The Hanging Valley

Inspector Banks #4

by Peter Robinson

The fourth haunting Inspector Banks novelA faceless corpse is discovered in a tranquil, hidden valley below the village of Swainshead. And when Chief Inspector Alan Banks arrives, he finds that no-one is willing to talk. Banks' frustration only grows when the identity of the body is revealed. For it seems that his latest case may be connected with an unsolved murder in the same area five years ago.Among the silent suspects are the Collier brothers, the wealthiest and most powerful family in Swainsdale. When they start to use their influence to slow down the investigation, Inspector Alan Banks finds himself in a race against time...

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Audiobook, British Literature, Thriller, Detective

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Peter Robinson was born in Yorkshire. After getting his BA Honours Degree in English Literature at the University of Leeds, he came to Canada and took his MA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor, then a PhD in English at York University. He has taught at a number of Toronto community colleges and universities and served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Windsor, 1992-93.

Series:
* Inspector Banks

Awards:
* Winner of the 1992 Ellis Award for Best Novel.
* Winner of the 1997 Ellis Award for Best Novel.
* Winner of the 2000 Anthony Award for Best Novel.
* Winner of the 2000 Barry Award for Best Novel.
* Winner of the 2001 Ellis Award for Best Novel.

Reviews

[Jaline · Rating 4 out of 5]

”A hanging valley . . . is a tributary valley running into Swainsdale at a right angle. The glacier here was too small to deepen it as much as the larger one that carved out the dale itself, so it’s left hanging above the main valley floor like a cross-section.”

Chief Inspector Alan Banks has only been in Yorkshire a couple of years. He and his immediate supervisor get along great, and they share one thing in common: a dislike for unsolved, cold cases.

For example, the murder that happened up the road at Swainsdale five years ago – a private investigator. This was before CI Banks had moved with his family from London to Yorkshire. He soon gets to exercise his skills on a new murder – one that doesn’t involve a stranger to the area, but someone who grew up there.

This is a series that I started in the summer of 2014 when I read the first three. I also found several others that came up on special deals and/or bundles but this one eluded me until around Christmas last year when it was on a special, too!

I really like this series. It is a police procedural that takes place in England, written by a Canadian who is British by birth. Mr. Robinson takes advantage of both his homes in this novel as he sends CI Alan Banks off to Canada for a week to track down someone who might have information that sheds light on the motive for their newest murder case. CI Banks takes full advantage of his time in Toronto since most of his investigating time is in the evenings and at night. During the day, he plays tourist and mulls over his case.

I enjoyed this novel for its great pacing and non-stop action and observations. There is always something happening – and if I remember correctly, it is what I liked about this series when I first started it. There are also several suspects to choose from, and although they eventually figure it out, they still do not have enough evidence to make a conviction solid. Until . . . suddenly, they do.

If police procedural novels are ones you enjoy, this series is highly recommended – not just by me, but also reviewers who write for top review publications.

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Murder and madness in the Yorkshire dales” … a marvelous continuation to a first-rate series!

Any resemblance between Swainshead and James Herriot’s pastoral farming village home of Darrowby begins and ends with the perennial Yorkshire love of tipping back a pint with friends.

Five years earlier, a private investigator visiting the area (for reasons that at the time were not entirely clear) was murdered. A young women who might or might not have been romantically attached to the victim disappears and is never heard from again. Five years later, a vacationing hiker discovers a second corpse, so savagely beaten and so grossly mutilated that the identity of the victim is unclear. Sherlock Holmes would declare the game to be afoot and Chief Inspector Banks is on the hunt for the killer and the solution to what might be called an open-air locked room mystery. Swainshead is a small village and the list of possible suspects, accordingly, is a short one!

Just as Michael Connelly has done with the Harry Bosch persona introduced in THE BLACK ECHO, Banks continues to grow and evolve as a person and skilled investigator. Alan Banks is a real man with real characteristics – he loves his music, opera, choral, jazz and blues; he enjoys a jar or two of his favourite beer; he’ll even indulge in a scotch if the problem he’s considering is a little deeper or a little more pressing; he’s happy to be in a small town away from the dank, depressing, and jarring crowds of London but, as far as the Yorkshire men and women are concerned, he’s still a ‘Johnny Come Lately’ and his acceptance is minimal and reserved.

