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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
A 1965 disappearance and present-day murder; the historical crime involves violence against a child
Language
Some
Some strong language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Mild content
Substance Use
Barely any
Social drinking
Emotional Intensity
A lot
How communities bury what happened rather than face it; a past violence that has shaped everyone involved without anyone having to say it aloud
What this book is about
While investigating the present-day murder of a man found beaten in a field, Banks is also working through an old file — the case of Graham Marshall, a boy who disappeared from Eastvale in 1965. The two cases connect in ways that illuminate the specific way that violence in small communities gets buried across generations. Peter Robinson's thirteenth Banks novel is one of the series' most formally elegant — the parallel structure works particularly well — and the 1965 sections are rendered with careful period accuracy.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
a child's 1965 disappearance is central
thirteenth of the Banks series
Reader Verification
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