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    Sleeping in the Ground: An Inspector Banks Novel
    Sleeping in the Ground: An Inspector Banks Novel
    Sleeping in the Ground: An Inspector Banks Novel
    Ebook451 pages8 hours

    Sleeping in the Ground: An Inspector Banks Novel

    By Peter Robinson

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    About this ebook

    MICHAEL CONNELLY calls Peter Robinson "an author with amazing empathy, a snare-trap ear for dialogue, and a clear eye for the telling detail."

    See why in Sleeping in the Ground, the gripping new novel starring Alan Banks — featuring an opening scene you'll never forget, and a finale you won't see coming.

    At the doors of a charming country church, an unspeakable act destroys a wedding party. A huge manhunt ensues. The culprit is captured. The story is over.

    Except it isn't. For Alan Banks, still struggling with a tragic loss of his own, there's something wrong about this case — something unresolved. Reteaming with profiler Jenny Fuller, the relentless detective deeper into the crime... deep enough to unearth long-buried secrets that reshape everything Banks thought he knew about the events outside that chapel. 

    And when at last the shocking truth becomes clear, it's almost too late.

    Packed with twists and turns, heart and soul, this is another triumph from an author "at the top of his game" (LOUISE PENNY).

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateAug 15, 2017
    ISBN9780062395092
    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.

    Read more from Peter Robinson

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    Reviews for Sleeping in the Ground

    4/5

    152 ratings18 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I have never read a bad or mediocre book in this series. I like the way Peter Robinson ages his character of Alan Banks and how he gives him a private life that we are privy to outside of his life as a detective. Alan is a very through police officer. He sees things that are often overlooked and helps to solve the crime. Banks family and professional history always adds context to the story. In this one, compassion was also a big factor. The books don't necessarily need to be be read in order but each one just serves to make Alan Banks come alive for the reader.
    • 4/5
      The novel begins with a mass-shooting at a wedding. Banks investigates, listens to music, & remembers a first love, & has the opportunity to rekindle an earlier near-romance. So, no big surprises, but another enjoyable read in this series.
    • 4/5
      I am trying to read through the Alan Banks series, and I find the Peter Robinson’s writing skills have improved. I love the discourse into music and would love a guide to all Alan Banks’ music. I would enjoy listening and seeing if the music moves me as Peter Robinson suggests. Peter Robinson does a wonderful job with characters and setting. I feel the scenery and the emotions of the characters. My biggest criticism is that every woman falls for Alan. In this book, we learn about Alan’s first love and her current death from cancer. Many other women, both young and old, swarm about Alan in hopes of winning his attention. I feel that Peter Robinson misses a little on human nature with all relationships being warm and fuzzy.
    • 4/5
      I like these--the characters seem real, the surprises not too forced (aside from a moment near the end, but I'll forgive it)--and, without being "cosy," they aren't brutal, unpleasant books (I don't get far toward finishing those--tried a James Patterson once--"Woman's Murder Club" sounded enticing--and then he gunned down a baby in the opening chapter, so nope, not going to read that.)

      (Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
    • 5/5
      Reading a new Banks story is like slipping on an old comfy pair of shoes, you know what to expect and are rarely disappointed. In this one Banks has been promoted to Superintendent and is more than usually reflecting on his life after attending the funeral of his first girlfriend. He returns to discover a mass shooting on his patch at a Dales wedding, with no obvious motive. The apparent shooter is quickly traced, but suspicions remain that all is not what it seems. The eventual story resonates strongly with Banks' reflections of his own life. Excellent characterisation and plot in usual Yorkshire settings with a new strong colleague of Banks emerging, DC Gerry Masterson.
    • 4/5
      Wonderful series, and this installment was one of the best.
    • 5/5
      This book had a very powerful start with 5 people shot at a wedding. The killer is announced early in the book but it just doesn't feel right for Banks. After a lot interviews, Banks is now sure that the killer is still on the loose. I found the plot very interesting and the twists kept the pages turning. Robinson is an expert in his characterizations as his characters do feel like real people to me. I love his attention to detail and get a great feeling about the locations of his books. The music references throughout is one of the best features of an Inspector Banks novel. I love that Jenny is back and Annie is having a hard time with this. Can't wait for the next book in order to see how this plays out. I would highly recommend this series to those who love police procedurals. Best to read the books in order as they build one upon the other.
    • 4/5
      Featuring a ripped from the headlines style mass killing, Sleeping in the Ground is an engrossing police procedural which takes place in the British countryside. This latest release from Peter Robinson stars venerable Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and although it is the 24th installment in the Inspector Banks series, it can easily be read as a standalone.

      The novel opens with a mass shooting by an unknown assailant at a wedding that leaves bride Laura Tindall and two people dead and groom Benjamin Kemp and five others wounded. With little evidence to go on, the investigation does not take long to uncover the probable identity of the shooter. With the murderer dead by his own hand, the case is quickly wrapped up, but a few details bother Detective Superintendent Banks. After pathologist Dr. Glendenning mentions a few anomalies in the killer's post-mortem that don't add up, Banks, DI Annie Cabbot and DC Geraldine "Gerry" Masterson dig deeper into the victims' pasts.

      Banks is rather introspective throughout the investigation as he mourns the recent loss of his first serious girlfriend. Despite his preoccupation with his memories and an unexpected reunion with psychologist Dr. Jenny Fuller, his years of experience and keen instincts are sharper than ever and he quickly zeros in on a possible reason for the shooting spree but the ensuing investigation does not have an overabundance of clues for the investigators to follow. Instead, subtle pieces of information combined with a few facts and logical conclusions prove Banks and his team are on the right track. Gerry is instrumental in finding the evidence that provides them with a viable suspect. Days of torrential rain have resulted in area flooding, but with another person's life hanging in the balance, Gerry disregards her personal safety once she is certain she knows what the killer is planning next.

