Watching The Dark (Inspector Banks, #20)

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Watching The Dark (Inspector Banks #20)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 782 ratings · 172 reviews

DCI Alan Banks is back – and this time he’s investigating the murder of one of his own.

A respected officer convalescing at the St. Peter’s Police Treatment Centre, DI Bill Quinn, is killed by a crossbow while on the facility’s tranquil grounds, and the initial investigation uncovers compromising photos in his room. Soon after, Professional Standards Inspector Joanna Passer...more

Hardcover, 416 pages

Published August 28th 2012 by McClelland & Stewart (first published August 1st 2012)

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Mar 18, 2013 Linda Baker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have always thought that Peter Robinson is very much overlooked in the field of British Mystery, especially here in the the US. The twentieth book in the Inspector Banks series, while not my favorite, is still a solid read.

Inspector Alan Banks is called to the scene of a murder at a police rehabilitation center; in fact the center where his colleague, Annie Cabot, recently recovered from a gunshot wound. This time it is Inspector Bill Quinn who is dead from a crossbow shot to the heart. When c...more I have always thought that Peter Robinson is very much overlooked in the field of British Mystery, especially here in the the US. The twentieth book in the Inspector Banks series, while not my favorite, is still a solid read.

Inspector Alan Banks is called to the scene of a murder at a police rehabilitation center; in fact the center where his colleague, Annie Cabot, recently recovered from a gunshot wound. This time it is Inspector Bill Quinn who is dead from a crossbow shot to the heart. When compromising photos are discovered in his room, it necessitates the involvement of Professional Standards in the the person of Inspector Joanna Passero. Banks, like most cops, hates the interference of the "rat squad", and places every obstacle he can in her path. Quinn was obsessed by the disappearance of young British girl in Estonia six years previously and that disappearance appears to be linked to his death. By the time the case is solved some very ugly facts about human trafficing and worker exploitation are uncovered.

One of the things I enjoy about the Alan Banks series is the very "britishness" of the series. The are always terms I don't know so I keep google handy! Alan Banks is also an avid fan of music and it's always interesting to find out what he is listening to. I know some people find the liberally sprinkled musical allusions distracting but to me they add to the reading experience.

I haven't read all the series and those I have read have been out of order. It doesn't pose a problem as Robinson can bring us up to date without using a massive info dump. My favorite of the series is # 10, In a Dry Season, where we first meet Annie Cabot. In Watching the Dark, both Annie and seem to be behaving somewhat out of character. Annie is prickly and uncertain, and the barriers Banks throws in Joanna Passero's path seem juvenile. Annie is behaving more normally by the end of the book and Banks admits that he is over-reacting to her presence. The book tended to drag a bit but is still worth reading for fans of the series.

