept me guessing with the twists and turns of what was going to be the outcome. It's been a pleasure to read Peter Robinsons' books over the years, a man with a super talent.

I received a free copy of, Standing in the Shadows, by Peter Robinson, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the 28th in the DCI Alan Banks series. In 1980 Nick is accused of murdering his ex girlfriend. In 2019 bones are found, is there a link? Wow DCI Banks still has it after 28 books, he is a brilliant detective.

Peter Robinson, back in form, meaning Inspector Banks, with his eclectic musical taste and appreciation for fine food, is set to unravel a seemingly cold case with nothing more than an unearthed skeleton to go by. Well done. As long as Robinson continues to plague Banks with seemingly unsolvable cases, I'll keep reading him.

I wanted to like this last book in one of my favorite series, but I couldn't. I have no empathy for or interest in Nick or Mark. The latter, in particular, seemed totally unrealistic to me.

OH! The Last DCI Inspector Banks story as Peter Robinson has pass (RIP). This was the TWENTY EIGHTH book int the series!

It wasn't apparent to me at first, but there are two stories in this last great novel. We learn of Nick, a college student in 1960 who is approached by police following the murder of his ex girlfriend. Alan Banks come in in November of 2019 when an archeological dig turns up a skeleton.

This is a fantastic procedural novel and I was truly surprised on how it all came together. Highly Recommended!
#WilliamMorrow #StandingIntheShadows #PeterRobinson

In 1980, against the backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper investigation, university student Nick Hartley returns to his rooms to find the building swarming with police. Within moments he is being questioned by detectives regarding another resident, Nick’s ex-girlfriend, Alice Poole. He soon learns that Alice has been found dead, her body left in a local park. No arrest is ever made, but over the years that follow, Nick continues his own investigation.

In 2019, at an archeological dig outside of Eastvale in the North of England, a skeleton is found. Unfortunately, evidence points to it’s burial being in the recent, rather than ancient past. A body in an abandoned field probably means murder, so Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his team are called in to investigate. Without clues, and unable to identify the deceased, Banks may end up without a solution to this murder.

This is Robinson’s 28th book in the DCI Banks series. I’ve read every one with great enjoyment and was devastated upon hearing of the author’s death late last year. It is to believe that this will be the last book in the series, making it a bitter sweet read.

As always, Robinson’s writing is smooth, and he has crafted a plot that is intricate, has great depth, and a mystery that is well constructed and atmospheric. The narrative alternates between the two time-lines that seem totally unrelated, but over time meld into one.

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’s engaging writing style and well-constructed mysteries will be greatly missed. No matter if you’re new to his work, or a long-standing fan, you will find that this is a novel with great appeal. Highly recommend!

This was a long one, and that can be a good thing or not. It worked for me because I enjoy entering the world where Banks resides with his solid reputation, brilliance at what he does and how he works with his team and his frequent music references that add so much.
A body is found buried where one shouldn't be, found by anthropology team working the area for Roman finds. This is just one of the investigations running as the death of a young woman is bundled into the work load.
So much went on in this book I can't boil it down efficiently. One must be a Banks fan as this would not be a book to be picked up without the background of the preceding 27 books.
Library Loan

I did not enjoy this new DCI Banks book as much as I've liked the others. Robinson has created some memorable characters, chief among them is Alan Banks himself. This book has an interesting structure: two narratives beginning almost 40 years apart. The first narrative is a first-person account of a murder committed against the ex-girlfriend of the narrator. The second narrative is the investigation of the skeletal remains discovered by a woman digging for ancient roman artifacts. Banks and his team (woefully minus Annie for much of the story) get involved. Of course, we all know these two narratives will mesh at some point, and Robinson does a good job in bringing them together. But the narrative in the 1980s dragged on a bit, and although it involved murder, it was just not interesting until the narrator got closer in time to the events that culminated in the discovery of the remains. Several things in the plot seemed a bit too pat. And although the ending was logical, Banks seemed too sanctimonious about "being lied to." There were several victims here, and some criminals, but some criminals seemed less guilty than others.

Thank you Hachette Australia for sending me a copy of this book for review. This is a new author for me and I am thrilled to say I loved it and have added all his backlist to my tbr. I now know why hes the master of police procedural. This book can be read as a standalone.

It has multiple timelines :

1980- When the first murder occurs
2015 - The second murder occurs
2019 - A skeleton is found in a dig.