THE HANGING VALLEY is definitely a modern mystery in its approach to modern themes – adultery, sexual assault, violence, forensics and pathology, divorce, domestic abuse, the indoctrination of organized religion, and problem drinking, for example. In short, it’s a modern police procedural but it’s very much character and personality driven and is not in any sense a suspense thriller. That said, the shocking surprise ending on the final page (NO cheating now!) will take the breath away from any reader and will even leave some readers wondering whether Chief Inspector Banks’ solution to the multiple murders was the correct one!

Enough said! If you enjoy police procedurals, then pick up your copy of THE HANGING VALLEY. It’s a sure-fire winner!

Paul Weiss

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A complicated series of deaths: two definite murders, a possible accident, a possible suicide. are entangled in a complicated web of relationships. To untangle all the threads, Chief Inspector Banks goes so far as to fly to Canada to find a woman who may be able to shed light on the case.

I would have rated this at least one star higher if it hadn't ended the way it did. The police finally have it worked out & they're after the killer who we know is at that moment up to no good. So the police arrive & the scene is described (trying to not put any spoilers here) and that's it. The story just stops. I actually turned the next several pages in the book looking for an ending.

That is one thing that ticks me off in a book is for it to simply stop, not end. To me there's a crucial difference between those in writing. I'll continue with the series but I hope the author doesn't pull this kind of trick again.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hiker on a fell-walking holiday near Swainshead stumbles across a maggot-infested corpse whose face had been ravaged — the second time the quiet of this Yorkshire village had been marred by murder.

Five years earlier a private detective from London, Raymond Addison, left the Greenock Guesthouse where he was staying in Swainshead and disappeared — until his corpse turned up a week later. No one knew why he was snooping around Swainshead. To add more mystery to Addison’s murder — still unsolved —a local woman, Anne Ralston, had also disappeared. The policeman who investigated the murder has been promoted to superintendent, and Superintendent Gristhorpe and his clever subordinate, Chief Detective Inspector Alan Banks, know there must be a connection between Addison’s death and Ralston’s disappearance. And as Banks begins investigating the latest murder — one in which the murderer went to great lengths to forestall identification — he begins to wonder if the unknown man’s death isn’t connected to the fates of Addison and Ralston, as well.

Author Peter Robinson’s novels just get better and better. As I progress through the series, at the end of each novel, I think, “Ah! This is the best one!” — only to have my new favorite supplanted by its successor. I loved The Hanging Valley, the fourth in the series — and what an ending! A true shocker! It’s hard to believe that, based on my track record thus far, I will love the next one, Past Reason Hated, even more.

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bank's fourth case starts with a dumped corspse being found in the countryside area known as the Hanging Valley near a small village. As Banks starts the investigation it is apparent that there is not only a conspiracy withing the village but also that the murder may be related to earlier unsolved murder and missing person cases. A bit too similar to the second book in the series, although still a fair read. 4 out of 12.

[Marwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, Peter Robinson's Books are getting better and better. I liked this one more than the previous three. I also love the bond between Chief Inspector Banks and his superior Gristhorpe, and I laughed when he said to Banks that he smokes like a bloody chimney.
The Story begins when a corpse has been discovered in a hidden valley near the village of Swainshead. its face has been crushed and the autopsy reveals that he has been dead for at least 10 days. After Identifying the body, some clues shows that it might be related to an unsolved crime of a private investigator (PI) who was murdered at the same village 5 years ago. To make matters worse, A woman by the name of Anne Ralston has disappeared a day before the body of the PI was discovered. Chief Inspector Banks thinks that the three incidents are related and it's up to him to find the link.
The novel has one hell of an ending, that's for sure. And I'm looking forward to read the rest of his books.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a faceless corpse is found in a hidden valley Chief Inspector Alan Banks investigates. With this, the fourth (& so far the best) book in the series, Peter Robinson continues to add a few more layers of personality to his down to earth sleuth.
Banks shows that he can multitask. He questions suspects while smoking & drinking in the local pub, & he ponders clues as he drives along listening to some quality 1960's music.
I'm pleased to find that I am still enjoying these stories after four novels, & even more pleased that I still have at least another twenty to read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series. This one was my favorite in it so far, until about 3/4 of the way through, when one of the suspects became a little unbelievable and the resolution a bit anti-climactic.