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Feb 03, 2013 Karen Brooks rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have read quite a few Inspector Banks novels by Peter Robinson and though I’ve read them out of order (Which is fine to do) I’ve grown very fond of the ethical, gruff and clever DCI Banks and have read enough to be both rewarded and frustrated by where he’s at professionally and personally now – as I’m sure Robinson intends.
Watching the Dark is the twentieth book in the Banks series and in this novel we find the intrepid inspector investigating the murder of a convalescing peer, DI Bill Quinn...more I have read quite a few Inspector Banks novels by Peter Robinson and though I’ve read them out of order (Which is fine to do) I’ve grown very fond of the ethical, gruff and clever DCI Banks and have read enough to be both rewarded and frustrated by where he’s at professionally and personally now – as I’m sure Robinson intends.
Watching the Dark is the twentieth book in the Banks series and in this novel we find the intrepid inspector investigating the murder of a convalescing peer, DI Bill Quinn, a man recently widowed and who, for some reason, never quite recovered from not being able to solve a case from six years ago about a young English woman who went missing in Estonia. When Quinn is found dead with a crossbow in his chest, and compromising photos are found in his room, Professional Standards in the form of the lovely Joanna Passero arrives to partner an irascible Banks on the case.
Not long after Passero is assigned, another man, who appears to be an illegal European immigrant, is also found murdered. Connections between Quinn and this man and the cold case of the young woman start to emerge. It’s at that point that Banks understands he has to travel to Estonia and perhaps solve an old case in order to bring the current one to a close and find the killer. Given permission to travel overseas, he is furious and frustrated to discover that Passero is to accompany him. Able to get under his skin, it’s not sparks that fly so much as hair and teeth when Passero and Banks are forced to work closely together.
Added to this is the fact that Banks’ old partner, Annie, who has also just come out of extended convalescence, has returned to work. Determined to find form and fast, Annie refuses the favours offered by Banks and their boss, except where it means being treated as a fully-functioning member of the team. Throwing herself back into her job, she’s forced to confront her fears and memories and finds, once she becomes heavily involved in the case that the professional can be and is personal as well.
Nothing and no-one is as they seem in this case and the further Banks and Annie delve, the darker and deeper they’re drawn into the shady world of prostitution, illegal immigrants and drugs and the cruelty that other humans can and do inflict upon each other…
I find the more I read these books and love them, the more uneven they can be as well. Robinson has a fabulous way of bringing the characters to life on the page but sometimes, just sometimes, their actions don’t always ring quite true and seem to solve a particular narrative purpose rather than be part of their motivation. For me, one example here, was the relationship between Passaro and Banks. While initially we understood that Banks was annoyed and felt hobbled by the presence of someone from Professional Standards, when he and Passaro have it out and, in his own mind he acknowledges that his beloved Annie also worked for that section and she’s not tainted, past novels tell us that Banks would have moved on and work at building the professional relationship with Passero. In this novel, it doesn’t happen and Banks’ attitude to Passero, particularly when they’re in Estonia and he reverts back to resentment, galled a bit. Banks is not a misogynist though, typical of his generation, he struggles sometimes with women and what they want, but he has always been respectful and appreciative of what they bring to their professional roles and the workplace – this is proven with Annie. With Passero, he becomes, as Winsome accuses him at one stage, childish. But then again, I also put this behaviour down to a growing sexual attraction that he might feel for Passero and the emotional toing and froing that can cause. Likewise, after Passero unloads to Banks about her personal life, the door is open down the track for romance, so perhaps my comments are unfair and this is what Robinson was setting up; but there were times in their relationship at least that the Banks we’ve grown to know and I guess rely on to be stable was not and that was disconcerting. Love might explain a great deal, however ☺
Robinson also explores the seamy and seedy side of the underworld with ease, introducing characters you hope you never meet on a dark night. While at the same time, he also manages to bring the beauty of Estonia to life, the novel sometimes reading like a travel book, but as seen through Alan Banks’ eyes – not a bad way to view another country and culture.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book as I have the other Banks in the series and will look forward to trawling back and discovering more of his life and cases and fleshing out the holes that currently exist in my knowledge of DCI Banks.
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Feb 01, 2013 Kathleen Hagen added it

Shelves: 2013-audio

This is the latest in the Alan Banks series. Here, Banks is given a case where another celebrated cop has been killed-shot with a cross-bow. Compromising pictures of himself with a pretty girl are found in his room. Banks begins investigating, encumbered by a female cop from the Police Standards division who is there to determine whether or not the dead cop had compromised himself and the department. Then Banks comes upon the body of another man in a squallid place where immigrant laborers have...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Bryan Higgs rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, detective

Always on the lookout for a promising mystery/detective/suspense author, I came across this book in our library's BookPage, a monthly book review that they subscribe to for our free consumption, and it sounded promising. The author has an impressively long list of books listed inside this one, so I was hoping that he would become an author I could consume for a while.

It was OK. The pace was rather slow, but I find that often to be the case for English detective fiction. The characters were reaso...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Gaby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs, detective-and-mystery, mystery

I'm fond of detective novels and British police procedurals are among my favorites. I've been trying to figure out why I find them so delightful, how they differ from American detective novels. While I'd read one of Peter Robinson's stand alone novels, I wasn't familiar with his Inspector Banks series. I thoroughly enjoyed Watching the Dark. It's strong as a novel in its own right and I'm now interested in reading the earlier novels in the series.

