Revenge, along with the grip the past has on the present and future, underlies the events of Not Dark Yet . Someone(s) enacts revenge on Connor Clive Blaydon, a “crooked property developer,” and “his factotum Neville Roberts.” Blaydon, a Yorkshire businessman of dubious morals, crossed swords with Banks in Many Rivers to Cross . The twenty-seventh installment of the #1 bestselling Inspector Banks series by "the grand master of the genre" ( Literary Review), Peter Robinson.

Much of the book concerns that abduction and the subsequent abduction of another important character. The material concerning the rape is almost totally separate. That is much more of a standard police procedural tale. There are some especially fine characterizations in this part of the book. The gruesome double-murder at an Eastvale property developer’s luxury home should be an open-and-shut case for Superintendent Alan Banks and his team of detectives. There’s a clear link to the notoriously vicious Albanian mafia, men who left the country suspiciously soon after the murder. When Banks and his team find a cache of spy-cam videos hidden in the house, the investigation pivots to another violent crime that could cast the murders in an entirely different light. I cannot believe that I have not come across this author before. I loved his writing and the characters were amazing. It’s not often that one of the main characters is called Zelda – of course, I loved that even if it was a little weird reading about someone with my name. Especially when she is very different to me. A wealthy Yorkshire property developer and his butler are found murdered on the developer's estate. The developer, Connor Blaydon, had his belly ripped open and had been left to die in his own swimming pool. Subsequent investigation reveals a video recording made in Blaydon's house showing a woman being raped; it is not known whether this has any connection to the murders. The recording is of poor quality, and the police are unable to identify the rapist or his victim. The primary police investigators are Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot and Detective Constable Geraldine Masterson, known as Gerry.Robinson is an author with amazing empathy, a snare-trap ear for dialogue, and a clear eye for the telling detail.”—Michael Connelly This is the final book of a trilogy involving European gangsters. If you haven’t read the first two, some of the references and the huge cast of characters to get to know throughout may confuse you. There are sometimes several points of view in each chapter too. Banks fans familiar with the characters may find this easier to read. Instead of discovering Connor’s murderer, however, the grainy and blurred footage reveals another crime: a brutal rape. If they can discover the woman’s identity, it could lead to more than justice for the victim; it could change everything the police think they know about Connor and why anyone would want him dead. There are some things about this book that I did not like. Banks runs afoul of the Police Conduct division (evidently the British equivalent of Internal Affairs departments in the United States), who suspect that he might have been involved in some nefarious activity. There does not seem to be any particular reason for this, and I think - or hope, at least - that this is exaggerated.

I don’t want to say too much over the phone, but I think we should meet and compare notes. Are you seriously busy?” Sadly, at least to my mind, the trend continues here. As the book opens, a wealthy property developer named Connor Blaydon is found brutally murdered at his mansion, along with one of his associates. The investigation falls to DC Annie Cabbot and DC Gerry Masterson. Technically, they are working under the direction of Banks, but after an initial visit to the crime scene, he basically hands off the investigation to his subordinates and takes little or no part in the further developments.Not Dark Yet" is the twenty-seventh installment in Peter Robinson's long-running Alan Banks series. Now a Detective Superintendent in North Yorkshire, Banks was once a heavy smoker, drinker, and ladies' man. He still enjoys alcohol within limits, but has since quit smoking and, at the moment, has no romantic entanglements. The heroine is a beautiful and mysterious woman named Zelda, who spent her formative years in an orphanage in Moldova. After she left the facility at the age of seventeen, she was abducted and physically abused. This horrendous experience left Zelda traumatized, but instead of internalizing her rage, she resolved to punish those who cruelly mistreated her. Meanwhile, Ray Cabbot’s friend Zelda is still hunting for the men who abducted her from a Moldovan children’s home and enslaved her. It soon becomes clear that Zelda’s search and what happened at Blaydon’s could be linked. Zelda is fearful, not only of her former captors, but also the authorities who might discover her French passport isn’t valid.

And as the threat to Zelda escalates, so does the danger for Banks and those who love her.. ( From McClelland & Stewart) Zelda couldn’t stop trembling, and the breath seemed to solidify in her chest. This had been her home between the ages of four and seventeen. This was the place that had made her what she was, or what she could have been. Now, though, it was a ruin, and so was she, and the irony didn’t escape her. What the hell was she doing here, running away from the good life she had found, despite all the odds, and from a good man, who was more than she deserved, seeking God only knew what? Revenge? Atonement? Reconciliation? The gruesome double-murder at an Eastvale property developer's luxury home should be an open and shut case for Superintendent Alan Banks and his team of detectives. There's a clear link to the notoriously vicious Albanian mafia, men who left the country suspiciously soon after the murder. When Banks and his team find a cache of spy-cam videos hidden in the house, Annie and Gerry's investigation pivots to another violent crime that could cast the murders in an entirely different light.The complicated plot involves the rape of a young girl at a wild party and five weeks later, the murder of two men—one the host of the party and the other his employee. Further acts of mayhem ensue. DS Banks, DI Annie Cabbot, and DC Gerry Masterson chase down leads, interrogate witnesses, and come to believe that their case may have roots in the past. The most unsettling aspect of this novel is the pleasure that the villains take in torturing and demeaning women. Zelda stands out for her desire to define herself not as a victim, but as an avenger. Although she deserves kudos for courage and daring, not all of her exploits ring true. Complicating matters is the unconventional relationship between Zelda and Ray, Annie Cabbot's father. Ray, an accomplished artist in his seventies, adores Zelda, who cares for him deeply, as well. Peter Robinson is a Canadian mystery writer. His books have won awards and have been translated into 20 languages. He's been called the master of the police procedural — and with the latest Inspector Banks novel Not Dark Yet, he's up to book number 27 in the popular series. The investigation into the gruesome murders of Eastvale property developer Connor Clive Blaydon and his factotum Neville Roberts at Blaydon’s luxury home reveals a cache of hidden SD cards that cast the murders in an entirely different light. Instead of showing Blaydon’s murderer, the grainy and blurred footage reveals a brutal rape. If Annie and Gerry can discover the identity of the rapist and his victim, it could lead them to the whoever wanted Blaydon dead. Not Dark Yet is not for the faint of heart. A search of Blaydon’s mansion uncovers a “cache of spy-cams all around his luxurious home.” Instead of identifying Blaydon’s assailant, the police discover a rape. Banks’s female colleagues take the lead on finding the rapist of the girl seen on the “grainy and blurred footage.” Robinson’s continued ability to reveal a mystery and a solution where you least expect it should make fans hopeful that this series will carry on for a while."