This one is, sadly,the last one there will ever be,and it´s more of the same. It drags a lot,the dual timelines contribute nothing and what starts as a puzzle turns into unbelievable scenarios. Imagine! Twenty-eight books about one character. All of them are well written and plotted with interesting characters. All different in their purpose and premise. Mr. Robinson very nearly matched author Archer Mayor with his thirty-three in his Joe Gunther series. This book is a bit unusual in that it focuses on a "cold case," a homicide that comes to Banks' desk when a body is unearthed by chance on a remote Yorkshire farm. Banks and his team have to start from zero; the body, though only a few years in the ground, is not identifiable and doesn't match anyone who was ever reported missing. Through painstaking detective work, they eventually link the body to scandals involving undercover policing during a period of political turmoil in England more than 30 years earlier that are only now (in 2019) coming to light. It's an interesting, if not terribly suspenseful, story. People who enjoy the British television series 'Unforgotten' will definitely like this. STANDING IN THE SHADOWS is a novel I did not want to end. Not because of the intricate plotting and deft mystery story that was filled with plot twists. In this case it was because I knew I was holding in my hand probably the last DCI Banks novel written by the late Peter Robinson. Robinson passed away last year, and it left a hole not only in the world of literature but also called a premature halt to one of the best recurring mystery/thriller series in the business. He was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, to Clifford Robinson, a rent collector, and Miriam (nee Jarvis), a cleaner, and grew up in Armley, a working-class suburb of Leeds (also home to fellow writers Alan Bennett and Barbara Taylor Bradford). It is not too much of a stretch to assume that aspects of Inspector Banks’s adolescence in the 1960s, as described in Close to Home (2003), the 14th novel in the series, mirrored Robinson’s own.

As always in the Banks novels, readers will enjoy the details of pop culture and social history. This is an intelligent and satisfying procedural.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Standing in the ShadowsAnother thrilling ride with Inspector Banks and his crew.... Fans of the series will love this one." — Red Carpet Crash on Standing in the Shadows

The 28 th twisting installment in the DCI Alan Banks mystery series that Stephen King calls “the best now on the market.” What I find incredible is that after 28 novels featuring Banks we still learn new things about him. The supporting characters are well developed & there are some nice touches of humour amidst the drama. Readers will love getting a fascinating primer in both modern forensics and archaeological techniques.... As usual, Banks’ steadfast, multifaceted character holds his team and the story itself together....The ending, in which the two narratives join, is a stunner." — Booklist on Standing in the Shadows

Summary

This was a long one, and that can be a good thing or not. It worked for me because I enjoy entering the world where Banks resides with his solid reputation, brilliance at what he does and how he works with his team and his frequent music references that add so much. The late Peter Robinson penned another brilliant entry into the Inspector Banks series in his latest, and last, book in the series.