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In the Dark Places: An Inspector Banks Novel
In the Dark Places: An Inspector Banks Novel
In the Dark Places: An Inspector Banks Novel
Audiobook11 hours

In the Dark Places: An Inspector Banks Novel

Written by Peter Robinson

Narrated by Simon Prebble

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Published in the United Kingdom and Canada as Abattoir Blues

Louise Penny calls In the Dark Places "brilliant." Tess Gerritsen says it's "thrilling." And Michael Connelly describes Peter Robinson as "amazing." One of the world's greatest suspense writers returns with this sensational new novel featuring Inspector Alan Banks, hailed by Michael Connelly as "a man for all seasons."

It's a double mystery: Two young men have vanished, and the investigation leads to two troubling clues in two different locations.

As Banks and his team scramble for answers, the inquiry takes an even darker turn when a truck careens off an icy road in a freak hailstorm. In the wreckage, rescuers find the driver, who was killed on impact, as well as another body—a body that was dead well before the crash.

Snow falls. The body count rises. And Banks, perceptive and curious as ever, feels himself being drawn deeper into a web of crime, and at its center something—or someone—dark and dangerous lying in wait.

Vibrating with tension, ingeniously plotted, and filled with soul and poignancy, In the Dark Places is a remarkable achievement from this masterful talent.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateAug 11, 2015
ISBN9780062394965
Author

Peter Robinson

One of the world’s most popular and acclaimed writers, Peter Robinson was the bestselling, award-winning author of the DCI Banks series. He also wrote two short-story collections and three stand-alone novels, which combined have sold more than ten million copies around the world. Among his many honors and prizes were the Edgar Award, the CWA (UK) Dagger in the Library Award, and the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy Martin Beck Award.

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Reviews for In the Dark Places

