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Peter Robinson

Innocent Graves (Inspector Banks Novels, 8) Mass Market Paperback – March 30, 2004

by Peter Robinson (Author)

4.3 6,268 ratings

Book 8 of 28: Inspector Banks

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The worst that can possibly happen . . . has.

A beautiful child is dead—defiled and murdered in a lonely graveyard on a fog-shrouded evening. It is the sort of horrific crime Chief Inspector Alan Banks fled the city to escape. But the slaying of a bright and lovely teenager from a wealthy, respected family is not the end of a nightmare. Lies, dark secrets, unholy accusations, and hints of sexual depravity swirl around this abomination like leaves in an autumn wind, leading to a shattering travesty of justice that will brutally divide a devastated community with suspicion and hatred. But Banks must remain vigilant in his hunt—because when the devil is left free to pursue his terrible calling, more blood will surely flow.

Book 8 of 28

Inspector Banks
Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication date

March 30, 2004
Dimensions

4.19 x 1 x 6.75 inches
ISBN-10

0380820439
ISBN-13

978-0380820436
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The novels of Peter Robinson are: “chilling, evocative, deeply nuanced works of art.” — Dennis LeHane

“Stunningly complex and intricately plotted....Peter Robinson fools and entertains me with every twist.” — Nevada Barr

“Complex and intelligent.” — London Sunday Times

“Exquisitely complex and atmospheric.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Taut, carefully thought out…with plots that are refreshingly cliché-free.” — Time Out London

“Cunning…authentic and atmospheric.” — Independent

“Different and intriguing.” — Sunday Telegraph

Peter Robinson is: “a gifted creator of fully fleshed and vividly present characters.” — Boston Globe

“a skillful writer…” — Houston Chronicle

“absorbing…Robinson continues to stretch the boundaries of the standard procedural.” — Orlando Sentinel

“Splendid.” — San Diego Union-Tribune

“The equal of legends in the genre such as P.D. James and Ruth Rendell.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“[A] painful but enlightening journey into the past.” — New York Times Book Review

“This one is entertaining and sophisticated, crime writing of a high order.” — Washington Post

“Suspenseful and engrossing.” — Orlando Sentinel

“So readable…” — Seattle Times

About the Author

One of the world’s most popular and acclaimed writers, Peter Robinson is the best-selling, award-winning author of the DCI Banks series; he has also written 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 are the Edgar Award, the CWA (UK) Dagger in the Library Award, and the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy Martin Beck Award.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks (March 30, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0380820439
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0380820436
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 1 x 6.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,479,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9,611 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Books)
- #18,934 in Police Procedurals (Books)
- #55,806 in Suspense Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
4.3 6,268 ratings

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Peter Robinson

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Peter Robinson's DCI Banks became a major ITV1 drama starring Stephen Tompkinson as Inspector Banks and Andrea Lowe 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.

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Alison S. Coad

Enjoyable Eighth Novel in Series

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2016

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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 Robinson’s Inspector Banks series, published in 1996, and the characters continue to develop as people, which I always find intriguing in a long-running series like this one. As ever, the police procedural part of the story is well fleshed out, and it’s quite reasonable to assume the guilt of an individual - until, that is, it suddenly isn’t. This is a series that doesn’t absolutely require the reader to have read the books in chronological order, although of course one gets more out of such novels if one has; actually, in this particular case we meet some new characters and many of the older ones are somewhat sidelined, so this could be a particularly good jumping-off point for the new reader. Recommended!

2 people found this helpful

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wilber

Great Read

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023

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I am still on the edge of my seat 😊😊

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2023

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This one starts off with a riff on T S Elliot's poem 'The Love Song of J Alfred Prufock' - the yellow fog creaping along. Which character I wonder is the Prufrock allusion?

I find that a sustaining quality in Peter Robinson's DCI Banks stories is the poetry and the music. DCI Banks is an everyman; a good man, not with the trials of Job, but with some trials and temptations yet Banks always searches for the right, the moral thing to do.

In this novel, we spend a lot of time either within the introspection of Owen, the purported murderer, or with Banks and his officers trying to make proof that Owen is the killer and we the reader know he probably isn't. Owen is, in a sense, a Prufrock character; a flawed person, beset with problems in his difficulty with women and his querrelous inability to quite make a life with women work.

