Watching the Dark - (Inspector Banks Novels) by Peter Robinson (Paperback)

About the Book

When Detective Inspector Bill Reid is found murdered in the tranquil grounds of the St Peter's Police Treatment Centre, and compromising photographs are discovered in his room, DCI Banks is called in to investigate. Because of the possibility of police corruption, he is assigned an officer from Professional Standards, Inspector Joanna Passero, to work closely with him, and he soon finds himself and his methods under scrutiny. It emerges that Reid's murder may be linked to the disappearance of an English girl called Rachel Hewitt, in Tallinn, Estonia, six years earlier. The deeper Banks looks into the old case, the more he begins to feel that he has to solve the mystery of Rachel's disappearance before he can solve Reid's murder, though Inspector Passero has a different agenda. When Banks and Passero travel to Tallinn to track down leads in the dark, cobbled alleys of the city's Old Town, it soon become clear that that someone doesn't want the past stirred up. Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot, just back at work after a serious injury, is following up leads in Eastvale. Her investigations take her to the heart of a migrant labor scam involving a corrupt staffing agency and a loan shark who preys on the poorest members of society. As the action shifts back and forth between Tallinn and Eastvale, it soon becomes clear that crimes are linked in more ways than Banks imagined, and that solving them may put even more lives in jeopardy.

Book Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Peter Robinson brings back Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his colleague DI Annie Cabbot in a case riddled with corruption.

A decorated policeman is murdered on the tranquil grounds of the St. Peter's Police Treatment Centre, shot through the heart with a crossbow arrow, and compromising photographs are discovered in his room.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is well aware that he must handle the highly sensitive and dangerously explosive investigation with the utmost discretion. And as he digs deeper, he discovers that the murder may be linked to an unsolved missing persons case from six years earlier--and the current crime may involve some very bad, crooked cops.

A pulsating, electrifying novel of suspense Watching the Dark is one of Peter Robinson's finest novels.

"Ambitious...Robinson shows a keen awareness of the global reach of crime."--New York Times Book Review

From the Back Cover

A decorated policeman is murdered on the tranquil grounds of the St. Peter's Police Treatment Center, shot through the heart with a crossbow arrow, and compromising photographs are discovered in his room.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is well aware that he must handle the highly sensitive and dangerously explosive investigation with the utmost discretion. And as he digs deeper, he discovers that the murder may be linked to an unsolved missing persons case from six years earlier--and the current crime may involve crooked cops.

A pulsating, electrifying novel of suspense, Watching the Dark is one of Peter Robinson's finest novels.

Review Quotes

The Inspector Banks novels have received numerous awards for their crisp narratives, breath-taking action, and atmospheric settings -- The Tuscon Citizen