Rating: 3.816964359375 out of 5 stars
4/5

224 ratings25 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Book Description:It's a double mystery: Two young men have vanished, and the investigation leads to two troubling clues in two different locations.As Banks and his team scramble for answers, the inquiry takes an even darker turn when a truck careens off an icy road in a freak hailstorm. In the wreckage, rescuers find the driver, who was killed on impact, as well as another body—a body that was dead well before the crash.Snow falls. The body count rises. And Banks, perceptive and curious as ever, feels himself being drawn deeper into a web of crime, and at its center something—or someone—dark and dangerous lying in wait.My Review:Peter Robinson is an excellent storyteller and I found this one to be well-written. It is smartly plotted with lots of interesting characters. Winston is featured in this book along with her new boyfriend Terry. Annie is recovering from her gunshot wound and is coming along nicely. Banks seems to be thinking about retirement but is still masterful at solving this dark and dangerous crime. I find it's a good idea to read this series in order as the storylines build one upon the other. I look forward to the next installment and would highly recommend this series to those who love mystery thrillers and police procedurals.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    How many exciting mystery novels begin with a stolen tractor? Perhaps just one, Peter Robinson’s “In the Dark Places” (2015).The team of detectives led by Inspector Banks usually gets assigned to murder investigations, but it being a slow season for murder in mostly rural Eastvale, Annie Cabot is dispatched to investigate, as she puts it, “a bloody stolen tractor.”But at about the same time, a wounded British army veteran discovers what appears to be a substantial amount of blood in an abandoned building. The two incidents turn out to be related: the man who stole the tractor is the murder victim, his body discovered in a most grisly fashion. That’s one of the “dark places” Robinson takes us. Another is more literal: deep into a cavern, where the novel reaches its climax.This is another exceptional entry in this series of novels featuring Banks, a music-loving police officer still attempting to cope with his broken marriage. As usual in these stories, the lives of Banks and the members of his team prove to be as interesting as the mystery they attempt to solve. This time a prominent role goes to Winsome, the Jamaican-born young officer who begins a love affair and later enters that cavern with the villain at her heels.Don’t miss this one.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Set in the Yorkshire Dales of England DCI Banks and his team investigate a stolen tractor, blood found in a warehouse and a missing young man. Are any of these connected?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks series is a total winner. This is number 22, and the series has not gone stale one little bit. In fact, this is one of the most impactful books so far. The tension never lets up and there is enough blood and death and scary people to fill two books. Banks and his crew are on the trail of a very elusive protagonist as two missing young men come to their attention. The more they investigate, the more they all realize that these are not regular missing persons enquiries. It takes Annie and Winsome on tours of local abattoirs and farms deep into the Yorkshire dales and onto little known country tracks and places them in incredible danger. The scenery of the Yorkshire hills and dales is described so vividly, and even on these particularly cold March days during the timeframe of the book, it sounds breathtaking, This book absolutely vibrates with tension and fear. This book is a white-knuckle read from beginning to end. Love this series! Love Peter Robinson.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A cracking story which had me guessing to the end: because Peter Robinson has not been scared to kill off, or seriously wound, major characters, one never knows how the action will conclude. At the same time, he is clever enough to know that he doesn't need to top the level of carnage in each book. Sometimes everyone gets through, other times, a favourite won't make it. I shall not spoil the tension by revealing which scenario triumphed in this tale.These tales get better and more smoothly written with each outing and, when you consider the high standard of the early works, that's quite an accomplishment. I can't wait to read the next instalment; so I won't!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Abattoir Blues is the 22nd book in the DCI Allan Banks series of police procedurals. This is a solid entry in the series and the author certainly makes good use of the North Yorkshire setting. DCI Banks and his team are investigating a series of rural robberies which involves expensive farm equipment and some animals disappearing. The working theory is that the stolen goods are being shipped to Eastern Europe to be sold on the black market. When two young men are reported as missing, and the dismembered remains of one of them shows up mixed in with animal carcasses, the case is elevated to a murder investigation.Although this particular book doesn’t focus much attention on DCI Bank’s private life, it is fairly apparent that his current relationship is on the wane and he will soon be at loose ends in the romance department, but this looks to be a matter for another book. Both team member Annie Cabot and Winsome Jackson are featured in this book and one of them embarks on a new and interesting relationship. With Abattoir Blues I found the plot both satisfying and believable. The story was clever with just enough twists to keep the reader engaged. The Eastvale team, with it’s mix of genders and ethnicity strike the right note and although I get a sense that this series is winding down, the author is still producing some very good work.