About the Book
A shocking mass murder occurs at a wedding in a small Dales church and a huge manhunt follows. Eventually, the shooter is run to ground and things take their inevitable course.
But Banks is plagued with doubts as to exactly what happened outside the church that day, and why. Struggling with the death of his first serious girlfriend and the return of profiler Jenny Fuller into his life, Banks feels the need to dig deeper into the murders, and as he does so, he uncovers forensic and psychological puzzles that lead him to the past secrets that might just provide the answers he is looking for.
When the surprising truth becomes clear, it is almost too late.
My Review
Whilst I have not read all of the Inspector Banks series I have read enough of them to know the characters well as well as any back story. You could probably read this quite well as a standalone.
This new investigation is one that you only hear about in this country occasionally. That of a mass shooting. Understandably there is a huge media frenzy, the team are under pressure to act quickly, the weather isn’t helping the situation and one of their own team is one of the injured. They think they have got who is responsible quickly but when they start to look closer they question whether they were too quick to react.
I’ve always found this series to be quite contemplative. There is always a crime but it almost seems peaceful. Of course a mass shooting is far from peaceful but there is no big city approach to the investigation. Instead, when they start to dig deeper there doesn’t appear to be any urgency. It is all done quietly, without the media picking up on what is happening. It isn’t all about Banks, Annie and Gerry also feature strongly and show how different policing is with the younger officers.
Music features strongly as ever, regular readers will be aware that Banks loves his music and his choice of music reflects his mood. In this novel he is melancholic, an old flame had died and his own health is questionable.
I enjoy this series, if you have seen the TV series it doesn’t do the books any justice. They are so much better.
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