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Innocent Graves
(Inspector Banks #8)
by
When last seen alive, sixteen-year-old Deborah Harrison was on her way home from school. Her friend Megan thinks she saw the shadowy figure of a man behind Deborah as they waved goodbye on the bridge, but the fog was so thick that evening she can’t be sure. Not long after, Deborah’s body is found in the local cemetery. The murder terrorises the wealthy enclave of St Mary’s
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Paperback, 400 pages
Published
March 30th 2004
by Avon
(first published 1996)
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Sylvie Sturgess
The graveyard is also important to othe parts of the plot. Several scenes take place in or near the graveyard.
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Start your review of Innocent Graves (Inspector Banks, #8)
Innocent Graves: Banks at the Bar
Full review to follow.
In short, this is Banks' best outing in the series I have encountered. Peter Robinson departs from his usual plot line. For in this novel, the murder of a sixteen year old girl in a country churchyard leads to the arrest and trial of a small college English teacher. The suspects abound. However, the presence of convincing forensic evidence leads to a fascinating trial of the hapless suspect. This one is not to be missed. Robinson has outdone ...more
Full review to follow.
In short, this is Banks' best outing in the series I have encountered. Peter Robinson departs from his usual plot line. For in this novel, the murder of a sixteen year old girl in a country churchyard leads to the arrest and trial of a small college English teacher. The suspects abound. However, the presence of convincing forensic evidence leads to a fascinating trial of the hapless suspect. This one is not to be missed. Robinson has outdone ...more
I always feel that I can count on Robinson's Inspector Banks series as a second "currently reading" book and this one did not disappoint. Although it is probably not one of the best in the long running series, it still hold the attention with a clever story and good character development.
In this tale, the teen-age daughter of a wealthy peer is found strangled to death in a church cemetery. At first it looks like a sex crime due to the arrangement of the body but that turns out to be false. Not ...more
In this tale, the teen-age daughter of a wealthy peer is found strangled to death in a church cemetery. At first it looks like a sex crime due to the arrangement of the body but that turns out to be false. Not ...more
Like going home to an old friend! Instalment #8 is as good as the previous DCI Banks crime novels. This one is slightly different with much of the case centred around the actual court case of the accused. As per usual, excellent procedural information, beautifully written and deeply engaging. Looking forward to the return of Banks’s family featuring in the next one.
Slowly, but surely I am working my way through Peter Robinson's excellent DCI Banks novels. I still have a long way to go though: as I finish book eight my wife is reading Careless Love which is book 25!
Innocent Graves opens with a gripping first chapter in a fog bound graveyard. DCI Banks & his usual group of colleagues investigate a murder, but this time Robinson changes the formula he's used for the last seven books. A large part of the novel is a courtroom drama, & although I preferred the i ...more
Innocent Graves opens with a gripping first chapter in a fog bound graveyard. DCI Banks & his usual group of colleagues investigate a murder, but this time Robinson changes the formula he's used for the last seven books. A large part of the novel is a courtroom drama, & although I preferred the i ...more
I usually like Robinson's books, but this one I really had to make myself finish it. I should have checked the book description a little more closely, and maybe some of the reviewers about what this particular book was about because it was about something I really am not comfortable reading about. I am not crazy about reading about child abuse, in this case the murder of a young 16-year-old because of an older guy's obsession with her. It's one thing if the author mentions it in passing, but it
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Not much to add to other reviews and you can read many summaries. Good read.
There is little that Detective Inspector Alan Banks has not seen in this long-running Peter Robinson series, but this novel probably includes more suspects in what appears to be a serial murder mystery of teen age girls than any previous entry. And probably more red herrings to throw the reader off as well.
The first girl, a bright blonde attending a posh, exclusive girl’s school, is the daughter of a titled, wealthy head of a large company. Her body is found in a churchyard she uses as a shortcu ...more
The first girl, a bright blonde attending a posh, exclusive girl’s school, is the daughter of a titled, wealthy head of a large company. Her body is found in a churchyard she uses as a shortcu ...more
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Author Peter Robinson gives his readers plenty to ponder in Innocent Graves. Beyond the investigation of the murder of a teenage girl, there is the issue of class and its relationship to the justice system; the sensationalism of the media and its efforts to try a suspect in the public eye; and not least of all, the life after trial for a suspect found not guilty.