When Watching the Dark opens at St. Peter's Polic...more I'm fond of detective novels and British police procedurals are among my favorites. I've been trying to figure out why I find them so delightful, how they differ from American detective novels. While I'd read one of Peter Robinson's stand alone novels, I wasn't familiar with his Inspector Banks series. I thoroughly enjoyed Watching the Dark. It's strong as a novel in its own right and I'm now interested in reading the earlier novels in the series.

When Watching the Dark opens at St. Peter's Police Treatment Centre, a luxuriously maintained nonprofit that gives injured and recovering detectives a serene and safe place to recuperate, to slowly prepare for a return to their work, I was really interested in the Treatment Centre and the fact that they had a nonprofit dedicated to give police officers the best care and luxurious spa like surroundings. It's something I wish we had here and in the midst of the budget cuts, higher taxes, etc. I can't help but wish for the resources such.

Inspector Banks is consistently polite, determined, slightly flawed, all of which makes him a fun character to read about. Peter Robinson adds to the mix the required presence of the beautiful Inspector Joanna Passero of Professional Standards which puts Inspector Banks ill at ease. He's attracted to her, resentful and wary of Professional Standards both for himself and for the victim Quinn. Come to think of it, Lee Child's Jack Reacher and John Puller, David Baldacci's hero in The Forgotten, are the only two of the internal investigators that I sympathize with. In most detective and police novels, the IA officers are fare from the heroes.

Banks and Passero figure out a complex web of crime over several jurisdictions and they do it in a credible, authentic way. I'm still trying to figure out how Peter Robinson made Banks so distinctive without giving him a larger than life personality. Bank's s detective skills, professionalism and recklessness when in pursuit ensure that the story moves at an engrossing speed while Banks' understated personality of politeness, loyalty and sensitivity endear him so that I felt that I knew him quite early in the novel. I quickly got invested in Banks' success and in the success of his colleagues, especially that of Anne Cabbot, formerly of Professional Standards. I very much enjoyed Watching the Dark and highly recommend it!

ISBN-10: 0062004808 - Hardcover $26.00
Publisher: William Morrow (January 8, 2013), 368 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.(less)

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Jan 07, 2013 Patty rated it 5 of 5 stars

Watching The Dark
By
Peter Robinson

My" in a nutshell" summary...

The death/ murder of a police investigator causes an old crime to resurface.

My thoughts after reading this book...

An officer is murdered while he is recuperating at a police rehab center. He is shot through the chest with a medieval bow and arrow...a cross bow. Questionable intimidating photos of this man with a young girl surface. Some are rather sexual in nature. The case is being handled by Inspector Banks...seasoned...distinguish...more Watching The Dark
By
Peter Robinson

My" in a nutshell" summary...

The death/ murder of a police investigator causes an old crime to resurface.

My thoughts after reading this book...

An officer is murdered while he is recuperating at a police rehab center. He is shot through the chest with a medieval bow and arrow...a cross bow. Questionable intimidating photos of this man with a young girl surface. Some are rather sexual in nature. The case is being handled by Inspector Banks...seasoned...distinguished...loves wine...drives a Porsche and loves music. Because this crime sort of hints of internal corruption...an internal affairs person is brought in to assist...Joanna Passero...much to Inspector Banks chagrin. There is also Inspector Banks returning partner to deal with...Annie. Returning from a serious injury...she is a bit put out by Joanna. And of course...during the investigation...another body is found...which just adds to the mystery. And...there appears to be a connection to a missing girl from a number of years ago...this was a case that the murdered policeman had a strong attachment to. Whew!

What I loved about this book...

For me...personally...there is nothing more enjoyable than a mystery of this kind. Inspectors and pubs and pints and steak and kidney pies...puzzling clues...windy webs...foreign intrigue...all over the place! This author knows how to tell a complicated story in an orderly manner. It's a suspense filled pleasurable tale...that unwinds in a very pleasurable manner. I loved it. I am familiar with Inspector Banks and have read many of this authors other books. I enjoy them all. This one was particularly appealing and the ending...unique and satisfying. I like the way this author gives each book closure.

