This is number four in the Inspector Banks mystery-suspense series which gets better with each new volume. A hiker has discovered a body partially hidden up on the fell around Swainshead Village. The body is in a grisly condition having been lying exposed to the elements for about a week. That makes identifying the victim difficult, but when a name is finally known, it is discovered he had grown up in the village but had left for Canada several years ago and had just returned. And then Superintendent Gristhorpe informs Banks that this is not the first time a body has been discovered in the village. Five years ago a similar crime occurred and was never solved. The villagers are suspiciously and annoyingly quiet. No one seems to want to talk much or help to solve the crime. There are several suspects, including the wealthy Collier Brothers Stephan and Nicholas, a farmer named John Fletcher and Sam Greenoch the owner of the guest house where the victim had stayed. And there is also Sam’s beautiful, fragile and distant wife Kate, who seems to know something but is vague and fearful. As Banks begins the investigation, he quickly learns that almost all the potential suspects had opportunity, but the problem is, he cannot get a firm handle on a motive for the crime. All the suspects stick firmly to their stories and there is no solid evidence to break the case. It is not until the investigation takes Banks to Toronto, Canada and later to Oxford that he discovers the wedge clue that helps him solve the crime. Banks partners up with Detective Sergeant Hatchley for this investigation, while Detective Constable Richmond holds the fort back at the office in Eastvale. Banks does not have a lot of faith in Hatchley. Past experience has shown him to be a man fixed only on beer, idleness, spirits and sex. But this case allows the two to get to know one another better and Banks even starts to call him by his first name. Superintendent Gristhorpe and Banks continue to get along well and Banks works with him each Sunday afternoon helping him rebuild the stone wall by his farmhouse. The wall does not fence anything or go anywhere, but working on it regularly gives them a chance to discuss the cases and cement their working relationship. Gristhorpe lets Banks do his work without close supervision and Banks appreciates this. He does not need someone looking over his shoulder while he tries to solve a case. It was one of the reasons he left London – too many chiefs. Banks is still smoking and not making much progress with his program to try and wean himself from the habit. Smoking seems to help him clear his mind and settle his thoughts and he isn’t trying very hard to quit. He also continues with his music, which not only provides enjoyment and relaxation but also plays a valuable role in helping him solve his cases. When we first met Banks, he was into opera. He then moved on to jazz and now he is playing rock music from the sixties -- The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Cream. It fills the air as he travels the roads and ponders his cases. Every investigator finds a way he uses to help him untangle the clues he picks up, and this is Bank’s way. He drives everywhere in his little white Cortina with the tape deck and his cassettes, playing his music and turning over and examining the various facts, interesting circumstances and timelines, trying to piece them together in a way that makes sense. Once again there are references to the scar by Banks right eye. We still do not know the story behind it. When asked, he jokingly says that he passed out for lack of sleep and hit his head on the corner of a table. It will probably be awhile before Robinson lets us in on the full story behind that one. On a more humourous note, Banks gets to know Gristhorpe’s full name and now he understands why this has been kept under wraps for so long!Another good addition to the series.
Number four in this excellent series featuring Yorkshire based DCI Alan Banks. I have to confess I am totally hooked on this well written and absorbing series of police procedural crime novels. In this one a decomposing body is found in an isolated valley. A tourist discovers it while on a walking holiday. But it soon becomes clear that a group of locals know more about the body than in perhaps good for them.This wide ranging story sees Banks travelling to Canada and to Oxford to try and unravel the skeins of evil which have a long history and which threaten to cause more deaths in the present. There are some particularly unpleasant characters in this story but all are well drawn and believable. There are some likeable ones too.This is a well written novel which could be read as a standalone novel as there is enough background information to update a new reader with what is happening in the private lives of the series characters. I particularly enjoy the Yorkshire background and the atmosphere of the fells is brought vividly to life.
What do You think about The Hanging Valley (2002)?
The quiet village of Swainshead brings Banks and his team to investigate a brutal murder. The victim's face has been destroyed, so identifying him is the first problem. Once that is accomplished, it seems that this murder may be linked to another murder and a disappearance that occurred several years earlier.It's a very small village, and a bit isolated. The same families have been minding each others' business for generations, so it's not easy for an incomer to make headway.There are the brothers who are what's left of the wealthiest landowning family, the socially ambitious owner of the B & B and his wife - (a beauty who was raised and ruined by the puritanical grandmother who taught her to believe that she was evil and that men were worse) - the local farmer and pub keeper. All of them know things they are not telling.The local color is exceptionally well done, not just the landscapes but the pub scenes and the social structure. The characters, as usual, are excellent too. Banks is settling in in his job. He and Hatchley are becoming better partners, and are almost friends. He is allowed to help Gristhorpe with his never-ending dry stone project - the companionship and the task are appreciated by both. I really like knowing that Banks' musical taste evolves, that he is interested in art and literature, even poetry. Robinson is good at bringing in interesting female characters - Katie the damaged young wife is memorably creepy and sad at the same time. The murder victim is a local man who moved to Toronto and Banks has to go there to check out his life there and whether, or how, it connects to the past and present murders. So there is a bonus travelogue of sorts. All in all, it's a good read.
—Monica
2.5 stars, perhaps. Good audiobook. An alternative title might be "Banks goes to Toronto." I always wonder when a local character takes off for other pastures as part of an investigation. Did the author just visit there and want to add some local color? Is Robinson a Jays fan? Ostensibly, Banks has to travel to Toronto to find and interview a woman who may have information about an unsolved murder in Swainsdale that had occurred years before but may be linked to a more recent one. The body of Bernard Allen, a man who had briefly relocated to Canada, is discovered buried in the woods in a remote area of Yorkshire. The investigation takes Banks to Toronto to search for a woman who might have known him. (And we get treated -- if that's the word -- to a Blue Jays game.) Banks has to dig back into the past to determine the reason for the killing. I had difficulty getting a feel for the motivations of the characters and this is not one of Robinson's better efforts. His writing is good, but the characters in this volume lacked full development. Some reviewers have complained about the ending, that somehow it was a shock. Perhaps, but only in its abruptness. This may be one of those cases where a good reader (James Langton) makes a bad book better. I had difficulty connecting with this story, but the excellent narration prevented switching to the off button.
—Eric_W
What I didn't like about this book-1. The particular edition I read made it seem like a stand alone novel rather than part of a series. It wasn't until after I had already read the thing that I saw the order form in the back to order the other books in the series.2. The cover said it was a "novel of suspense". I didn't find anything suspenseful about this and in fact found it to be rather dull. Also, when I think of suspense, a mystery novel isn't the first thing that comes to mind.3. Not enough action and the charactors were kinda bland and two deminsional. The only character in the whole book who I could symapthize with or even get to really understand was the chick who was in the unhappy marriage and longed to get away. Overall feeling about this book- I suppose a die-hard mystery buff would like this but it just wasn't my bag.
—Jeremy Stephens