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A great addition to the series. Suspense at its best, although there were several hints that Banks is feeling his age and the passage of time. Could retirement be in the near future?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Banks and co investigate what seems to be a straight-forward case of tractor theft but turns out to have a much darker side to it involving illegal abattoirs. Complex, well-written plot with interesting characters.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It's lovely to see that Peter Robinson is back on track. This is a wonderful book for mystery fans. Inspector Banks seems to finally be showing his age, but he has his old energy and snap back, and he treats his staff more like an extended family than a group of seasoned detectives. One sees the amount of work--interviews, searching for witnesses and evidence, forensics, intuition, using data bases--is required to slowly and incrementally understand the nature of the crime(s) that has been committed. Then, again glacially, the dots are connected and progress begins to be made, until finally resolution comes. In a strange way, books like these show why anarchy remains a fever dream; there are too many flat-out evil and greedy people who are the predators that inhabit society. Without a robust police presence, we would soon be back in the caves. The lesson from Lord of the Flies must be learned and relearned, and that's why Inspector Banks is at your service.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the first Inspector Banks mystery I have read so I have nothing to compare it to like other reviewers. It isn’t necessary to read any of the others to get involved in this book. Great characters, interesting plots and a satisfying end make for good reading.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I have read all the Inspector Banks novels and some fall short of a reader's expectations, and this falls in that category. Descriptive and graphic violence dominate the book, and that little hope in humanity barely seeps through the cracks. Of course, not every book can live up to a reader's criteria. Inspector Banks falls to the sidelines as his team races to find a devious killer. Alan spends much of the time thinking of past events and his relatives, and wondering about his new romance with a much younger woman. The story seems off balance and never hits a balance.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was my first Peter Robinson book. I feel lucky because this was the 21st or 22nd Inspector Banks mystery so I have a lot to look forward to reading. Maybe I should start with the first one! A great fast moving read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks series never fails to please and In the Dark Places is no exception. Two events form the basis for this exciting, past paced novel. Financial wiz-kid turned ‘weekend farmer’ John Beddoes has just come home from a Mexico vacation to find his expensive tractor stolen. There seems to have been a rash of robberies in the area; farm equipment, farm animals, etc. Simultaneous to this, injured war veteran Terry Gilchrist is out walking his dog Peaches by an abandoned airfield when she scoots under the chain link fence and bounds into the hangar. No amount of whistling and calling will bring her back so Gilchrist is forced to find the hole in the fence, crawl through and search for Peaches. What he finds in addition is something that looks like blood. So he calls the police. Two days later when a lorry carrying stillborn sheep destined for incineration drives over a cliff and human remains are found in the cargo, there is no doubt that the crimes are related.Banks, returning from a vacation of his own in Umbria with the lovely Oriana, and crew get involved in both crimes. When it turns out to be human blood in the hangar, now it’s murder. In the Dark Places probes the meat slaughtering industry, especially the unlicensed abattoirs that might sell to local restaurants. It will clearly stop your digestive juices from flowing and possibly make you consider becoming a vegetarian.The Banks team are all familiar characters and it’s almost as if you can visualize them…maybe you can if you watch the BBC series on Mystery. They have have distinct personalities. There is a little love interest with Winsome and there’s always the push and pull between Annie Cabbot and Banks, which is much different than in the TV series. There’s not much going on with Banks’ family, his son and daughter, only honorable mention, so to speak, although other books have concentrated more on them. And there are no cold cases in this story, while there have been in the past. Music always plays a role in an Inspector Banks book and true to form, it does in this as well.In the Dark Places is an all around good read. A fine continuation of a fine series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have read all of Peter Robinson's books. I have enjoyed Alan Banks and I look forward every year to the new addition to this series. For the last few years I have been disappointed. The series is not what it was. The plots are lame, the action pushed into the last quarter of the book. The other characters definitely more interesting then Banks. In this book Banks seems aimless and so does the story itself.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is number twenty-something in the series of DCI Banks, a police procedural set in England. It is the first one I've read. It feels more to me like a cozy mystery, but I think that is more due to the length of the series and not the subject. It still has lots of crime and procedures, but the relationships between the members of the constabulary feel more important than the various crimes they are out to solve. I do have other books in the series that I will most likely read in the next few years.