      Sleeping in the Ground is a fantastic mystery that old and new fans of the Inspector Banks series will enjoy. The characters are brilliantly developed with true to life foibles and frailties that are incredibly relatable. The investigation relies on old fashioned detective work to solve a very modern crime and the storyline unfolds at steady pace. Peter Robinson brings the search for the shooter to an exciting conclusion that completely wraps up the investigation.
    • 4/5
      One ideally should read Peter Robinson's series of Inspector Banks novels in order from the beginning (“Gallows View,” 1987) because the lives and loves of the continuing characters are as important and as interesting as the mysteries solved. Yet even finding (and affording) all the earlier books can be a challenge, and so we can read “Sleeping in the Ground,” his excellent 2017 entry in the series, and have to play catchup from the last novel you read, in my case “Wednesday's Child” (1992).

      This time the personal life of Banks seems to distract him from solving a mass murder. A sniper hits nine members of a wedding party, killing most of them, including the bride. Yet Banks is preoccupied by the death of his first love and then by the reentry into his life of Jenny Fuller, a criminal profiler whom he had a crush on years before when he was married. Turns out, she had a crush on him, too, but now that they're both free, she's not so sure.

      Even with the distractions the case wraps up quickly when the suspect is found dead from suicide in his basement. Readers will be suspicious long before Banks and his crew are because it's not yet page 100 in a 319-page book. Sure enough, there's much more to come, and the conclusion turns out to be even more exciting than usual in this series.

      The novel's title would seem to refer not so much to the deceased as to the long-buried emotions of both Banks and the killer he pursues. The story is about what happens when those feelings come to the surface.
    • 5/5
      Banks is like a fine wine: each outing is an improvement!

      This story grips from page one to the last line. Not only does Mr Robinson set up a crime that seems to breach all sanity, and then resolve it, he also manages to flesh his characters until they become people whilst, always stopping the right side of a soap opera. I do not want long protracted stories of my detective's angst but equally, it helps for them to be human. All the main characters in a Banks tale are guaranteed to have a back story, and each one is different and interesting. I think this is in large part due to the way, rather as one does with real life friends, the history comes out in pieces. So many novelists give a paragraph, or even a chapter, of "interesting" background and then proceed to treat their character as complete. Robinson's characters evolve.

      I am distraught, I only have one more Banks to read. I hope that you are working on the next instalment Mr. Robinson...
    • 5/5
      When the supposed murderer is identified Banks and his team find it hard to reconcile this conclusion with the opinion everyone who knew him has of the murderer. Nor does there seem to be a cogent motive. It is one of those cases where the ends don't tie up.

      If you are a follower of the Inspector Banks TV series then you will notice there are some serious differences between the direction that series has taken and what happens in the books. For me it provided some confusing moments.

      Nevertheless this was a "good listen", well narrated (with voice characterisation) by Mark Meadows.
    • 5/5
      The story begins with a mass murder at an English country wedding in a churchyard. A gunman sniper shoots several members of the wedding party – killing or injuring several of them. Then he disappears. At the same time, Detective Superintendent Alan Banks is travelling back by train from a funeral for a college sweetheart. He goes immediately to the crime scene to head the investigation. Then, almost too soon, the case is closed when a suspect is found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. But is he the shooter? Doubt arises when the pathologist notes some unusual injuries. The rest of the story is the resulting investigation into whether the suicide was actually a suicide or a murder and who is the shooter?

      Throughout the story there’s a theme of past relationships and events coming back to affect present day life. This applies to both the police investigation and Banks’ personal life. He gets some shocking news about his recently deceased college sweetheart. Several characters from previous books in the series make a return. At the end the recurring characters stand in place for their roles in the next book in the series.

      It’s a solid police detective story with an exciting conclusion. One of the finest of the Alan Banks books. Highly recommended reading.
    • 5/5
      There are very few mystery authors who can keep a series going and keep it fresh and interesting. Peter Robinson and the Inspector Banks series is one. When a sniper lets loose on a local, but somewhat high profile wedding, three people are dead, two are critical and more are wounded. Winsome Jackman, part of Banks' team, was in attendance and was grazed with a bullet.

      Unfortunately, the sniper left no clues. When a local, retired dentist is found dead in his home the result of an apparent suicide, it appears the police have their killer. He was a member of the local gun club and had the arms that tied him to the killings. The major complexity, though, is that there is nothing tying him to anyone in the wedding party.

      It takes Gerry Masterson to make the connection.

      I'll admit that readers will know 'who done it' about two thirds of the way in. But that's OK. Sleeping in the Ground is still a great book and a welcome addition to the Inspector Banks series. There is action, romance, police procedural, etc. The team is living up to their usual high standards

      And, of course, there are cold cases, of sorts. All in all, Sleeping in the Ground is an excellent read.
    • 4/5
      Twenty fourth in series and still pretty darn fantastic. Impressive, and since I have read this series from the beginning, that means I have been reading this series for almost 2/3rd's of my life.

      A wedding and a funeral, beginning and endings. Of course the wedding doesn't turn out well, pure understatement there, and the person in the casket had secrets not revealed to Banks until forty years later. Also, some things are never truly over, there is guilt and revenge, and some people just don't care about new beginnings.

      This series is one of the best police procedurals around, well written, tightly plotted, and some very interesting character that have gone through some harrowing times. Banks himself, is a complicated, multi faceted character. Love music, poetry and this series always contains some of these. Introspective, but beginning to rethink his solitary life as he is getting older. Just a balanced mix of case and personal. A series well worth reading.

      ARC from edelweiss.
    • 4/5
      Sleeping in the Ground by Peter Robinson is a very difficult book for me to rate. This is book number 24 in the series and it is the first time that I have read any of the author's books. Because I haven't read the previous books, I got a little bit lost with the characters. But I found Inspector Banks very interesting. He had attended a funeral of his first love of many years ago and that jarred him. The relationship had been broken off suddenly but he never knew why. Even though he married later on, this was his one true love. So there is sadness hanging over him. He had a great love of music, and I enjoyed reading about his choices. He recognized music as a great healer and comforter in his life.

      At the time that Inspector Banks was attending the funeral, a sniper invaded a wedding party and there were vivid scenes of the bride, the groom, bridesmaids being shot plus others at the wedding who were injured.

