A dedicated man is dead in the Yorkshire dales -- a former university professor, wealthy historian and archaeologist who loved his adopted village. It is a particularly heinous slaying, considering the esteem in which the victim, Harry Steadman, was held by his neighbors and colleagues -- by everyone, it seems, except the one person who bludgeoned the life out of the respected scholar and left him half-buried in a farmer's field.
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks left the violence of London behind for what he hoped would be the peaceful life of a country policeman. But the brutality of Steadman's murder only reinforces one ugly, indisputable truth: that evil can flourish in even the most bucolic of settings. There are dangerous secrets hidden in the history of this remote Yorkshire community that have already led to one death. And Banks will have to plumb a dark and shocking local past to find his way to a killer before yesterday's sins cause more blood to be shed.
From Publishers Weekly
Detective chief inspector Alan Banks investigates the death of a well-to-do archeologist, while author Robinson vividly evokes English village life.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
After an old Yorkshire farmer discovers a half-buried body in his pasture, excitement interrupts routine in the small community of Swainsdale. Series detective Alan Banks ( Gallows View , 1990) begins investigating the habits and background of the victim, a dedicated professor who left his job upon receiving a sizeable inheritance. Suspicion falls on his charmless wife, his long-time publisher, his local drinking buddies, a younger woman, and others. Before Banks can narrow the list, the murderer strikes again. Readers of English village mysteries should enjoy Robinson's promising second step.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.