Favorite characters...

Always Inspector Banks...quirky, fervent, a bit irreverent. Annie...battling insecurities after her injury...perhaps thinking of a love lost with Banks. These were my favorites.

Final thoughts...

This series is always really great and this one does not fail to entertain.
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Dec 22, 2012 Gloria Feit rated it 5 of 5 stars

The 20th entry in the wonderful Inspector Banks series by Peter Robinson opens with the shocking killing of one of Banks’ colleagues, a decorated detective inspector, on the grounds of St. Peter’s Police Convalescence and Treatment Center, where he was a patient. The Major Crimes Unit, or Homicide and Major Inquiry Team, as it was now known, operating out of Eastvale, is assigned, the investigative team once again including DS Winsome Jackman (“all six feet something of her”), DC Gerry Masterson...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian

This is another mystery novel in the series featuring Alan Banks. Here, the story begins with the murder of a policeman, and leads to another murder, criminal activity involving migrant workers, and a trail to a case several years old. Annie is just about to return to work after her injury, and gets involved in the domestic end of the case. Banks is off digging into the cold case in Estonia, looking for the ties between the dead policeman and an Estonian journalist.
As usual I enjoy the personal...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Luanne Ollivier rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've said it before and I'll say it again - if Peter Robinson's name is on it, I know I'm in for a good read. I enjoyed last year's stand alone novel - Before the Poison. (Winner of the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada) But, I've waiting for the latest installment in Robinson's Inspector Banks series. And it's here! Watching the Dark is the 20th entry in this wonderful series.

Watching the Dark opens at the St. Peter's Police Treatment Centre. Annie Cabot has...more I've said it before and I'll say it again - if Peter Robinson's name is on it, I know I'm in for a good read. I enjoyed last year's stand alone novel - Before the Poison. (Winner of the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada) But, I've waiting for the latest installment in Robinson's Inspector Banks series. And it's here! Watching the Dark is the 20th entry in this wonderful series.

Watching the Dark opens at the St. Peter's Police Treatment Centre. Annie Cabot has just left the centre, finally ready to return to work after a lengthy convalescence. So, Alan Banks is familiar with the centre, but didn't expect to be working a case there. Bill Reid, a fellow officer has been murdered on the grounds - by a crossbow. On searching Reid's room, photos of a compromising nature are found. Banks is determined to not judge until his investigation is complete, but Inspector Joanna Passero from Professional Standards (internal investigations) is brought in to 'help' Banks with his inquiries. As Banks digs into Reid's past, he wonders if a cold case of Reid's could be tied to his death.

Robinson takes us out of Eastvale with Banks' investigation and into Estonia. I must admit, I truly had no firm grasp on this country but Robinson did a great job of setting the stage with detailed descriptions and characters. I was surprised to learn that English stag and hen parties take cheap flights over for weekend parties.

I was glad to see Annie Cabot back on the job. She's out to prove herself after being injured and off the job for so long, so she delves into the case with dogged determination. Her investigations keep her in Eastvale, but dealing with the ugly underbelly of this bucolic Yorkshire countryside. She is following the tracks of migrant workers tricked and abused by local criminals. Her storyline takes the stage almost as much as Banks's in this book. That's a good thing, as she's a character I quite enjoy.

Inspector Passero was an interesting addition. I was never really sure of her agenda and Robinson keeps us guessing until the very last chapters. And, I'm still not sure if we really know her - I think she'll make an appearance in the next book, but I'll reserve judgment until then.

I've always enjoyed Banks's love of music and the references to what he's listening to. However it seemed like there were quite a few this time - enough that I found myself skimming over some of these passages.

