The characterizations are unfailingly sharp and subtleA definite contender for fiction's new top copWatch for those twists - they'll get you every timePast Reason Hated is Peter Robinson's fifth novel in the Inspector Banks series which became the major British ITV drama DCI Banks.

‘The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong’ Stephen King

From the master of police procedural and bestselling author of Standing in the Shadows comes Past Reason Hated, book five in Peter Robinson’s the Inspector Banks series.

A BRUTAL KILLING. NUMEROUS SUSPECTS. BANKS MUST UNCOVER THE TRUTH.

It should have been a cosy scene – log fire, sheepskin rug, Vivaldi on the stereo, Christmas lights and tree. But appearances can be deceptive. For Caroline Hartley, lying quietly on the couch, has been brutally murdered.

Inspector Alan Banks is called to the grim scene. And he soon has more suspects than he ever imagined. As he delves into her past, he realizes that for Caroline, secrecy was a way of life, and her death is no different. His ensuing investigation is full of hidden passions and desperate violence . . .

Past Reason Hated is followed by Wednesday’s Child in the Inspector Banks series.

Peter Robinson's DCI Banks became a major ITV1 drama starring Stephen Tompkinson as Inspector Banks and Andrea Lowe as DI Annie Cabbot.

Peter's standalone novel Before the Poison won the IMBA's 2013 Dilys Award as well as the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada. This was Peter's sixth Arthur Ellis award. His critically acclaimed DCI Banks novels have won numerous awards in Britain, the United States, Canada and Europe, and are published in translation all over the world. In 2020 Peter was made a Grand Master by the Crime Writers of Canada. Peter grew up in Yorkshire, and divided his time between Richmond, UK, and Canada until his death in 2022.

Peter Robinson’s critically acclaimed and number one bestselling The Inspector Banks series of novels feature Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks as he investigates crimes in Eastvale, Yorkshire. This thrilling police procedural series begins with Gallows View, which finds Banks moving to the idyllic Yorkshire Dales from London to escape the stress of the city but he quickly finds that even beautiful places hold dark secrets. The twelfth novel, Aftermath, was a Sunday Times bestseller. Novels in the series have been called ‘wonderful’ by Michael Connelly and ‘a powerfully moving work’ by Ian Rankin. The novels were the basis for the hugely successful ITV series DCI Banks starring Stephen Tompkinson.