      When the clues were put together, the police were very happy because they thought that they had found the sniper. A retired dentist was found with a fatal bullet through his mouth plus clippings with underlined words in red. I did not buy it. Was the dentist the sniper?

      I really loved rich characterizations of the Inspector and the other main characters in this book. I just wish that I had started with the first installment.

      I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher as a win from FirstReads but that in no way made a difference in my thoughts or feelings in this review.
    • 5/5
      As a longtime fan of Peter Robinson’s Inspector Bank’s series, I must say that I have been slightly unenthusiastic about the series. There was a certain restlessness about the story line as it progressed through the last few books. It didn’t stop me from enjoying the story or the intricate plotting that Mr. Robinson is so famous for; his delicate and intricate descriptions of the Yorkshire country side are always evocative and imaginative; his choices of music are always educational and have caused me to spend more money than I care to remember on musical CDs inspired by his musical choices. Yet, the stories felt like the characters have stagnated slightly even though both Banks and Annie have not stayed static over the sequence of books, it just seemed like they aren’t going anywhere.
      The prior installment of the Inspector Banks series, When the Music Is Over, gave us a wee dram of tastiness of what is to come however. Banks had been promoted to Detective Superintendent and he has finally found a boss that he felt comfortable with, and his orneriness and rebelliousness seems to have been tempered by old age. The lone term storyline with the characters was evolving, accounting for both Bank’s and Annie becoming older. The other characters are also beginning to blossom into their own skin; Winsome Jackson’s character was becoming a welcome addition, and Gerry Masterson started to stand out. Indeed the introduction of Linda Palmer the poet introduces the element of poetry to the narrative, a most welcomed respite from the reality that Mr. Robinson is so adept at describing. So I see that installment as the foreshadowing of this installment.
      This book is a full blown coming out party in many ways. Even though Mr. Robinson kept his dual story plotline, he executed it in a different way, expertly giving us all a nice head fake while doing so. He has reintroduced the character of psychologist Jenny Fuller, teasing us as to her potential to be Bank’s latest love interest. Most importantly, he has also shown Banks growing into his role as the Detective Superintendent, gaining gravitas and acting as the mentor. This is a most welcome development, as we watch Banks mature, much as we watch a good and trusty friend mature along with us. It is a comfortable and emotional evolution for me as I become more identified with Bank’s thoughts and emotions.
      All the while, in a reversal of roles, it is now Annie who is the rebel of sorts, and the designated ornery character, although Banks has not completely mellowed out by any stretch of the imagination. Gerry Masterson is the ingénue and the story actually moves along in a smooth new way.
      In yet another new twist, Mr. Robinson has also introduced an element of nostalgia and regret in describing the death of Bank’s first love, his childhood sweetheart Emily. It is a bittersweet interlude which helps us delve further into Bank’s psyche and his most primal feelings. This storyline does not seem intrusive, even though in the wrong hands, it could have. It fits nicely into the narrative naturally.
      In my personal history with this series, I would put this book up there with In A Dry Season, the first book in the series that I’d read and the one book that exemplifies much of what I love about the series and the reason why I loyally and unquestioningly follow Banks. In some ways this story is better because it is much more emotional and personally meaningful to me.
    • 5/5
      Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series is one of my hands down favourites. Sleeping in the Ground is the 24th entry.

      I have such a delicious sense of anticipation when I open the cover of the latest Banks. I had no idea what the plot was about, but knew I would be in for another great read. I wanted to catch up with characters I've come to know and appreciate. What has gone on in their lives? Robinson keeps them moving forward in real time with each new entry.

      Sleeping in the Ground opens with a wedding - and a funeral. A unknown gunman opens fire on a countryside wedding, killing and wounding many. Banks is away attending the memorial service of his first love from forty years ago, when he is called to the scene. He's become quite introspective with her passing, looking at his own life and decisions. But, it seems to be manifesting itself in anger and short tempered outbursts - quite unlike the usually composed Banks.

      The killer is identified early on in the book and I wondered where the book could go from there, as there were still many pages remaining. Banks has some niggling doubts though and continues to investigate even as the case is declared solved. Robinson's plot was inventive and completely unpredictable. I truly enjoy being surprised by a mystery as I read so many.

      Robinson excels at both plotting and characterizations. As I mentioned earlier, I read this series as much for the mystery as for those who populate the pages. Familiar supporting players are back, including one from Banks' past. The settings and descriptions have me yearning to sit in a pub with a packet of crisps, catching up on the latest.

      As always, I enjoy Bank's music selections. I've often put the book down to look up and listen to a song that is playing in the book, curious as to how and why it fits that particular scene or moment. Banks is also into poetry now and those references are also well suited.

      Robinson's prose are effortless and so very engaging. Sleeping in the Ground is a stellar entry in this series - and I will be eagerly awaiting number twenty five.
    • 4/5
      Book # 24 in the Inspector banks series! I love this series so I dropped everything when the book arrived. I will surely abandon a current book for the latest publication by Robinson or Tana French. Absolutely.

      This one starts with a mass shooting immediately following a wedding. A sniper takes aim at a wedding party, killing the bride instantly and goes on to attack the rest of the wedding party. It was an exciting fast paced start to be sure. Banks is away attending the funeral of a former love and is unaware of the case until DI Annie Cabbot finally gets through on his mobile. The shooter sat on a hill with an excellent view of the church and festivities, getting away quickly before police could be called in.

      As always the mystery and the ah-ha moment comes together near the very end. Great detective work. If you want a good police procedural type mystery this is the book for you. I have read these books in order but you don't have to do so. Fair warning though - as there are personal and professional developments with Alan Banks and members of Eastvale Police Department in each book, you may discover something about one the regular characters (spoilers) if you read them out of order.

      Since English painter David Hockney's paintings were mentioned I thought I would include two. I have a few of his paintings saved in my Pinterest account and was pleased by a mention of him in this book by artist Ray Cabbot (Annie's father).