It has so many layers to the story and it held my interest the whole way through. It mentions the Yorkshire Ripper, Archaeology, politics, corruption assumed idenities, familial dna to solve who the bones are from. Reminded me of my favourite shows such as Bones and CSI. If you like the show DCI Banks you may like this also. It is told by multiple POVS. The ending was superb. Didnt see that coming at all and actually bumped my rating up to 5 stars.

Standing in The Shadows (Inspector Banks, #28) by Peter Robinson.

I've read so many rave reviews for this series and wondered what's wrong with me. I didn't like the TV series and thought I'd feel the same about the books. So This is the first Inspector Banks that I was determined to give it a fair try. My quest started with this last in the series although I didn't know it was the last at the time. I also didn't realize this author had recently passed and that determined the end of this series.
Well, it was so involved in the best way a book can get a reader involved in it that I stayed focused listening to the last several discs until now. 2:37 am and here I am writing my review. If you also have not tried the Inspector Banks series...don't wait any longer. There are 6 more waiting for me at the library by request.

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.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel.

Exactly what I hoped for: a solid Banks-story. Told in two timelines, with emphasis on procedure and characters.
Loved it!

As Peter Robinson's many fans know, he died recently after completing this, his final novel about the indefatigable Yorkshire police detective DCI Banks. Kirkus Reviews commented that this may not be the best of the Banks novels but is probably "the most heartfelt." I agree.

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.

I don't know whether Robinson realized that this might be his last novel about Banks, but whether he did or not this book rather neatly sums up Banks' career and shows him, after many ups and downs, in a good place in his work and his personal life. For longtime Banks fans, it's a very satisfying way to end the series.

368 pages

5 stars

The late Peter Robinson penned another brilliant entry into the Inspector Banks series in his latest, and last, book in the series.

Imagine! Twenty-eight books about one character. All of them are well written and plotted with interesting characters. All different in their purpose and premise. Mr. Robinson very nearly matched author Archer Mayor with his thirty-three in his Joe Gunther series.

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 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!

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.

I want to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

I’ve been reading Peter Robinson’s novels for years, all the way back to his marriage to Sandra. I have enjoyed all of the books. I was very sad to hear of his death. Rest in Peace, Peter.

The gifted Peter Robinson gives the reader two mysteries, set decades apart, in Standing in the Shadows, the twenty-eighth in the Detective Alan Banks series. In 1980, at the height of the Yorkshire Ripper panic, Alice Poole is found dead in a Leeds park. Nick, her former boyfriend was the last to see her alive and, for a brief time, is suspected of being the Ripper. He is obsessed by her death, baffled by the reasons why the police have dropped the case and suspicious of her new boyfriend Mark. In 2019, a skeleton is discovered at an archeological dig near Eastvale, so DCI Alan Banks is called to investigate. They ascertain that the body was buried between 2009 and 2016 but it will take sometime to identify him. When they do, the links to the earlier case will become apparent. But in typical Robinson style, those links will be slowly teased out and will turn out to be not what you think.

Peter Robinson’s Alan Banks police procedurals are character driven with complex plots and an atmospheric location in the Yorkshire Dales. Banks is a thoughtful man, preferring an evening alone with a drink in hand, listening to his vast, beloved LP collection. He’s long divorced, with grown children and deals with loneliness and a sense of melancholy. Peter Robinson died suddenly in October 2022 but Alan Banks lives in Standing in the Shadows. Thank you, Peter Robinson. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Peter Robinson for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC.
This is the 28th and, unfortunately, the last in the DCI Alan Banks series. I was so sorry to read that Peter Robinson passed away suddenly and will miss the series a lot.
It's 1980 and Britain is in the midst of the search for the Yorkshire Ripper and student Nick Hartley finds out his ex-girlfriend Alice has been murdered and is questioned by the police ... they might even suspect him of being the Ripper.
We then go to 2019, where Banks and his team catch the cold case of a skeleton found by an archeologist.
Eventually the two cases intersect and the outcome was a surprise to me ... I thought I had it figured out!
As usual, I absolutely loved the book, as I did all the DCI Banks books. I miss him already!
Highly recommended.

I borrowed this book from my library app … and it took awhile to become available. But now I have no idea why I wanted to read it in the first place.
That’s what you get for reading the last book in a series of 28 books😬
I had no connection to Banks the lead detective … i found the story boring and it took forever to get any where. And when it did … meh!
The past references to prior books and events made no difference to me …since I had no point of reference.

Amazing!!!!!! Love the past and present story lines