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another series that I have read since the beginning, though that really isn't necessary because this book would be fine if read alone. I did, however, find out that I missed one which I now must go back and read. Don't quite know how that happened. Anyway in this installment three different incidences, with three different teams investigating all come together by books end. A stolen, very expensive tractor, blood in an unused warehouse and a missing young man send the team scrambling for answers. Love the character of Inspector Banks, he is so interesting, his children though he doesn't see them often enough, loves classical music and relished his solitude though he is at present dating a woman younger than himself. In this case he is not front and center, it is more Annie's and Winsome's case, the women take the lead. Good case, the last 10% of the book the most exciting, had me holding my breath at times. One warning: after this book if you are not already, you might just becomae a vegetarian. Think abattoir.ARC from publisher.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the 22nd novel in the “Inspector Banks” series, featuring Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his staff in Yorkshire, Great Britain. (The book was published in Britain with the title Abattoir Blues.) This installment begins with DI Annie Cabbot and DC Dougal Wilson (a Harry Potter lookalike, it seems), heading out to the countryside to investigate the theft of a tractor. Simultaneously, DS Winsome Jackman is looking into the discovery of possibly human remains at an abandoned airfield. The blood and body bits were found when a local veteran and war hero, Terry Gilchrist, was walking his dog. Soon enough, the threads of the stories interconnect, and focus on a likely suspect, Michael Lane, who is now missing. His occasional job partner, Morgan Spencer, also cannot be found. It begins to appear that a crime ring specializing in stolen farm equipment is in operation, but something went wrong and a gruesome murder was committed. And then, in an edge-of-your-seat riveting dénouement, one of the team’s investigators gets a little to close to discovering the truth and to meeting the same fate.Evalution: This book offers lots of suspense, with breaks from the tension with aptly selected humor and forays into the teams’ personal lives, and an overall good story that - by the way - ought to encourage meat-eating readers to consider vegetarianism.This was my first book in the series, but I didn’t feel lost at all. I could tell, however, that I missed a great deal of backstory, such as the dissolution of Banks’ marriage. But the writing is good enough that I fully intend to go back to the beginning with this series and find out all the ins and outs of everyone’s lives prior to the time of this latest book. Books in the series have garnered a number of awards, including the Arthur Ellis Award, the Anthony Award, and the Edgar Award.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Peter Robinson's latest police procedural is just what one expects in a summer beach read. Familiar characters, a well plotted mystery with an engaging supporting cast and story that will keep you turning the pages. Returning from vacation a day early DCI Alan Banks is met with not one but two seemingly unrelated cases, both low on the list of what might be considered a high-profile case. An expensive tractor is called in missing from a local ranch, and a bit further away in an abandoned hangar, is found what appears to be a pool of blood on the floor. Robinson juggles the two cases deftly while immersing the reader further into the lives of his characters and their numerous interactions, leading us through the machinations of an investigation.Highly recommended read, but don't forget the sunscreen as you won't want to put this one down until after the final page.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Inspector Alan Banks and his team has to deal with two mysteries. Two men have disappeared and the investigation leads to two clues in two different locations. A scorched van and a peculiar bloodstain in an abandoned airplane hanger.As the team looks for answers another mystery is discovered. A truck careens off an icy road and the rescuers find that the driver was killed on impact. They also find another body that was dead well before the accident.Once again Peter Robinson has written a riveting mystery that keeps you hooked from the first page.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When Homicide and Major Crimes is called out to investigate a stolen tractor, they’re not exactly thrilled. But the new police commissioner considers rural crime a priority so they just have to suck it up. However, when it is linked to a possible murder in a vacant hangar at an abandoned WWII airfield, the disappearance of two local lads, and a gruesome discovery at the scene of a crashed lorry, the case becomes a lot more interesting for DCI Banks and his team.In the Dark Places is the 22nd Inspector Banks novel by author Peter Robinson and he still knows how to write a compelling and intelligent police procedural. The thing I like about Robinson – he’s never flashy, there are no wild car chases through major thoroughfares, his characters, though well-rounded, aren’t extraordinarily beautiful, witty, or able to solve crimes with little more than a random throw-away line apropos seemingly of nothing and the use of their little grey cells. They investigate crime scenes and follow the clues and put hard work into solving the case. There is, to be sure, some graphic and rather disturbing violence here especially as much of the story is set in abattoirs but this violence fits into the story and never feels gratuitous. Like the other books in the series, this entry is grounded in real possibility. There are lots of twists and the occasional dumb but human mistake by a character but it never stretches the credulity of the reader. Banks himself is missing for part of the story and, this time, it is the lasses who get to have most of the fun especially DS Winsome Jackman who may have found a possible love interest. When Banks is present, his signature music obsession is also in evidence and, to be honest, I kind of prefer the Canadian and British title Abattoir Blues. It seems more fitting because it references not only the setting but the song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (great song) which links it nicely to the last DCI Banks novel (and my favourite T-Rex song), Children of the Revolution. But, regardless of title, this is a well-written, intelligent, and satisfying mystery and I recommend it highly.