Though Peter Robinson makes wonderful allusions to great poetry and the music and the novels, so far, in the 8 DCI Banks novels I've read, he does not achieve 'literature' himself. Three stars is the most I have got to and the first one, Gallows View, while interesting, struggled to have one star.

I enjoy his detective fiction. He has built a good Everyman in his DCI Banks, and he has given Banks interesting characters as his ongoing policeperson colleagues and other characters who return for bit parts for novel to nover. One feels on is in good hands and that all will be right in the end. Now at number 8, the in plot fall of his novels, it is getting easier to pick out the murderer early in the novel ... though as to a guess being right, the reader is not sure until the last pages.

Now on to novel 9.

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John K. Brown

Murder investigation from both viewpoints

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2018

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My favorite so far in a great series. Sixteen year old Deborah Harrison is found murdered and molested in a church cemetery. There is no want for suspects. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and the police quickly arrest school teacher and amateur photographer Owen Pierce. But Owen seems to be an innocent man in the wrong place at the wrong time. The book parallels Banks' investigation and Pierce's incarceration and trial, as well as the fickle nature of public sentiment. I found it fascinating seeing the story unfold from two sides and found myself rooting for both me. This was a joy to read and very highly recommended.

4 people found this helpful

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A. Ward

Suspects Galore!

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2012

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I wish I had started the "Banks" series in order. In this one he is still married, apparently happily. The main suspect has chapters of his own, where he speaks. This is a good device that I enjoyed. Since I felt sympathy for him, I naturally cast about on my mind for another possible villain - and I was right! The reason I did not give this book 5 stars is that I wanted to know what happens to this "main suspect" character - and this was not answered. Banks is the standard flawed hero - a type that appeals to my flawed self. I recommend all of the Inspector Banks books. I have only read 3 so far.

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For What It's Worth...

Disappointed

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2011

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This is the first book I've read by this author and I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. Not that it was a boring story; It was more eh.

As she's strolling through the graveyard beyond the vicarage, Rebecca Charters, wife of the vicar, comes upon the body of a dead teen lying behind a mausoleum. No one was suppose to have entered the mausoleum in 50 years and yet empty vodka bottles along with cigarette stubs are found inside.

Rumors surrounding the vicar and the sexton have been going around. Some impropriety. The vicar's wife is having an affair. What a mess.

The fog surrounding the graveyard evokes a hauntedness of its own.

After the high school student is found murdered, much of the story is the investigation, questioning folks as well as intimidating others as homicide detectives are wont to do. It's certainly not a fast-past thriller but a slow-moving investigation, with the cops strong-arming folks when they feel like intimidating them.

There was no strong closure to the story ... for those who like their stories wrapped up nice and tight-like.

I might have given this a 3.5 stars but since that's not possible...

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Can't Put then Down

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2021

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I absolutely love this series so far and I intend on reading the complete series. The characters are terrific! and I like the fact you have to keep on guessing until the very end as to who did what. Fantastic series.

One person found this helpful

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Neil Prague

Peter Robinson goes from strength to strength

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2008

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Since I gave a favourable review to the first of the Banks series, Gallows View, I have read nearly all of the rest of the books in the series. I have enjoyed them all, but this one is by far the best yet.

It marks a new departure in Robinson's style. The preceding novels tend to focus on Banks himself, whereas his viewpoint is one of many in this novel. For the first time, we see a significant part of the action through the eyes of a suspect - Owen Pierce, who is suspected of the murder of a teenage girl. This means we get very little of Banks's family life, and I for one consider this a bonus. When reading a detective novel, I can't muster up much interest in the detectives' relationships, marital problems etc. Not that Robinson overdoes it in his other books, but the passages involving Banks's wife and kids are the ones that I have found least gripping, as a rule.

The other significant departure is that we see Banks and some of his team as rather more brutal than before. They are convinced that they have the right man for the murder, and go well beyond what should be acceptable police procedure to prove it. When they find that Pierce has an edition of Playboy, a dirty video and a copy of Lady Chatterley (!), they treat him as a pervert. In interview they bully him and twist his words until he becomes so confused he starts to contradict himself, to their great delight. This part made for uncomfortable reading, as did Pierce's treatment at the hands of the police while in custody. What Robinson does here is move his police characters away from likeable, dependable, upright types with civilised tastes towards single-minded, inflexible people who don't mind making the evidence fit the suspect rather than, as it should be, the reverse. I lost some respect for the characters due to this but this was clearly intentional - it is an honest portrayal of how many police officers actually behave. Not surprisingly, I was rooting for Owen at the trial - how that turns out is, of couse, for you to read for yourselves.