      (Photo at Novel Meals)

      Food and Drink mentioned

      Banks and Ray Cabbot have a conversation about Ray’s moving to Yorkshire: “Banks laughed and drank more Laphroig. He could get used to the peaty taste again very easily.
      “Any particular reason you want to move to Yorkshire?"
      Ray shuffled in his seat,” Something about the light up here. Hell, if Hockney could do it, I don’t see why I can’t.”

      Avocado, quinoa and tomato salad for Annie’s pub lunch.

      Roast Cod with watercress sauce and roasted cherry tomatoes, buttered new potatoes and haricots verts with white Rioja wine.

      Ken Blackstone is always a fan of curry and I like when Banks meets up with him to discuss a case. They ordered a couple of pints of lager, samosas to start, then Vindaloo for Blackstone and Lamb Korma for Banks, with Aloo Gobi, rice and plenty of naans.

      Pat, the Australia barmaid, brought in two large platters of nachos and pints of Black Sheep bitter.

      As you can see there was plenty of food inspiration for me to choose from. I was tempted by the nachos and Annie's salad but ultimately had the craving for Indian food so......I made a Veggie Tikka Masala . Something Ken Blackstone can get into and vegetarian style for Annie. Recipe may be found at Squirrel Head Manor.

    Book preview

    Sleeping in the Ground - Peter Robinson

    title page

    Dedication

    Dedicated to the memory of my father

    clifford robinson

    31st December, 1923–27th May, 2016

    Epigraph

    "And to me, though Time’s unflinching rigour,

    In mindless rote, has ruled from sight

    The substance now, one phantom figure

    Remains on the slope, as when that night

    Saw us alight.

    I look and see it there, shrinking, shrinking,

    I look back at it amid the rain

    For the very last time, for my sand is sinking,

    And I shall traverse old love’s domain

    Never again."

    Thomas Hardy, At Castle Boterel

    "They are all gone into the world of light!

    And I alone sit ling’ring here;

    Their very memory is fair and bright,

    And my sad thoughts doth clear."

    Henry Vaughan, Silex Scintillans, Part II

    Contents

    Cover

    Title Page

    Dedication

    Epigraph

    Contents

    1

    2

    3

    4

    5

    6

    7

    8

    9

    10

    11

    12

    13

    14

    15

    16

    17

    Acknowledgments

    An Excerpt from Careless Love

    Chapter 1

    About the Author

    Also by Peter Robinson

    Copyright

    About the Publisher

    1

    If the incident had been a scene in a film, it would have looked beautiful. The violence would have taken place in elegantly choreographed silence and slow motion. Perhaps it would have started with the wedding party milling around outside the picturesque country church, then the camera would zoom in on a rose of blood blossoming from the bride’s white gown as she looks up, surprised, and floats serenely to the ground, arms reaching out, grasping for something too insubstantial to hold. She would toss her bouquet high in the air, pink and purple flowers against a backdrop of blue sky, and it would fall into the arms of a pretty bridesmaid. Then the bridesmaid’s head would disintegrate. Strings of blood would snake through the air like drops of ink in water.

    But the way Terry Gilchrist saw it—and he was there—it was as swift as it was brutal. A crack, loud enough to be heard above the church bells, was followed by a dull thud, then a patch of blood spread over the bride’s chest. Her body arched, and she spun half around and crumpled in an untidy heap of blood-soaked white chiffon and lace, her mouth open, the scream forever stuck in her throat. Another crack, and her groom fell beside her. A frightened child clung tightly to his mother’s legs. The bridesmaids clutched their posies, eyes wide with horror. A third bullet hit the maid of honor before she could run for cover. She fell beside the bride and groom, half her face shot away. The men in their gray pinstripe suits and the women in difficult shoes and wide-brimmed hats bumped into one another as they ran around in panic and confusion. A bullet chipped the corner off an ancient tombstone and a sliver of stone entered the photographer’s eye. A guest fell, clutching his thigh. The quickest to react reached the church door as another bullet slammed into the centuries-old wood. Someone managed to pull the heavy door open, and those who could rushed inside. They jammed the doorway, and another bridesmaid arched backward and dropped to the ground, blood oozing from her back. People trampled over her body in an attempt to get into the sanctuary of the church.

    It was all finished in less than a minute.

    Terry Gilchrist reacted as quickly as he could. He was no stranger to sudden death and violence. He had been under fire before, but nothing had quite prepared him for this. Even so, his soldier’s instinct kicked in. He glanced up at the hill where he thought the shots were coming from and saw a dark figure scurrying away, over the grassy summit and down the slope.

    Gambling that the assault was over and that there was no one else up there, Terry tried to shepherd the stunned and dazed stragglers into the safety of the church, desperately searching for Winsome. There were no more shots. The church bells stopped ringing. Tentatively, one by one, the birds started singing again.

    Terry stood alone in the bright December sunlight and called the police and ambulance on his mobile. One of the fallen guests was moaning with pain. Nearby, a bridesmaid sat propped up against a gravestone crying, her hands pressed to her bloody midriff where something wet and shiny rested in her lap. Terry was no medic, but he had picked up some basic first-aid training in the military, and he visited all the fallen to see if there was anyone he could help before the ambulances arrived. The groom was his mate, Ben, and he had been shot just above his stomach, around the location of his liver. He was still alive, though barely conscious, and the best Terry could do was tear off and wad up part of Ben’s bloodstained shirt and have him press it against the wound. Tears came to his eyes as he passed the dead bride and cast a glance down at her crumpled body. He knelt to touch her still-warm cheek and closed her staring eyes. It seemed that all he could see were bodies strewn around the graveyard. Then he turned and went into the church to find Winsome.

    Banks left the crematorium ahead of the others, David Bowie’s Starman playing over the tinny PA system, and hurried away from the knots of people gathering behind him, down the graveled drive to the iron gates.

    It always made her feel happy, that song, he heard someone say between sniffles. Earlier in the brief service, a friend had read a Christina Rossetti poem: When I am dead, my dearest, / Sing no sad songs for me. Starman was certainly no sad song, but it still had people in tears. And even David Bowie was dead now.

