The Chief Constable, in response to pressure from higher up, insists that the investigation be wrapped up quickly.

It made a striking contrast to the light green of the woods because it—Annie couldn’t tell yet whether the shape was a man or a woman—was dressed in an orange shirt and black trousers.This book felt a bit different to many of the other books in the series, and whilst it was a good read I enjoyed some of the others more. In this artful abridgement of Inspector Alan Banks's 15th series appearance, things get personal for the Yorkshire policeman. It goes on and on and on about how rooms look (that have absolutely zero to do with the story at any point), what he is eating, if his fork has a stain on it left from the dishwasher and so on. Bottom line, it looks like a domestic quarrel where one partner bludgeoned the other and then hanged himself in grief so Annie Cabbot hardly needed assistance with this case.

But further investigation into the sad demise of Mark Hardcastle leads to another corpse, brutally bludgeoned to death. In this masterful novel of psychological suspense, Peter Robinson delves once again into the dark recesses of the human mind and shows what can happen when evil rests there. The reader will catch a private peek of Inspector Banks as a valiant First Responder at Oxford Circus and as Lone Defender of Justice for the Slain, that even his closest colleagues will not witness.

Things get more complicated when Hardcastle's lover, Laurence Silbert, is found savagely beaten to death in the luxurious home that the two shared. Dirty Dick' Burgess does the equivalent of a 'cameo' if you are a novel character, but it's really small this time. The deeper he digs the more he discovers that the monster he has awakened will extend its deadly reach to his friends and family. This book also contains plenty of listening recommendations for the discriminating jazz and classical music fan. When a child is abducted in similar Sandman fashion from an affluent Glasgow suburb, Lomond is brought in to find them before it's too late.