Aftermath (eBook)

Description

The crime scene awaiting Acting Detective Superintendent Alan Banks is among the worst he has ever encountered. The assailant, Terence Payne, hovers close to death himself. And Payne's brutalized wife, Lucy -- whose overheard screams prompted the original call -- has already been moved to a local hospital for treatment. But these sins and tragedies pale before what else has transpired in a dank basement the press will soon dub the "House of Payne." Now that the fiend is in custody, the long nightmare appears over at last.

But is it? In Alan Banks's mind too many questions need to be answered before he can rest easy. How could the heinous crimes of a popular teacher like Payne have so completely escaped the notice of his peers, his neighbors...his wife? And was fragile, abused Lucy Payne a victim or a reluctant accomplice?

Despite the strain on his own personal life and relationships, Banks refuses to ease up on his investigation. Buried deep in the past are shards of irony, pity, and horror almost too painful to bear, and unspeakable betrayals that deformed more than one childhood. For Banks, for his lover, Annie Cabot -- who suspects heartless political forces are setting her up to destroy a life -- and for the beautiful consulting psychologist Dr. Jenny Fuller, there is much more that must be unearthed in the aftermath of abomination. Because the darkness has not yet lifted, and new casualties are mounting. And there are still monsters loose in the world...

About the Author

Peter Robinson's award-winning novels have been named a Best-Book-of-the-Year by Publishers Weekly, a Notable Book by the New York Times, and a Page-Turner-of-the-Week by People magazine. Robinson was born and raised in Yorkshire, but has lived in North America for more than twenty-five years. He now divides his time between North America and the U.K.

Praise for Aftermath…

“The novels of Peter Robinson are chilling, evocative, deeply nuanced works of art.”
-Dennis Lehane

“A devilishly good plotter...[Robinson’s] characterizations are so subtle that even the psychological profiler is stumped.”
-New York Times Book Review

“Engrossing...seamlessly plotted.”
-Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

“Robinson’s last two Banks books have been winners...and so is AFTERMATH.”
-Orlando Sentinel

“[A] splendid series.”
-The San Diego Union Tribune

“A winner....Returning to the world of Alan Banks is, as always, a pleasure.”
-Houston Chronicle

“A winner....Returning to the world of Alan Banks is, as always, a pleasure.”
-Boston Globe

“Robinson spins and intricate web...an excellent crime novel.”
-Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

“A shocking suspense story that gives the reader a glimpse of the darker side of life.”
-Dallas Morning News

“Highly textured.”
-Tampa Tribune

“Mystery-mongering at once as sensitive and grandly-scaled as P.D. James.”
-Kirkus Reviews (*Starred Review*)

“A proven master...Robinson should find a large audience for this gripping, psychologically astute tale.”
-Publishers Weekly (*Starred Review*)

“This multi-layered novel puts Robinson firmly in the upper-echelon of British mystery writers.”
-Library Journal

“One of today’s most accomplished practitioners of detective fiction.”
-Otto Penzler

“Seamlessly plotted...The tenacious, thoughtful Banks is even fresher than when Robinson began this series...”
-Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

“Aftermath casts [a] spell... Robinson continues to stretch the boundaries of the standard procedural.”
-Orlando Sentinel

“Highly textured... Banks is a multidimensional figure struggling to cope with his private demons while directing murder investigations.”
-Tampa Tribune