"Thoughtful . . . vivid . . . challenging . . . Like the region that breeds them, the people in Robinson's mystery flaunt their colors but keep their secrets." The New York Times Book Review

Violence erupts at an anti-nuclear demonstration in the usually peaceful town of Eastvale, leaving one young policeman stabbed to death with over a hundred suspects. Detective Chief Inspector Banks is called upon to investigate the murder, but things get difficult when an old rival, the volatile Superintendent Richard "Dirty Dick" Burgess, is sent from London to lead the investigation. As Burgess narrows his suspicions on the inhabitants of "Maggie's Farm," an isolated house high on the daleside, Banks sifts through a host of unusual suspects and disturbing discoveries about the police themselves.
Then Banks is warned off the case, and he realizes that the only way he can salvage his career is by beating Burgess to the killer. As the two head for a final confrontation, Banks pieces together the full story behind his most tragic case so far.

Peter Robinson's profile page

PETER ROBINSON was a beloved crime novelist whose work spanned thirty-five years. His final novel, Standing In the Shadows, is the twenty-eighth installment in the Inspector Banks series. His critically acclaimed books have won numerous awards in Britain, the United States, and Europe, and are published in translation all over the world. He also wrote two collections of short stories, and three stand-alone novels, including the #1 bestseller Before the Poison, winner of the Arthur Ellis Award, Sweden's Golden Crowbar Award, and the Dilys Award given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. In 2020, Robinson was presented with the Grand Master Award by the Crime Writers of Canada. Several Inspector Banks novels have been adapted for television by ITV and have appeared on PBS. Peter, who grew up in the United Kingdom, lived with his wife, Sheila Halladay, in Toronto, Ontario, and Richmond, Yorkshire. Visit www.inspectorbanks.com.

"Another fluently written, superior mystery . . . Robinson has created a stalwart cop in Alan Banks, a man who loves justice and understands a woman's heart." Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A good mystery and a contemporary variation. . . . With the publishing of A Necessary End, I think we can be assured that we have a series that is going to be with us for a long time to come." The Vancouver Sun