    Banks moved on quickly. He didn’t want to hang around and make small talk about death and loss with people he didn’t know. He had seen the mourners crying in the front row: two young couples, probably daughters or daughters-in-law, with small children, grandchildren, most likely; he had spotted her parents, father in a wheelchair, his head nodding and arm twitching. The others would be friends, work colleagues, nephews and nieces. The eulogy had mentioned the deceased’s tireless work for Médecins Sans Frontières, so some of the guests would be from that organization.

    But for Banks, this was his death, not something he wanted to share. He wanted to hold it to himself, to take it into him, if he could, let the grief become a part of him, and join with the grief of long ago.

    The taxi he had ordered was waiting across the road. He slid into the backseat and told the driver to head for the train station. It wasn’t a long journey, and it passed in silence. When he checked his watch against the timetable just inside the station entrance, he saw that he had almost an hour until the next train. He walked back to the street and scoped out the area. There was a Waitrose supermarket with a café to his left, but that wasn’t much use. He didn’t feel like a coffee or a cup of tea. Far more tempting was the Great Northern Hotel, almost directly opposite. It was a three-story brick building with the ground-floor facade covered in white stucco, A blackboard listing the daily specials stood by the door. Banks crossed the street, walked in toward the reception desk and saw the bar to his left. He didn’t normally drink so soon after eleven in a morning, but after the funeral he felt in need of something to take the edge off. It sounded as if some sort of function was going on to his right. Banks could hear someone making a speech, punctuated now and then by hearty laughter.

    The bar was almost empty. One elderly couple sat at a table sipping white wine and that was it, apart from the pretty brunette barmaid. There was a rugby game on the large screen TV at the far end of the room. Banks sat on a barstool, from which he would be able to watch the game as he enjoyed his drink. He was about to order a pint but decided that he’d have wine instead. Less liquid. He had a two-hour train journey ahead of him, and the toilets on trains were generally a health hazard, littered with soggy paper and awash with spillage. Usually the taps didn’t work, either, which didn’t matter much as the paper towels were scattered all over the floor.

    The barmaid smiled at him as he sat down. Banks ordered a large Shiraz and settled on his stool. He wasn’t a great rugby fan, and he had no idea who was playing, but he did enjoy watching a game now and then. He’d played rugby union at school, had even been good enough to make the school team as fly-half, being wiry, slippery and reasonably fast. Nevertheless, sometimes he wasn’t quite fast enough to prevent one of the hulking prop forwards from flattening him. He played once a week in regular games periods, and once on a Saturday morning for the school, no matter what the weather. Some weeks he was sloshing about in the mud, others slipping on the frozen earth.

    It felt odd being back in his hometown and not visiting his parents, but they had sold the council house he had grown up in and moved into a private care home near Durham to be closer to Banks and their granddaughter Tracy, who lived in Newcastle. They were well into their eighties, and still healthy enough, but slowing down. Banks’s father told him before the move that their cruising days were over; his angina bothered him and he had suffered a minor heart attack only a few months ago. Also, most of their friends on the estate had either died or moved away, so there was nothing to keep them there. Moving wasn’t as much of a wrench as it would have been a few years earlier. With the money left to them by Roy, Banks’s brother, they could afford the best care in a beautifully restored Victorian manor house with a fine view over the River Wear. They still had their independence. The one-bedroom flat had a large well-equipped kitchen, and Banks’s mother still prepared the meals. They could come and go as they pleased, and there was always a registered nurse on duty, just in case. They said they had everything they needed and seemed happy enough, though Banks’s father complained that some of the other tenants were either too posh or too gaga for his liking. He also wasn’t much of a joiner and didn’t sign up for quiz night, sing-alongs or exercise classes. Banks’s mother got along just fine with the posh folk; she had always had aspirations beyond her class.

    Just then, a small group from the party across the hall came in and clustered around the bar. A wedding group, Banks noticed. The men wore ill-fitting tuxedos with buttonholes, and the women were resplendent in lush cream satin gowns of ivory or peach. The bride and groom stood at the center of the group. Someone ordered a round of pints and G&Ts. One of the men had a loud grating voice and, of course, he was the one who talked the most. The bride had a laugh like a braying horse. The loud-voiced man told a dirty joke and they all doubled up laughing. Someone else made a witty comment about the groom’s mother-in-law, which raised more guffaws, especially from the mother-in-law herself, who seemed well in her cups. Fortunately for Banks, it was a short break. They downed their drinks quickly and headed back to the reception. The barmaid glanced at Banks and pulled a face.

    Banks drank some more wine and saw that he had almost finished the glass. Checking his watch, he calculated that he had enough time to get another one down and asked for a refill. He took a long slug of Shiraz, and though his eyes were fixed on the rugby game, he wouldn’t have said he was actually following it. He was thinking about those Saturday mornings long ago, toward the end of the sixties, when he still cared enough about being one of the lads to run around in the terrible weather week after week, risking a broken arm, cartilage damage or a wet rugby ball between the legs. It wasn’t so bad, he reflected. You got a hot shower at the end of the game, and most Saturday afternoons he went into town record-shopping with his mates Dave, Graham, Steve and Paul. All dead now, except Dave. You could buy used 45s at a stall in the open-air market, he remembered, but the discs were recycled from jukeboxes and the middles had been punched out, so you had to buy flimsy plastic inserts which didn’t always work. The 45s were often scratched, too, and they tended to skip. Caveat emptor. There was a secondhand bookstall in the market, too, where he had hunted down old Saint, Toff and James Bond paperbacks with lurid covers.

    But the best thing about Saturdays back then was the nights. On Saturday nights he would usually go to the pictures with Emily: Emily Hargreaves, the first girl he had ever loved, the girl whose coffin he had just seen rolling toward the flames.

    It wouldn’t be for long, Ray Cabbot was saying. A week or so at the most. Just until I find somewhere suitable.

    Annie Cabbot put her knife and fork aside. I don’t know, she said. I mean, you know how small the cottage is.

