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

When the body of a young girl is found in a remote countryside lane, evidence suggests she was drugged, abused, and thrown from a moving van—before being beaten to death.

While DI Annie Cabbot investigates the circumstances in which a 14-year-old could possibly fall victim to such a crime, newly promoted DSI Alan Banks must do the same—but the crime Banks is investigating is the coldest of cases. Fifty years ago Linda Palmer was attacked by celebrity entertainer Danny Caxton, yet no investigation ever took place. Now Caxton stands accused, at the centre of a historical abuse investigation, and it's Banks's first task as superintendent to find the truth.

As more women step forward with accounts of Caxton's manipulation, Banks must piece together decades-old evidence. With his investigation uncovering things from the past that would rather stay hidden, he will be led down a path even darker than the one he set out to investigate . . .

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.

Praise for Peter Robinson and the Inspector Banks series:

"Taut, clean writing and subtle psychology. " —Ian Rankin

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

"Among the best detective fiction in the world." —Edmonton Journal

"Robinson is not just a master storyteller, he's a literary magician." —The Gazette (Montreal)