A well-told tale as I've come to expect from Robinson, plenty of suspects from which to choose, and questions to ponder long after the ...more
A well-told tale as I've come to expect from Robinson, plenty of suspects from which to choose, and questions to ponder long after the ...more
I won't comment on the story line plenty of people already have. All I will say is as time goes by my estimation of Peter Robinson rises. Inspector Banks is a little weary, been through a lot, he's a little cynical, yet at the same time sympathetic and compassionate, not unlike a lot of other fictional Detective's. But his character doesn't feel tired or old, He feels comfortable like a well worn leather chair with a side table an old lamp and and a well worn book by a familiar author you want t
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This Banks novel went down a different path. Robinson focused much of the story on a perhaps innocent man's journey through trial and ultimate non-conviction. While somewhat diverting, I much prefer when the focus remains on the main characters I have come to know so well are the main POV. Intriguing storyline, as ever. And the unsettling computer diary from the murderer is what bumps it up from three to four stars for me.
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Not one of my favourites though love this series. Found it quite slow. Robinson does do a good job of making the reader feel the hopelessness and unfairness of a person charged wrongly for a crime and even when found innocent,still carries the stigma. Justice done is not always justice especially in this world of media coverage.
When the pastor's wife discovers a rich school girl's corpse in the cemetery, suspicion points to Owen Pierce, a teacher with a reputation for enjoying the company of his students and whose home shows a fascination with pornographic photography. Owen maintains his innocence. His attorney shatters the case. When another girl is murdered in a similar fashion, Banks and his team must examine the evidence once again. I enjoyed this story narrated by James Langton who did a wonderful job as usual.
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The body of a young girl is found in a churchyard in Eastvale, Yorkshire, and Detective Inspector Alan Banks is assigned to investigate. With the aid of his subordinates, he locates a stranger who had been seen in the vicinity at the time of the murder, and while the evidence collected is circumstantial, the implications of it (blood and hair samples, DNA) are grave; but once the man is arrested and brought to trial, Banks begins to have his doubts…."Innocent Graves" is the eighth novel in Peter
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This is one of the earlier Inspector Banks. It was originally published in 1995. The image in this story is the version that I recently obtained. It's a 2016 re-release that includes a teaser for his 2016 novel.
When the beautiful young daughter of a well-known businessman with friends in all the right places is found murdered, it becomes a priority for the police.
An ambitious young officer and his sergeant find a suspect who seems to fit: Owen, an adjunct English professor with few friends who ...more
When the beautiful young daughter of a well-known businessman with friends in all the right places is found murdered, it becomes a priority for the police.
An ambitious young officer and his sergeant find a suspect who seems to fit: Owen, an adjunct English professor with few friends who ...more
I chose to read Innocent Graves thanks to a recommendation from Amazon and it is only now that I have finished the book that I discover it is one of 24 Inspector Banks novels which have been on TV, starring Stephen Tomkinson. I dimly remember enjoying a few episodes but for me the book is more intense and compelling.
Inspector Banks is an empathetic character, even though, at times, he can be unpleasantly aggressive to the suspects he interviews. Despite the annoying bias his boss shows, in sucki ...more
Inspector Banks is an empathetic character, even though, at times, he can be unpleasantly aggressive to the suspects he interviews. Despite the annoying bias his boss shows, in sucki ...more
REVIEW OF AUDIOBOOK; MARCH 1, 2019
Narrator: Tim Goodman
Enjoyed this very much and would have given it 5 stars if not for the reveal of the killer's ID and the confrontation with him being rather anti-climactic. Even though it wasn't difficult to guess the identity of the killer, I did enjoy following Banks along the investigation. The previous books were a bit of a drag and I aborted my listening because the interviews with the witnesses were so frustrating - all the "I can't really say"..."I su ...more
Narrator: Tim Goodman
Enjoyed this very much and would have given it 5 stars if not for the reveal of the killer's ID and the confrontation with him being rather anti-climactic. Even though it wasn't difficult to guess the identity of the killer, I did enjoy following Banks along the investigation. The previous books were a bit of a drag and I aborted my listening because the interviews with the witnesses were so frustrating - all the "I can't really say"..."I su ...more
Number 8 in the series has Banks investigating the murder of a 16 year old girl from a wealthy local family. The team identify a suspect early, and the suspect is arrested and taken to court. The real suspense is whether he did really do it, or not, and whether or not he'll get away with it.