    I wouldn’t get in your way, love. I promise. I wouldn’t cramp your style.

    Annie laughed. My style? What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t think I have one. Anyway, it’s not that . . . But she was a bit worried about the effect a houseguest might have on her relationship with Nick Fleming, a DI from County HQ. It was relatively new and had come after a lengthy drought. But she wasn’t going to tell her father about that. What’s wrong with the colony?

    Nothing. I just feel like I’m getting a bit too old for all that sort of thing. These young turks. He grinned. Nobody paints or sculpts anymore. It’s all concepts and attitudes. You could walk in an art gallery and piss on the floor and claim it was a work of art these days. Next thing they’ll be wanting is a bloody lathe or a 3-D printer for making installations. No, love, it’s time to move on.

    And you used to be so bohemian, so avant-garde. Getting conservative in your old age?

    Ray Cabbot huffed. Everyone has to draw the line somewhere.

    You’re not in any trouble, are you?

    What do you mean, trouble? Of course not.

    It just seems so sudden.

    Believe me, I’ve been thinking about it for some time.

    Besides, Annie added after a swig of beer. You’re not old. She thought Ray seemed a lot younger than his seventy-plus years.

    Thanks for saying that, love. Ray ran his hand over his hair. It was silvery gray, the same color as his straggly beard, but he still had enough of it to wear in a ponytail. Maybe I’m just tired.

    But why Yorkshire? You’ve always lived in Cornwall. It’s home.

    I know. It’s just . . . well, you’re here.

    Don’t be so soft, Dad. It was rare that Annie called Ray Dad. Ever since she’d been a little girl, after her mother died, she had got into the habit of calling him Ray, and he had seemed to like it. It was all part of the bohemian atmosphere of the artists’ colony outside St Ives, where she had grown up.

    It’s true. You’re all I’ve got, Annie. All that’s left of . . . It’s all right. I’m still fit and healthy. I don’t have cancer or anything. There’s nothing physically wrong with me. I’m not moving up here so I can use you as my nursemaid, if that’s what you’re worried about.

    It’s not. And I wouldn’t make a good nursemaid.

    No bedside manner?

    Annie grinned. "That’s right. It has been criticized, at any rate." She picked up her fork and speared some more salad. They were having lunch in the Black Swan, in the village of Harkside, where she lived. It was a small, quiet pub behind its whitewash and timber facade. Annie didn’t eat there often, but she had to admit that, as salads went, this one was a cut above the usual: avocado, quinoa, grape tomatoes. It didn’t go with the pint of Swan’s Down bitter very well at all, but that was something she could live with.

    When would you want to start this house hunt, then? she asked.

    Soon as possible. Right away.

    Annie dropped her fork. You mean . . . like now? Today?

    That’s what right away usually means. Not today, perhaps, but after the weekend. Monday. Why? Is there some problem?

    No. No. It’s just that I could have used a little warning, that’s all. I thought this was a preliminary visit. A recce, like. I mean, don’t you have to go back and turn off the water or pack a bag or something?

    Sorry, love. All done. At least until I find somewhere.

    Can’t be helped, I suppose. What about your paintings?

    Zelda’s taking care of them. I can trust her.

    Zelda?

    Long story. So it’s OK, then? I can stay?

    Of course you can. As if there was ever any question. There was no way Annie could turn him away. He was her father. He had brought her up, had always been there for her—well, almost always—had loved her and cared for her, even if he hadn’t made a lot of personal sacrifices to do so. He hadn’t changed his lifestyle, for one thing, which had made her childhood interesting, to say the least.

    But her cottage was so tiny, and the walls were so thin. It would mean an end to nights with Nick until . . . well, who knew how long it would take Ray to find a suitable Yorkshire cottage? He was an artist, after all, and he would need a studio, somewhere the light was right, preferably with a fine panorama. He could be fussy, demanding and hard to please, despite his laissez-faire demeanor. It was a lot to ask, and it would be expensive. Still, she also knew that he was successful and not without funds. He did a brisk trade in Cornwall during tourist season—landscapes, seascapes and portraits—but his more serious Impressionist-influenced work hung in respectable galleries and fetched ever-increasing prices. At least he wouldn’t be a financial burden.

    Of course, he said, as if reading her mind, I could always afford a hotel or a B and B, if that’s what you’d prefer?

    Annie thumped his arm playfully. Don’t talk daft. I told you. You can stay at mine till you get somewhere.

    Annie’s mobile rang, its Winkworth Gong ringtone imitating the bell of a sixties’ police car. Sorry, got to answer this, she said. Work.

    She walked out into the street and put the phone to her ear. It was Chief Superintendent Gervaise, the Eastvale Regional Area commander, and her voice sounded tight, urgent. We’ve got a serious incident. Shooting at a wedding. St. Mary’s church near Fortford. Nothing clear on how many casualties yet. All hell’s breaking loose around here, so you’d better get out there ASAP. And see if you can get hold of Detective Superintendent Banks. He should be on his way back from Peterborough by now.

    Annie could hear voices in the background, shouts, phones ringing, heavy footsteps. As she said, Yes, guv, the only thing she could think of was Winsome. Her friend and colleague DS Winsome Jackman was supposed to be going to a wedding at St. Mary’s, Fortford, today.

    Feeling light-headed and sleepy from the hastily consumed second glass of wine and early morning, Banks was glad to find that he had two seats to himself, facing forward. The previous evening, he had compiled a playlist on his computer and downloaded it onto his iPod for the train home. He leaned back, adjusted his headphones and cocooned himself in his own little world as he watched the landscape flash by through half-closed eyes.

    He enjoyed the lush countryside of the English heartland. Even now, in December, the sun was shining on fields of stubble and distant rolling hills. Now and then the train would flash by a village, or he would catch sight of a steeple or squat Norman church tower in the distance, a stately home on top of a rise. Car windshields flashed in the sun. People walked their dogs down country lanes.

