The fourth installment of Robinson's Inspector Banks series.

It began with a faceless, maggot-ridden corpse in a tranquil, hidden valley above the village of Swainshead. Or did it really begin with the unsolved murder in the same area over five years earlier? The villagers, especially those who frequent the White Rose, are annoyingly silent. Among the suspects are the Collier brothers, Stephen and Nicholas, from the wealthiest and most powerful family in Swainsdale; John Fletcher, a local farmer; Sam Greenock, owner of the village's best guest house; and his unhappy wife, Katie, who knows more than she realizes. When the Colliers use their influence to slow down the investigation and the others clam up, Inspector Banks heads for Toronto to track down the killer. He soon finds himself in a race against time as events rush towards the shocking conclusion.

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.

• "The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are, simply put, the best series now on the market. In fact, this may be the best series of British novels since the novels of Patrick O'Brian. Try one and tell me I'm wrong." --Stephen King
• "Robinson excels in the depiction of character, especially in his portrait of his pleasingly fallible copper. He is steadily ascending toward the pinnacles of crime fiction." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
• "Highly recommended, especially for fans of Ruth Rendell and Reginald Hill, who'll appreciate the counterpoint of bucolic Yorkshire placidity and turbulent currents beneath." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)