The seventeenth instalment in the Number One bestselling DCI Banks series

When Karen Drew is found sitting in her wheelchair staring out to sea with her throat cut one chilly morning, DI Annie Cabbot, on loan to Eastern Area, gets lumbered with the case.

Back in Eastvale, that same Sunday morning, 19-year-old Hayley Daniels is found raped and strangled in the Maze, a tangle of narrow alleys behind Eastvale's market square, after a drunken night on the town with a group of friends, and DCI Alan Banks is called in. Banks finds suspects galore, while Annie seems to hit a brick wall - until she reaches a breakthrough that spins her case in a shocking and surprising new direction, one that also involves Banks.

Then another incident occurs in the Maze which seems to link the two cases in a bizarre and mysterious way. As Banks and Annie dig into the past to uncover the deeper connections, they find themselves also dealing with the emotional baggage and personal demons of their own relationship.

It soon becomes clear that there are two killers in their midst, and that at any moment either one might strike again.

DCI Banks encounters a chilling character from his past in the 17th novel in the series - a number one bestseller.

About the Author
Peter Robinson's DCI Banks became a major ITV1 drama starring Stephen Tompkinson (Wild at Heart, Ballykissangel) as Inspector Banks, and Andrea Lowe (The Bill, Murphy's Law) as DI Annie Cabbot. Peter's standalone novel BEFORE THE POISON won the IMBA's 2013 Dilys Award as well as the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada. This was Peter's sixth Arthur Ellis award. His critically acclaimed DCI Banks novels have won numerous awards in Britain, the United States, Canada and Europe, and are published in translation all over the world. In 2020 Peter was made a Grand Master by the Crime Writers of Canada. Peter grew up in Yorkshire, and divided his time between Richmond, UK, and Canada until his death in 2022.

Reviews
Watch for those twists - they'll get you every time * Ian Rankin *
Robinson once again puts his skills to work in a police procedural that grips like pliers * Independent on Sunday *
Classic Robinson: a labyrinthine plot merged with deft characterisation * Observer *
Peter Robinson is good at producing ingenious mysteries, and this one does not disappoint * Daily Telegraph *
Readers will be on the edge of their seats * Publishers Weekly *
If you haven't encountered Chief Inspector Alan Banks before, prepare for a crash course in taut, clean writing and subtle psychology -- Ian Rankin
It's neither the setting nor even the characters that makes Robinson's work so satisfying, but the plotting of Swiss-watch precision * Independent *



Book Information
ISBN 9781444791969
Author Peter Robinson
Format Paperback
Page Count 528
Imprint Hodder Paperback
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 414g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm * 34mm