    There was a stretch he particularly liked, a series of small lakes separated by grassy banks and copses, where he could usually spot at least two or three fishermen sitting far apart with their rods angled, lines far out in the calm water. The sight always made Banks want to take up fishing. There they sat like Buddhas, still and contemplative, waiting for the bite, the twitch, nirvana. Maybe they were thinking of the bills they had to pay, or the office girl’s tits, but they always seemed so focused on the sublime, so at one with the elements. The only times Banks had been fishing, he had been bored silly, and he hadn’t caught so much as a stickleback.

    As the train sped by the ponds, Banks found himself listening to Andy Roberts singing Gliders and Parks, which he had included because it reminded him of the day he had met Emily in Hyde Park and she had ended their relationship. It wasn’t so much the narrative as the mood the song created. That was followed by First Boy I Loved by Judy Collins, then Roy Harper’s I’ll See You Again. He knew he was indulging himself in gross sentimentality, not to mention nostalgia, but he didn’t care. It was his death, his mourning, and he would cry if he wanted to.

    But he didn’t.

    Memories of Emily didn’t cascade effortlessly in his mind, though he could picture her standing before him, the little scar on her upper lip where she had fallen off her tricycle as a young girl, the way it twisted when she smiled; her pale, smooth complexion, waves of long blond hair tumbling over her shoulders. He had always told her that she reminded him of Julie Christie in Doctor Zhivago, and it was true that there had been something luminous about her, as if the light always favored her eyes and lips. But Emily was no ethereal being; she could be earthy, impulsive, even crude. She laughed a lot, he remembered, but she could be serious, too. And she was moody, mercurial. There were times when it had been exceedingly difficult to get through to her at all, when she had remained a silent, aloof and enigmatic presence, especially toward the end of their relationship.

    They had listened to Ziggy Stardust when it first came out, and he did remember that Starman had been one of Emily’s favorites from the beginning. He was stunned to discover she had still liked it enough that she chose to have it played at her funeral. But he hadn’t known much about her recent life at all. He hadn’t even known that she worked for Médecins Sans Frontières. If Dave hadn’t clipped the death notice from the local paper and sent it to him, he wouldn’t even have known that she had died. When your friends and lovers start dying, you begin to feel as if you have only narrowly escaped the reaper yourself, and that it’s only a matter of time. Which, of course, it is. In the meantime, there’s a version of survivor’s guilt to deal with.

    He found himself wondering if Emily’s children would find anything of him when they cleared out her house. Would they find old photo albums and mementos of events and experiences meaningless to them? Rock concert posters? Ticket stubs? Love letters? Postcards? The Tibetan bracelet he had given her for her birthday? The silver ring?

    The train stopped at Newark, then Doncaster. When the food trolley rattled by, Banks stirred himself and bought a cup of coffee and a Penguin biscuit, opened the tray by the empty seat beside him and set them down.

    It always took less time to get from Doncaster to York than he expected, and soon after York came Northallerton. His stop. He switched off his iPod halfway through George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and put it in his briefcase beside an anthology of English poetry he hadn’t opened for a few days. The last poem he had read was Keats’s Ode on a Grecian Urn, which he had enjoyed very much.

    He had turned off his mobile for the funeral service and forgot to turn it back on again. Now, as he prepared to get off the train, he did so. The infernal thing practically exploded in his hand with urgent messages and texts. Something seriously bad had happened while he had been away. Juggling the phone in one hand and his briefcase in the other, he walked along the platform and listened to the first message from DI Annie Cabbot.

    2

    By the time Banks arrived in Fortford, the whole village was swarming with police, and the curious inhabitants had been strongly advised to stay in their homes. Naturally, they didn’t, and the police community support officers had a job on their hands keeping everyone behind the police tape at the southern edge of the village green.

    According to Annie, on receiving Terry Gilchrist’s phone call at 1:03 p.m., the dispatcher had consulted with her control room inspector, who had ordered that no unarmed officers or emergency services personnel should attend the scene until given the all clear by Firearms Support Command, even though Terry Gilchrist had claimed that he had seen the shooter leave the hill.

    Firearms support had sent their three closest armed response vehicles, and the officers had just finished securing the area around the church, about a quarter of a mile south of the village itself. Uniformed officers had then contained the scene and constructed designated pathways and meeting points so that the investigators could do their jobs and the paramedics could move in and out and take care of the injured. There were still no accurate reports on exactly what had happened in the churchyard, or how many people had been hurt.

    Banks showed his identification at the second checkpoint, about a hundred yards from the church itself, signed the officer’s log, then sprinted briefly to catch up with Annie Cabbot and DCs Doug Wilson and Geraldine Masterson, who were slightly ahead of him. Chief Superintendent Gervaise was gold commander, coordinating things back at Eastvale HQ along with representatives from the emergency services and firearms support.

    A line of authorized firearms officers, resembling an invading army in their full personal protective equipment, stood outside the churchyard, facing the hill opposite. Banks could see a number of other armed officers moving about on the hillside itself. Each AFO carried a PR-24 baton, rigid handcuffs and CS spray, along with the Glock sidearm and Tasers. Because of the seriousness of the incident, they were also carrying Heckler & Koch MP5 carbines, which they usually kept locked in the boots of their vehicles. They made a chilling sight.

    Any news? Banks asked as he caught up with the others.

    Nothing yet, Annie answered. How was the funeral?

    As you’d expect. Winsome?

    I’ve talked to Terry on his mobile. Winsome’s been hit, but he couldn’t say how serious it is. The AFOs have searched the hill area, which is where Terry said the shots were fired from, and they confirm the shooter’s definitely gone. They think they’ve found the spot he fired from and secured it for forensic examination. Gold Command has instructed that everyone unharmed inside the church should remain there until the ambulances have cleared the dead and wounded. We’ve arranged coaches for the uninjured. Eastvale General’s been advised to expect the casualties. So have James Cook Hospital and Leeds Infirmary. As far as anyone knows, there were about sixty guests in all. It was a bit of a local celebrity wedding. In the papers and all that. She swallowed. It’s a bloodbath, Alan, like nothing we’ve had before.

