"Brilliantly plotted, beautifully paced, it gathers speed and dread until I could barely stand it. Peter Robinson writes with compassion, with depth, with the assurance of a writer at the top of his game and rewards us with a truly heart-pounding finale." —Louise Penny

The twenty-second installment of the internationally bestselling Inspector Banks series

The story begins with a series of criminal incidents: a stolen tractor; an apparent crime scene in an old hangar at an abandoned World War II airfield; and, if it weren't enough, two local young men are reported missing. One of them lives in a caravan, which is burned to the ground one night, and the other's girlfriend receives an unwelcome visit from someone impersonating a police officer. Just as Banks and his team are getting a grip on all these cases, a car accident in a freak hailstorm turns up a gruesome discovery that spins the investigation into high gear. In classic Peter Robinson edge-of-your-seat style, a race against time ensues, and it seems that not even the investigators themselves are safe.

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.

"It's neither the setting nor even the characters that makes Robinson's work so satisfying, but the plotting of Swiss-watch precision." —The Independent
"Classic Robinson: labyrinthine plot merged with deft characterisation." —Observer

Praise for Peter Robinson

"One of the grand masters of the genre." —Literary Review

"If there were an Order-of-Canada-style process for naming detective thriller writers to Ian Rankin- or Michael Connelly-like status, I would nominate Peter Robinson." —Globe and Mail
"The Inspector Banks novels are among the best detective fiction in the world." —Edmonton Journal

"Robinson is not just a master storyteller, he's a literary magician." —Montreal Gazette
"Taut; clean writing and subtle psychology. And watch for those twists—they'll get you every time." —Ian Rankin