Robinson has crafted a multi faceted, well paced plot that takes inspiration from current day issues. I did find the end to be tied up a bit too neatly, but all in all it was a read I quite enjoyed. And I'll be waiting for the 21st book!
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Sep 04, 2012 Stella rated it 3 of 5 stars

DCI Alan Banks is back. The cop who likes to internalise whlist listening to classical music finds himself with the ultimate in high pressure detective challenges, the murder of one of his own.

The body of DI Bill Quinn, from the Leeds force, is found in the grounds of a Police Convalescence Centre. He has been shot by crossbow.

There is clear suggestion that Quinn had issues to deal with in his life and was edgy and nervous. Compromising photos of him and a young woman are found in his room, thou...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crimepieces

The book opens with the cross-bow killing of a British policeman, Bill Reid, in a rehabilitation centre. When police search through his room they find some compromising photographs which suggest an extra-marital affair with a young girl before his wife died. Sensing a possible case of police corruption, a professional standards officer, Joanna Pressaro, is called in to shadow Banks’s investigation and sniff out any hint of bribery. The dead policeman’s major unsolved case was the disappearance o...more The book opens with the cross-bow killing of a British policeman, Bill Reid, in a rehabilitation centre. When police search through his room they find some compromising photographs which suggest an extra-marital affair with a young girl before his wife died. Sensing a possible case of police corruption, a professional standards officer, Joanna Pressaro, is called in to shadow Banks’s investigation and sniff out any hint of bribery. The dead policeman’s major unsolved case was the disappearance of 19 year old Rachel Hewitt six years earlier in Estonia. When a potential link emerges between the killing and the Tallin disappearance, Banks and Pressaro head off to Estonia to investigate. It is left to Annie Cabot, returning from six month’s sick leave, and her team to follow leads in and around Eastvale involving the illegal working conditions suffered by migrant workers.

This is one of my favourite crime series and I think Robinson has done well to maintain the quality over what has become a significant body of work. That said, I enjoyed this book more than the last few in the series, largely I think because the action moved away from being solely set in Eastvale and embraced the Estonian police and underworld. I’ve never been to Tallin but Robinson gave a good flavour of Eastern European cities bombarded at week-ends by stag and hen parties arriving on cheap flights from the UK. The Irish bars and slightly dodgy clubs that spring up to cater for the drinkers can provide harmless entertainment but also cover for those with less honourable intentions. The investigation set in the Yorkshire town of Eastvale focused on the migrant community and although it’s not something I’ve come across, I could see how local ‘entrepreneurs’ could easily take advantage of young people coming to the UK to seek a better life. The fact that it takes place in the lovely Yorkshire countryside makes it more shocking.

The cast of characters will be familiar to those who read this series, with the exception of the police standards office Joanna. There was an obvious attraction between her and Banks so perhaps Joanna will make it into future books. I sometimes miss the characters of the early Robinson novels, in particular the dry-stone walling Superintendent Gristhorpe and psychologist Jenny Fuller. But to keep the series fresh, obviously new characters have had to be added. Like Ian Rankin’s detective, Rebus, Banks has got older although he still has that restlessness that gives the narrative an interesting edge.(less)

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Dec 23, 2012 Deb rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian, detective-mysteries

Another Alan Banks, detective mystery, with its very British scene and characters. In fact, so much so, I couldn't identify most of the chain stores or restaurants or other businesses he wrote about, which are obviously very familiar to local Britons nor his reason for pointing them out. I felt that they must be adding something - mood, atmosphere, something? - to the plot if they were there. Obviously if I had familiarity with the function of these, it would have made more sense. This is the fi...more Another Alan Banks, detective mystery, with its very British scene and characters. In fact, so much so, I couldn't identify most of the chain stores or restaurants or other businesses he wrote about, which are obviously very familiar to local Britons nor his reason for pointing them out. I felt that they must be adding something - mood, atmosphere, something? - to the plot if they were there. Obviously if I had familiarity with the function of these, it would have made more sense. This is the first of the series which has been so specifically British that it felt foreign. Even Elizabeth George manages to identify what a business does if she lists it by name. Unfortunately, Peter Robinson does the same with recording artists, writers etc. I have overlooked this in his former novels, but this time there were even more allusions and I found the results quite off-putting. I didn't know if the names were fiction of factual and again, why they were important to the tale.

