When the Music's Over

Two young girls.

Two unspeakable crimes.

Fifty years separate them - their pain connects them.

When the body of a 15-year-old is found in a remote countryside lane, beaten and broken, DI Annie Cabbot is brought in to investigate how the child could possibly have fallen victim to such brutality.

Newly promoted Detective Superintendent Alan Banks is faced with a case that is as cold as they come. Now in her 60s, Linda Palmer was attacked aged 14 by celebrity entertainer Danny Caxton, yet the crime has never been investigated - until now.

As each steps closer to uncovering the truth, they'll unearth secrets much darker than they ever could have guessed...

“Peter Robinson has for too long, and unfairly, been in the shadow of Ian Rankin; perhaps PIECE OF MY HEART, the latest in the Chief Inspector Banks series, will give him the status he deserves, near, perhaps even at the top of, the British crime writers' league - The TimesRobinson also has a way of undercutting the genre's familiarity. With a deceptively unspectacular language, he sets about the process of unsettling the reader - IndependentThe Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong. - Stephen King”

Peter Robinson has for too long, and unfairly, been in the shadow of Ian Rankin; perhaps PIECE OF MY HEART, the latest in the Chief Inspector Banks series, will give him the status he deserves, near, perhaps even at the top of, the British crime writers' league - The Times

Robinson also has a way of undercutting the genre's familiarity. With a deceptively unspectacular language, he sets about the process of unsettling the reader - Independent

The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong. - Stephen King

Peter Robinson's DCI Banks is now a major ITV1 drama starring Stephen Tompkinson (Wild at Heart, Ballykissangel) as Inspector Banks, and Andrea Lowe (The Bill, Murphy's Law) 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.

Peter grew up in Yorkshire, and now divides his time between Richmond and Canada. Peter keeps a website at

Two young girls. Two unspeakable crimes. Fifty years separate them - their pain connects them. When the body of a 15-year-old is found in a remote countryside lane, beaten and broken, DI Annie Cabbot is brought in to investigate how the child could possibly have fallen victim to such brutality. Newly promoted Detective Superintendent Alan Banks is faced with a case that is as cold as they come. Now in her 60s, Linda Palmer was attacked aged 14 by celebrity entertainer Danny Caxton, yet the crime has never been investigated - until now. As each steps closer to uncovering the truth, they'll unearth secrets much darker than they ever could have guessed . . .

Two young girls.Two unspeakable crimes.Fifty years separate them - their pain connects them.When the body of a 15-year-old is found in a remote countryside lane, beaten and broken, DI Annie Cabbot is brought in to investigate how the child could possibly have fallen victim to such brutality.Newly promoted Detective Superintendent Alan Banks is faced with a case that is as cold as they come. Now in her 60s, Linda Palmer was attacked aged 14 by celebrity entertainer Danny Caxton, yet the crime has never been investigated - until now.As each steps closer to uncovering the truth, they'll unearth secrets much darker than they ever could have guessed...

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