With Innocent Graves, Robinson has moved ever closer towards realism which is what makes the book so gripping. Better still, he succeeds at this without resorting to the sort of macho posturing so prevalent in many detective novels and cop shows.

I strongly recommend this and find it sad that to date it has so few Amazon reviews in comparison to some of the garbage that clogs up the bestseller lists. Enjoy!

55 people found this helpful

pphillips

One of the Best Crime Novels I Have Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2014

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Innocent Graves the eighth book in the excellent Alan Banks series is not just the best Alan Banks so far but one of the best crime novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Starting in the gloomy setting of a church graveyard at night the Vicars wife who is drunk stumbles upon a shocking discovery. Hidden behind one of the graves is the body of young Deborah Harrison. All the classic signs of a sex crime are present, the cloths have been interfered with and young Deborah has been left in a way that does nothing to protect her dignity.

After a little digging Deborah is discovered to be the daughter of a rich industrialist and the new Chief Inspector Jimmy Riddle is demanding that the team find the killer and find him quickly.

Soon Alan has to put all worries about his failing marriage behind him and do whatever he can to find out who killed the young girl. An early break in the case leads to the questioning of a local teacher.

Owen Pierce was seen alone on a bridge overlooking the church yard just before the killings, he also was in the area drinking before the attack. And Owen is also hiding things from the police. Soon with the lies adding up and DNA evidence adding up Owen is charged with the murder of the girl and the case would appear to be solved.

However despite the backslapping going on Banks can't shake a feeling that something is not right. With so many suspects and questions unanswered have they got the right man?

This is where the book in my opinion shows its true genius. In another departure from the normal Robinson begins to split the chapters between both the police and their investigation and Owen and his side of the story. It is truly wonderful the way Robinson takes the most basic evidence and shows that it can be twisted to make a monster appear innocent or the innocent a monster. The decision and delivery of the splitting the chapters sets this book apart from most truly in my eyes it lifts this book into the category of special one off novel.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you are a fan of the crime genre and Peter Robinson and you have not yet read it do yourself a favour and buy this wonderful book.

6 people found this helpful

Guy

Another fine tale 🙂

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2022

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This is book #8 in the excellent DCI Alan Banks murder mysteries. I first read this novel some 5 years ago and have taken the opportunity to revisit it on my Kindle.

Deborah Harrison is just 16 yo and is found strangled in a graveyard. The investigation becomes gets complicated and troubling as it progresses - not least because her father is a powerful financier.....

If you liked previous books in the series, you'll enjoy this one too 😁👌😁

One person found this helpful

Lizanne Lloyd

Compelling page-turner

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2019

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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 sucking up to rich influential locals, Banks is determined to find the murderer by methodical, thorough police work. The unusual feature of this novel is that we also see the case from the viewpoint of the man they arrest. Without knowing whether he is guilty or innocent we witness the way his life falls apart and he is forced to wait in a sordid, claustrophobic police cell for several months before going to court.
The book introduces a variety of characters who might have had a motive to kill Deborah but circumstantial evidence make it difficult for the police and the reader to select the culprit. I had my suspicions, but the denouement was well constructed. Towards the end I could not put the book down until all was revealed.

3 people found this helpful

Laraine

4 1/2 stars. I enjoyed this great read.

Reviewed in Canada on September 24, 2019

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4 1/2 stars. The 8th book in Robinson's excellent Detective Chief Inspector Banks series is one of the best ones so far. The body of a young woman is found in a churchyard and immediately they have a suspect. There is much forensic evidence to point to this man and public opinion is vicious about the suspected killer. But Banks isn't convinced they have their man. When the man is acquitted at trial, Banks and his team decide to start over again and look at other suspects. But another girl is killed and more forensic evidence points at the first man. Is he a killer or is someone framing him? Banks and his team set out to try to find the answers. Well written, well plotted and interesting until the last page, I enjoyed this great read.

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Innocent Graves (Inspector Banks Novels, 8) Mass Market Paperback – March 30, 2004

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