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The blurb (above) promoting this novel, tells you almost as much as the reader needs to be told. The setting is North Yorkshire and Terry Gilchrist, recently discharged from the army is walking his dog. Peaches disappears inside an old hanger and Gilchrist recognises what Peaches has found as blood. Meanwhile Annie Cabot is investigating the theft of a tractor and Alan Banks is returning from holidays.Crime scene investigators affirm that what Peaches found is human blood and Banks takes over the investigation.I think what I enjoyed most about this novel was the exploration of the roles played by the various members of Banks' team, and particularly the part played by DS Winsome Jackman. And I enjoyed watching from the sidelines as the various plot threads converged.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    It is always rather painful to see a novelist whom one formerly viewed with great respect now subsiding into literary torpor, churning out lame plots riddled with implausible characters and facile dialogue. That, sadly, seems to be the fate befalling Peter Robinson. After a solid start with a series of dependable if never quite spectacular novels featuring Inspector (later Chief Inspector) Alan Banks, he suddenly hit mid-season form with 'In A Dry Season' and the five or six novels that followed it, and he became one of the leading British exponents of the police procedural novel. Unfortuantely he seemed to take the pitcher to the well not merely once too often but six or seven times more than the source could sustain, and his recent novels have been pale imitations of his best work.Abattoir Blues does not reverse this downward trend. It came close to succeeding, and the two entwined stories (traces of human blood and remains found on a disused government-owned airfield out in the Peak District and the theft of an immensely expensive tractor from a farm out in the moors) offered sound potential. Somehow, though, Robinson seems to have lost the ability to build on these starts. His characters' dialogue used to crackle with verisimilitude and verve, but now they all seem to have been supping valium-laced cocoa and stumble through their conversations in a painfully laboured manner.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    For me, Peter Robinson is one of authors that can't write a bad book. I've enjoyed the few stand alones that he's written, but the Inspector Banks series is my favourite. Abattoir Blues is the newly released 22nd entry. The new Commissioner has made rural crime a priority, so Banks's team is investigating, although the crimes seem a bit pedestrian for them - a stolen tractor and a break in at a seemingly abandoned airplane hangar. But when human blood stains are found on the hangar floor, the case takes a more serious turn. And when ties between the stolen tractor and the hangar are found...... Although Banks is on the case, he takes a bit of a backseat in this outing, with team member DS Winsome Jackman taking the lead. Winsome is a character I've always enjoyed and it was great to have her take a bigger investigative role, as well as getting to know her a bit better personally. DS Annie Cabbot also has a louder voice in this book. I'm very glad she's still around, even though the relationship between her and Banks has ended. I enjoy her prickly observations of life. We still get a look at Banks's personal life - I have to say that I don't see his latest relationship lasting. He seems to be pondering his future in this book - wondering what it holds for him. I always enjoy Banks's musical choices and have often gone and looked them up to listen myself. This is what I enjoy so much about Robinson's books - the characters change and develop with every book. I've feel I've come to know them and sitting down with the latest is like catching up with old friends. Old friends with some rather disturbing stories. In addition to the great personal development of his characters, Robinson always crafts a great mystery. I wondered how these two diverse cases were going to be woven together. Gentle readers may be disturbed by the descriptions of what happens in an abattoir (slaughterhouse). But it provided a suitably gruesome setting for this latest crime outing. Abattoir Blues was another great read for me - can't wait for the next in the series!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Highly recommended. This is a fine example of what a police procedural crime fiction story needs to have: an engaging story-line, good pacing, some surprise plot twists and an exciting conclusion. One trait of Robinson's Banks stories is that the spotlight is shared among members of his team so that there's more than just Banks working the case. I noticed that Banks is withdrawing more, maybe retirement is in the cards soon. I also learned more than I wanted to know about abattoirs and bolt guns -- scary stuff!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a good solid Inspector Banks crime mystery with maybe just not enough of Banks himself personally on the case. Instead the focus is more on the investigations of Annie Cabbot and Winsome Jackson with the pieces all coming into place eventually. Joanna Passero from "Watching the Dark" (my favourite Banks because of its Estonian connection and Banks going through an Arvo Pärt and Erkki-Sven Tüür listening phase) makes a cameo appearance and there seemed to be a hint of yet another future possible romance for Banks down the road.