Grumbling aside, the mystery is a good one. I felt at one point I was reading Elizabeth George, so multi-layered was this novel. I give Peter Robinson a full 5 stars for that! Mysterious deaths, a crooked cop, the unsavoury Eastern European underbelly of trafficking goods and people, an old mystery unsolved and many unlikely individuals assisting in the solution to all of the many twists and puzzling turns in the novel.

However, for the sake of a new reader to Peter Robinson, I wish he would embellish slightly the information around Alan Banks personal life - such as when he wrote about Sophia, his former lover from his last novel. The device of describing only slightly what took him down in that romance perhaps was meant as a tease to read Robinson's previous books, but it didn't work for me. I think that Mr. Robinson, now that Alan Banks has such an illustrious history, should more fully round him out if he is going to use any incidents or relationships from previous novels. Otherwise it feels too much like walking down a lane right into a brick wall, and with the quality of this mystery, it isn't fair to this book.

Hopefully Peter Robinson will continue to write but just fine tune a few things so that his books can have wider appeal than just to Brits, and each can stand alone a bit more successfully.(less)

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Mar 22, 2013 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 100-reading-club-mike-draper, family-relationships, mystery, police-procedural, read-in-2013, reviewed, series

A police officer is murdered at a police convalescent center. Detective Inspector Alan Banks is instructed to handle the case with added scrutiny since it involves a member of the department.

Set in the English countryside, we see Banks examine possible suspects without much headway. Then, another murder is discovered and when there is a link of the two murders, the investigation becomes more urgent.

Since there is a question about the police officer being corrupt, Banks is ordered to work with a...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: police-procedural

The one thing I love about mystery series is that anticipatory feeling when you open the latest book; you know you're going to catch up with old friends. Watching the Dark is the 20th Inspector Banks novel in this wonderful series. DI Bill Reid is murdered at a convalescent centre for police officers. As part of his investigation, Banks looks at the possibility of retaliation resulting from one of Reid's criminal cases. He discovers that the disappearance of a young English girl in Estonia on a...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime, england

Yorkshire DCI Alan Banks (a favorite of mine) is assigned to the case of a fellow detective, Bill Quinn, who was bizarrely shot to death with an arrow from a crossbow. Among his effects are a series of compromising photos, which prompt the higher-ups to call in a professional standards officer, the "icy blonde" Joanna Passero. Banks resents having to work with one of the "rats". When a second body turns up, that of a freelance reporter from Talinn, the case leads this undynamic duo to Estonia. A...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Catherine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent read as always

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Jan 20, 2013 Ray Palen rated it 4 of 5 stars

The murder of a veteran Detective while recuperating on the tranquil grounds of the St. Peter’s Police Treatment Centre would have been troubling enough for DCI Banks. The victim, Detective Bill Quinn, had recently lost his wife and was taking a much needed rest at St. Peter’s. His body is found early one morning and the cause of death was murder by crossbow.

Banks steps in after the initial CSI team tends to their duty. What they turn up in Quinn’s room are some compromising photos of him with w...more The murder of a veteran Detective while recuperating on the tranquil grounds of the St. Peter’s Police Treatment Centre would have been troubling enough for DCI Banks. The victim, Detective Bill Quinn, had recently lost his wife and was taking a much needed rest at St. Peter’s. His body is found early one morning and the cause of death was murder by crossbow.

Banks steps in after the initial CSI team tends to their duty. What they turn up in Quinn’s room are some compromising photos of him with what appears to be underage women --- possibly illegal immigrants or prostitutes. This causes much anguish for Banks as Quinn was not only a long-time colleague but also a friend.

As a result of the suspicion of possible police corruption, Banks has an officer from Professional Standards (the British version of Internal Affairs) thrust upon him for the duration of the investigation. Inspector Joanna Passero is a no-nonsense type and Banks intends to follow his typical detective instincts to get to the truth in spite of the interference he expects from Passero.