    Media? You said it was a celebrity wedding.

    We’re not talking Madonna or royalty or anything. There were a few reporters and photographers, but they either ran away or took refuge in the church.

    Pity for once the place wasn’t swarming with them, Banks said. It might have made the killer think twice, or one of them might have got some footage of him. What about the wedding photographer?

    I don’t think so, Annie said. He caught a splinter of stone in one eye. But we’ll be checking out all photos and videos taken at the scene. Terry said he’s done what he can for the injured, Annie went on. He managed to tie some tourniquets and stanch the blood flow on a couple of victims. He said it took ages for the AFOs to get here. It’s been well over an hour since the shooting.

    Banks glanced at his watch. I know, he said. I was just getting off the train when I got your messages. I drove as fast as I could from Northallerton. I’m sorry my mobile was turned off earlier.

    It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing you could have done on the train except fret. We’ve only just been permitted to approach, ourselves. Before that, it was armed personnel only. We couldn’t get near the place. The first armed response vehicle didn’t arrive until 1:41 p.m., and they had to search the area and make sure the shooter wasn’t still around. Some of the paramedics and doctors are really pissed off. They say people could have been dying up here while they were tied up in red tape.

    The four detectives walked through the lychgate into the old country churchyard. Banks saw the wounded sprawled here and there, sobbing and clutching torn bits of shirt or dresses to stanch their bleeding. He could hear more ambulance sirens in the distance, and already paramedics were making their way around the churchyard along the common approach path designated by bright yellow plastic squares, like garish stepping-stones, marked out to avoid people contaminating the scene. Peter Darby, the crime-scene photographer, was already hard at work amid the carnage. These were the golden hours, the period closest to when the crime had taken place, and evidence would never be as fresh or as plentiful as now. Dr. Burns, the police surgeon, glanced up as Banks passed. Banks had never seen him so pale.

    One beautiful young woman in a coral-colored dress sat propped up against a gravestone shaking and whimpering, Help me. Please. Her lap was soaked in blood and her hands were clutched around her stomach, as if she were trying to hold her insides in. With her long blond hair and her pale heart-shaped face, she reminded Banks a little of Emily Hargreaves. A doctor hurried past him toward her. Another girl lay on the grass with half her head missing. She resembled an actor from that zombie TV program wearing a realistic prosthetic.

    How many victims? Banks asked.

    Seven or eight, according to Terry. It’s not official yet.

    Adrian Moss here? Moss was their media liaison officer, and he would soon be much in demand.

    Not yet.

    Banks noticed that Gerry Masterson, the newest and youngest team member, had turned white. She was slowing to a halt, as if marooned on one of the yellow pads, staring at the girl holding her stomach by the gravestone. Banks thought he could see Gerry start to shake. Quickly he went over to her and grasped her arm. Come on, you’ll be OK, he said. Look at me. Deep breaths. One. Two. Three.

    Gerry turned toward him, her nostrils flared, eyes wild, then she gave a slight nod. Her shoulders stiffened, and he could see the effort she made, slowing her breathing, staring fixedly straight ahead at the church doors. I’ll be all right, sir, she said through gritted teeth.

    Banks could hear children crying the moment he stepped through the doors, but it took a while for his eyes to adjust to the gloom inside the church. There were people everywhere, some silent, some crying, some just talking. Banks saw a flower girl, with her hair in ringlets, holding her bouquet and sobbing. She had blood on her dress and her face, but he didn’t think it was hers. A little boy in a smart suit had his arm around her and was trying awkwardly to get her to be quiet. Next he saw the vicar sitting on the worn stone step by the altar, hunched over, head lowered, hands clasped in prayer, mumbling to God. Then he spotted Terry Gilchrist holding someone in his arms, leaning against a stone column.

    Banks hurried over to Terry and saw, as he had expected, that it was Winsome he was holding. Her arms were wrapped around her raised knees, clutching them tightly to her chest. There was blood all over the front of Terry’s shirt as well as on his suit and face. Winsome’s peach satin dress—the one she had been so thrilled to find on sale—was smeared and stained with blood, too, and he noticed a bloody streak running across the top of her bare left shoulder. Something had made a furrow in her skin. The cut wasn’t bleeding much, a superficial flesh wound at best, but she had come that close. Winsome was trembling; her tear-filled eyes seemed unfocused, directed inwards, unaware of her surroundings.

    She’s in shock, Terry said. She needs a doctor, but there are people far worse off. You’ve seen what it’s like outside.

    You were out there when it happened?

    Terry stood up, but he didn’t take his eyes off Winsome. Annie took his place beside her. "I did the best I could. I tried to get everyone inside to safety. The shooter nicked Winsome’s shoulder. She’s lucky. I think the bastard was using hollow points, judging by the damage he’s caused. I saw him leave the hill over the road, heading south. I think the waiting was the worst. People were crying everywhere, screaming in pain. We could have got the ambulances and paramedics in much sooner, they were just waiting for the word, but the firearms officers wouldn’t let anybody past, and it had taken long enough for them to get here. Christ, Alan, people were dying. Winsome could have died. The bastards just wouldn’t take my word for it that the shooter had gone."

    Banks touched him lightly on the shoulder. You did the best you could, Terry. Remember, I know your military background but the others don’t. They had to follow procedure. Don’t worry, we’ll get Winsome some attention soon enough. She’ll be fine. What about you?

    I’m OK.

    Banks stood up and surveyed the scene. Gerry and the others were squatting on their haunches, talking to witnesses. The sirens he had heard out in the churchyard stopped suddenly, and then more paramedics and doctors rushed into the church bearing stretchers and medical supplies.

    Banks stood on top of the hill opposite the scene and watched the activity in the churchyard. Tiny figures, like a Lowry painting. The hillside sloped gently down toward a field full of sheep across the road from St Mary’s. They were grazing innocently, as unaware of what had happened as the horse scratching its behind on a tree in the Auden poem about the fall of Icarus. To his left, he could see the village of Fortford, at the junction with the Helmthorpe Road, a cluster of stone cottages with

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