I really enjoyed this and finished it within an afternoon. The style is evolving, and while it's still 20 years old, it's finally seeming a bit less dated (although still way too much smoking, and obsessing a ...more
I really enjoyed this and finished it within an afternoon. The style is evolving, and while it's still 20 years old, it's finally seeming a bit less dated (although still way too much smoking, and obsessing a ...more
An extra star for all the effort Banks & Co. put into this one; following the clues (few as they seem to be), assembling the evidence, winnowing through the suspects, changing direction regularly. Close to the end, wondering how it'll all get tied together: "OK, that almost wraps this one up - we'll have to see how he snaps the trap shut...Oh, yeah, that about does the other one in, let's see how he explains himself...WHAT? Whaddaya mean, "THE END"??? OK, not exactly a cliffhanger, but...oh, man
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First book of 2022 done
This was a quick read even if there is actually very little action and more a look at how people react to be accused of a crime, how the general public react to those accused and how the decision of whether or not to try a case is decided.
I did not guess the murderer or the motive.
This was a quick read even if there is actually very little action and more a look at how people react to be accused of a crime, how the general public react to those accused and how the decision of whether or not to try a case is decided.
I did not guess the murderer or the motive.
This was the first Inspector Banks novel I read and I reread it now after about 20 years. I don't really remember my impressions as a young teenaged reader, but I remembered a lot of the plot points and as an adult I can definitely understand the motives of the killer and the mindset of the victim.
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These are like Lays potatoe chips. You can't read just one!
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Another police procedural set in the Yorkshire Dales - Banks get the right man in the end
My first Inspector Banks book...and it won’t be the last. Hard to find fault with this British procedural. Fine character development, nice plot twists and no excessive, flowery descriptions of weather or landscapes or other ‘scene’ fillers. Very clean writing.
I really enjoyed this. It is not a series i have enjoyed on TV but the book is excellent
two plot lines, really. another well written mystery by Peter Robinson
the usual unlikable characters in the story, the ending was abrupt.
the usual unlikable characters in the story, the ending was abrupt.
Robinson continues the Inspector Banks series with the eighth book.
Rebecca Charters, the wife of the vicar at Saint Mary’s church, is out wandering in the graveyard when she abruptly comes upon the body of a young schoolgirl behind a huge Victorian sepulcher. The girl’s clothes have been torn and her open school satchel lies beside her. The body is identified as that of Deborah Harrison, a beautiful sixteen year old from a posh neighbourhood who attended an elite private school nearby.
As the ...more
Rebecca Charters, the wife of the vicar at Saint Mary’s church, is out wandering in the graveyard when she abruptly comes upon the body of a young schoolgirl behind a huge Victorian sepulcher. The girl’s clothes have been torn and her open school satchel lies beside her. The body is identified as that of Deborah Harrison, a beautiful sixteen year old from a posh neighbourhood who attended an elite private school nearby.
As the ...more
This is the eighth book in the crime series set in Eastvale, North Yorkshire, England, featuring Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. Banks is temporarily the senior man in Eastvale CID (Criminal Investigative Department) and so is called to take charge after the body is found of 16-year-old Deborah Harrison. Deborah’s father is Sir Geoffrey Harrison, knighted for services to industry, and Banks is under pressure to find the killer and not bother the family too much in the process.
There are the ...more
There are the ...more
This is a page turner. The story is gripping, atmospheric and the momentum is perpetual. It oozes atmosphere:
When a young girl is found dead in a graveyard, Inspector Banks, with his team, lead the murder investigation. Subsequently there commences police procedure, pathology and forensics, which were authentic and absorbing to read about.
The list of suspects was abandoned, while the police began focusing their attention on someone significant since compelling evidence was found supporting their ...more
When a young girl is found dead in a graveyard, Inspector Banks, with his team, lead the murder investigation. Subsequently there commences police procedure, pathology and forensics, which were authentic and absorbing to read about.
The list of suspects was abandoned, while the police began focusing their attention on someone significant since compelling evidence was found supporting their ...more
May 01, 2020
Baba
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-its-a-mystery
DCI Alan Banks' eighth case is the best of the series so far as far as I am concerned, it deservedly earned him another crime writer's award. Sir Geoffrey's daughter is found murdered and for all intents and purposes it appears to be a sex crime. Banks uncovers a myriad of suspects, but it is the new ambitious policeman on his team that nails the murderer... the person they are 100% sure is the murderer? A great read looking at miscarriages of justice, ambition, the British class system, obsessi
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Detective about school girl murdered on a cemetery [s] | 3 | 29 | Nov 05, 2013 11:28PM |
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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
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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“Banks smiled. "Don't worry," he said "it's my balls on the chopping-block, not yours. I'll cover for you. My word on it."
Susan smiled back. "Well, that's the first time not having any balls has ever done me any good.”
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Susan smiled back. "Well, that's the first time not having any balls has ever done me any good.”
“It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.”
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