It is quickly discovered that Bill Quinn was obsessed with a six-year-old cold case involving a young British woman named Rachel Hewitt who disappeared during a ‘hen’ (bachelorette) party with her friends in Tallin, Estonia. When a second murder takes place nearby Quinn’s things begin to look much worse than it originally appeared on the surface. It turns out that the second murder victim, Mikhel Lepikson, was in contact with Quinn prior to being tortured and murdered. He was also a journalist from Estonia.

Banks is shrewd enough to dig deeper and recognize that his late friend, Bill Quinn, may have indeed been silenced due to his getting too close to a dangerous conspiracy while continuing to investigate the Rachel Hewitt disappearance. The problem is connecting the dots in a web of lies and deceit which includes illegal drugs, human trafficking and a slave labor ring.

The answers will have to be found in Tallinn, Estonia, and this is where Banks and Passero head to. Meanwhile, back on home ground, Detectives Cabbot and Winsome continue to pursue leads into the human trafficking and slave labor rings that Mikhel Lepikson was close to exposing. Estonia is full of corruption and not very easy for Banks and Passero to navigate. As they rub shoulders with some dangerous people while pursuing the Rachel Hewitt case they have no idea how close they are coming to the truth and perhaps putting themselves in the same position that Bill Quinn was in before his murder.

The DCI Banks British mystery series is one of the finest in the genre and the characters are all very real, dripping with humanity. What I look most forward to every time I open the pages of a Peter Robinson book is the complete emersion into popular culture --- music, food, wine, etc… --- that every Banks novel brings. He is like the British version of George Pelecanos in this fashion making the stories that much more real and a treat to read.

Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader

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Mar 11, 2013 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Another solid entry in one of my favorite series. Obviously Peter Robinson visited Estonia; perhaps he did so and then decided to include it in his novel or vice versa but the sense of place for the foreign sections is just as atmospheric as his descriptions of the Yorkshire Dales and the plot moves along well. It was a tad disconcerting to be watching the PBS series based on Robinson's earlier novels while reading this entry, however. Stephen Thompkinson (I think that's the actor's name) isn't...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Pamela Mingle rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book has a melancholy feel to it. When a DI from Leeds is murdered, DCI Banks is forced to accept a new colleague from Professional Standards (because the cop in question may have been bent). It soon becomes clear that the murder is linked to a cold case from six years ago, the disappearance of a young girl. The case had haunted the dead DI, and begins to haunt Banks.

The murder of the DI is also linked to a migrant labor scheme, which Annie Cabot is working. She's just back from medical le...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Thomas Acland rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-s, 21st-century, crime, mystery, set-in-estonia, set-in-the-uk, thriller

Over the years I have read a number of the D.C.I. Banks series by Peter Robinson, and they are and have always been able to rely on them being decent solid modern crime novels. The characters and locations are always similar and in a way the story-lines are too, often using a lot of the same ideas and plot-lines, but as this is what the author is good at and is what his readers expects then the old motto of 'it it ain't broke don't fix it' comes to mind.

What has and continues to be one of the t...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Brenda Hawley rated it 4 of 5 stars

I put Peter Robinson up there with Ian rankin, Elizabeth George and Martha Grimes in criminal mysteries set in the UK. They all write with such incredible fascination to details, create characters with multi-layers and plots with numerous twists and turns. Robinson's latest, Watching the Dark, is no disappointment. Banks is once again involved in a complicated murder with tentacles reaching from the illegal immigrants in the Uk, to Estonia, and to an unsovled crime 6 years before involving a you...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Maddy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads

PROTAGONIST: DCI Alan Banks
SETTING: UK and Estonia
SERIES: #20 of 20
RATING: 3.75
WHY: Detective Inspector Bill Quinn is killed by a crossbow while at a police treatment center. In his room, DCI Alan Banks finds compromising photos of Quinn with a young girl. It turns out Rachel Hewitt disappeared 6 years earlier after a hen party in Estonia. Joanna Passero of Professional Standards is looking into Quinn's ethics, and accompanies Banks to Estonia to investigate further. Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Chris Parfitt rated it 3 of 5 stars

