Showing results by narrator "Neil Pearson" in All Categories

Tom Bryce did what any decent person would do. But within hours of picking up the CD that had been left behind on the train seat next him, and attempting to return it to its owner, he is the sole witness to a vicious murder.

A Peeping Tom is frightening the women of Eastvale; two glue-sniffing young thugs are breaking into homes and robbing people; an old woman may or may not have been murdered. Investigating these cases is Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, a perceptive, curious, and compassionate policeman recently moved to the Yorkshire Dales from London to escape the stress of city life.

Amid the tragic unfolding mayhem of the morning of 911, failed Brighton never-do-well Ronnie Wilson sees the chance of a lifetime, to disappear and reinvent himself in another country. Five years later the discovery of the skeletal remains of a woman's body in a storm drain in Brighton, leads Detective Superintendent Roy Grace on an enquiry spanning the globe, and into a desperate race against time to save the life of a woman being hunted down like an animal in the streets and alleys of Brighton.

Shortly before his 44th birthday, John Diamond received a call from the doctor who had removed a lump from his neck. Having been assured for the previous 2 years that this was a benign cyst, Diamond was told that it was, in fact, cancerous.

On the night Brian Bishop murdered his wife, he was 60 miles away, asleep in bed. At least, that's the way it looks to Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, who is called in to investigate the kinky slaying of beautiful young Brighton socialite Katie Bishop.

When he receives a mysterious and disturbing telephone call from his brother, Roy, Inspector Alan Banks heads off to London to search him out. Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot is called to a murder scene on a quiet stretch of road just outside Eastvale. A young woman has been found dead in her car, with Banks' name and address written on a slip of paper in the back pocket of her jeans.

During a blistering summer, drought has depleted the precious resources of Thornfield Reservoir, uncovering the remains of a small village called Hobb's End: hidden from view for over 40 years. For a curious young boy this resurfaced hamlet has become a magical playground...until he unearths a human skeleton.

It was 2.47 a.m. when Chief Inspector Alan Banks arrived at the barn and saw the body of Keith Rothwell for the first time. Only hours earlier, two masked men had walked the mild-mannered accountant out of his farmhouse and clinically blasted him with a shotgun.

One foggy night, Deborah Harrison is found lying in the churchyard behind St Mary's, Eastvale. She has been strangled with the strap of her own school satchel. But Deborah was no typical 16-year old. Her father was a powerful financier who moved in the highest echelons of industry, defence, and classified information. And Deborah, it seemed, enjoyed keeping secrets of her own.

The body of a well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a wall near the village of Helmthorpe, Swainsdale. Who on earth would want to kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man? Penny Cartwright, a beautiful folk singer with a mysterious past, a shady land-developer, Harry's editor, and a local thriller writer are all suspects, and all are figures from Harry's previous, idyllic summers in the dale. A young girl, Sally Lumb, knows more than she lets on, and her knowledge could lead to danger.

It should have been a cosy scene: log fire, sheepskin rug, Vivaldi on the stereo, Christmas lights and tree. But appearances can be deceptive. For Caroline Hartley has been brutally murdered.

Thirty-five The Hill is an ordinary house in an ordinary street, owned by an apparently ordinary young couple. But it is about to become infamous. For when Police Constables Janet Taylor and Dennis Morrisey are sent to the house following a report of a domestic disturbance, they stumble upon a truly horrific scene - a scene which leaves one of them dead and the other fighting for her life and career.

The broken body of Jason Fox has been found in a dirty alleyway. At first it looks like a typical after-hours pub fight gone wrong. But Inspector Alan Banks soon realises that the truth is rarely so straightforward.

In the usually peaceful town of Eastvale, a simmering tension has now reached breaking point. An anti-nuclear demonstration has ended in violence, leaving one policeman stabbed to death. Fired by professional outrage, Superintendent "Dirty Dick" Burgess descends with vengeful fury on the inhabitants of "Maggie's Farm", an isolated house high on the daleside.

During a blistering summer, drought has depleted the precious resources of Thornfield Reservoir, uncovering the remains of a small village called Hobb's End: hidden from view for over 40 years. For a curious young boy this resurfaced hamlet has become a magical playground...until he unearths a human skeleton.

When two social workers investigating reports of child abuse appear at Brenda Scupham's door, her fear of authority leads her to comply meekly with their requests - even when they say that they must take her seven-year-old daughter Gemma away for tests. It is only when they fail to return Gemma the following day that Brenda realises something has gone terribly wrong.

The body of a well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a wall near the village of Helmthorpe, Swainsdale. Who on earth would want to kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man? Penny Cartwright, a beautiful folk singer with a mysterious past, a shady land-developer, Harry's editor, and a local thriller writer are all suspects, and all are figures from Harry's previous, idyllic summers in the dale. A young girl, Sally Lumb, knows more than she lets on, and her knowledge could lead to danger.

A faceless corpse is discovered in a tranquil, hidden valley below the village of Swainshead. And when Chief Inspector Alan Banks arrives, he finds that no-one is willing to talk. Banks' frustration only grows when the identity of the body is revealed. For it seems that his latest case may be connected with an unsolved murder in the same area five years ago. Among the silent suspects are the Collier brothers, the wealthiest and most powerful family in the village.

Chief Inspector Banks is back - in an original tale that makes up part of a new crime collection of seven short stories by Peter Robinson, never published in the UK before. With settings ranging from the Pacific Northwest in the Sixties to the Yorkshire of the Second World War and present-day Toronto to Eastvale at Christmas, these stories feature hippies, policemen and models, little girls dancing ballet, PIs and soldiers.

Detective Inspector Alan Banks relationship with Chief Constable Riddle has always been strained. So Banks is more than a little surprised when Riddle summons him late one night and begs for his help. For Riddle, Banks' new case is terrifyingly close to home. Six months ago, his 16-year-old daughter ran away to London, where she has fallen into a turbulent world of drugs and pornography. With his reputation threatened, Riddle wants Banks to use his unorthodox methods to find her without fuss.