The body of a well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a drystone wall near the village of Helmthorpe, Swainsdale. Who on earth would want to kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man? Penny Cartwright, a beautiful folk singer with a mysterious past, a shady land-developer, Harry's editor and a local thriller writer are all suspects - and all are figures from Harry's previous, idyllic summers in the dale. A young girl, Sally Lumb, knows more than she lets on, and her knowledge could lead to danger. Inspector Banks' second case unearths disturbing secrets behind a bucolic facade. 'The novels of Peter Robinson are chilling, evocative, deeply nuanced works of art.' - Dennis Lehane.
Peter Robinson is author of twenty-four books in the Number One Bestselling DCI Banks series as well as two collections of short stories and three standalone novels, including the Number One bestseller Before The Poison. Peter's critically acclaimed crime novels have won numerous awards in Britain, the United States, Canada and Europe, and are published in translation all over the world.
Peter's DCI Banks was a major ITV1 drama by Left Bank productions. Stephen Tompkinson (Wild at Heart, Ballykissangel) plays Inspector Banks, and Andrea Lowe (The Bill, Murphy's Law) plays 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.
Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire, and lived between Richmond and Canada. He died in October 2022.
Neil Pearson’s many screen credits include
Whistleblower,
Dirty Work,
Heaven on Earth,
Between the Lines,
Drop the Dead Donkey,
Fever Pitch and
Bridget Jones’s Diary . His theatre work includes
Cloaca,
Closer,
Therese Raquin ,
Loot and
Spend, Spend, Spend.