A new Peter Robinson book is always a big event in my reading calendar so as soon as “Watching the dark” was published all of my other “in progress” books were pushed aside.
I am afraid that I found this book disappointing.
Too much descriptive writing about the surroundings and not enough “meat on the bones” for the story.
The first half of the book ticks along nicely but then a series of “oh so fortunate” events lead us to the conclusion.
A major character just happens to get murdered.
A career cri...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Marisa Adair rated it 3 of 5 stars

DI Alan Banks is back for the 20th novel in this excellent police procedural series. It was great to reconnect with the music-loving, relationship-challenged cop, as he once again tackles the case his way. I really enjoyed the double-mystery, although I found Banks more surly and childish than in the past. He is clearly not in a great place in his life. I also found the plot a bit uneven. Annie Cabbott, his partner in crime-solving, is back after a lengthy recuperation (a bit fragile but as wond...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Mary Billinghurst rated it 4 of 5 stars

It has been a while since I read an Inspector Banks mystery and I have to say it was a pleasure to meet him again. He is a very decent cop, almost boringly so, compared to Rebus, but his determination and instincts make him a great policeman. In this novel, Annie Cabot is back too; she has been through rehab and is eager to return to her job, which she does very well here. It seems to me that both characters are mature detectives, who make all the right decisions.

I loved the Estonian sections o...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Margaret Wilkening rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’ve followed Peter Robinson’s DCI Alan Banks since the series began, and was excited to receive an advanced copy of his newest book, Watching the Dark, as a Goodreads giveaway. Robinson’s books are always clearly plotted, well-written police procedurals, but the detailed attention to Banks’ character and life in Yorkshire are the real draws. I enjoyed Watching the Dark, but found it to be less suspenseful than some of the more recent books in the series.
The book centers on three seemingly unre...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Kathryn rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great read! This is the 20th Inspector Banks book, and the first I have read! Banks is a police detective in Yorkshire; in this book, he travels to Estonia on a case related to the murder of another police detective. This one also includes such current news topics such as phonehacking and waterboarding and missing child Madeleine McCann. (They are all related to this story.)

This book is published in the US on January 8, 2013 and the BBC series based on the books will be on PBS beginning Januar...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Jenny rated it 2 of 5 stars

This the the twentieth DCI Banks, recently published. I couldn't wait! In the gap between Bad Bay and this, I read Before The Poison - loved it, so was really expecting good things with this. What a disappointment! The twists were obvious, it really was DCI Banks by numbers, the Professional Standards Officer was introduced, Banks behaved like an idiot towards her at the beginning, but mellowed out, and the final chapter seemed as if Peter Robinson simply couldn't wait to finish the book. Betwee...more

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Jan 14, 2013 John rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2013

The story begins when DCI Alan Banks is called upon to investigate the murder of fellow detective Bill Quinn who was spending time in a police "retreat" after the death of his wife. Banks and his team, starting with very little evidence begin investigating Quinn trying to determine whether his killer was connected to a current, a grudge held by someone he had sent to prison, or some other personal reason. Banks comes to believe that Quinn may have been blackmailed when some compromising pictures...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Lora rated it 3 of 5 stars

DCI Alan Banks is the lead detective on the murder case of fellow officer, DI Bill Quinn. Quinn was killed by an arrow that pierced his heart while he was a resident at St. Peter's, a place for police officers to convalesce. While going through Quinn's room at St. Peter's, Banks finds some photos of Quinn with a young woman in a compromising position. Quinn had recently become a widower, but the photos are not that new and Quinn looks like he possibly could have been drugged. Banks wonders if th...more

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About Peter Robinson

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Peter Robinson was born in Yorkshire. After getting his BA Honours Degree in English Literature at the University of Leeds, he came to Canada and took his MA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor, then a PhD in En...more

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Friend Of The Devil (Inspector Banks, #17)

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Watching The Dark (Inspector Banks #20)

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