Saying that though I'll continue on with it. I hope that in future installments, we'll get to know Banks's wife and children a little more, as I enjoy that aspect in a recurring character's storyline.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dead body is discovered near the village of Swainshead by a fell walking tourist, doubling the number of murders in the area for the last 5-year period. The first one has gone unsolved and at that time a local woman also went missing. Could some or all of these cases be related? After the investigation of a number of locals - the wealthy family, the serious farmer, the guest-house-owner couple (abusive husband, Carrie White-up-brought beautiful but damaged wife) - a trip to Canada - and an almost uncountable number of pints of bitter, Banks cracks the case, but is he late?

This is a story that actually needed to be fleshed out more, the first half did not engage much at all because it felt too thin. Banks family is mentioned on occasion, but I actually stated to doubt that they existed (could the darned guy spare 2 minutes for a phone call home?). This kind of mundane details is one of the things that bring a story to life I think.

I was pleasantly surprised by the ending though (perhaps not very happy, but still), so I'll definitely mark this down as an OK read, but I would suggest selecting one of the brilliant ones in the series instead.

[Deb Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Peter Robinson remains true-to-form with his character-driven police procedural series featuring Inspector Alan Banks.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite complicated, not very plausible, and a lot of "well she said that he said....." to get through. By the number of drinks Banks consumed in the course of this novel, surely his next step must be rehab! Great descriptions of scenery, but not much else.

[Lawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review to follow.

[Natalie M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instalment #4 of the DCI Banks series delivers a true crime feast. The plot opens with a decomposing body found by a hiker, which seems to be connected to a missing local woman, and a murdered Private Investigator. The nuances are brilliant and the quirky likes and dislikes of Banks from his music predilections to his desire to drive his own car make this a great read. Throw in some brilliant characters in the townsfolk, the eminent Collier brothers and a highy-strung, socially isolated young wife, it’s a solid crime novel.

[Jack Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars. I had trouble getting excited. It's a good mystery with a many-days-old body being found in the underbrush near a remote hiking trail on the fells outside of Swainshead in Yorkshire. Could it be that I listened to an audio edition in the car and I'm driving less? I lost the pull of the story. My fault. But there's a distinct pull. Some of it relates to the regulars at the local pub, the venerable White Rose. They first deny knowing the deceased. Understanding the individuals in that group and their relationships appears to be key and that's what I didn't catch. Inspector Alan Banks is thorough, persistent and perceptive. He grows on you. As does his Sergeant Hatchley. Banks soon realizes that the death of a private investigator five years earlier is likely related. Raymond Addison had been staying at the same small guest house run by Sam and Katie Greenock when he met a similar fate as the now identified Bernie Allan. It was followed shortly by the disappearance of a village woman, Anne Ralston. Are the disappearance and murders connected? The clues lead to Toronto, Canada and a revealing visit by the good Inspector. Promise, I must read the print version. (No2023/Mar2025)

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good solid read from Peter Robinson in this, the 4th in the Chief Inspector Banks series.

A faceless corpse is discovered by a tramper in a tranquil, hidden valley below the village of Swainshead.

To Chief Inspector Banks it seems that his latest case may be connected with an unsolved murder in the same area five years ago. But nobody is talking, either about the current murder or the past one.

And what happened to the woman who vanished at the time of the first murder. Is she too dead? Or has she simply chosen to disappear? And if so, why?

In this tale, Peter Robinson touches on the hangover from the class system that still lingers in small rural villages and domestic violence. His characters are gritty and realistic, his writing makes compelling reading.

[Peacejanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the early Inspector Banks mysteries and we spend much of the novel in a small village, where at least two murders have happened. I say at least two because one that seems to be a suicide may also be a murder. And well -- wait until you get to the end! Robinson is a careful writer, always letting the reader know what the actor is doing or thinking. As usual, there are many suspects. Banks even gets to travel to Canada to search out someone who may have critical information. I love any Peter Robinson mystery and this one is just more of the same!!

[Sherie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Circumstancial evidence, followed by more circumstantial evidence, put in place a trip to Canada and trolling the pubs, and still no hard evidence. Then "BOOM", the end. Lucky to get 2 stars.

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ein eigentlich ruhiges englisches Dörfchen, dass normalerweise höchstens Wanderer anzieht, in dem unerwartet eine Leiche gefunden wird. Die Leiche liegt schon ein paar Tage und das Gesicht wurde eingeschlagen. Um wen handelt es sich also?
Und hat dieser Fall vielleicht etwas mit dem ungeklärten Mord 5 Jahre früher zu tun, nachdem auch eine Frau aus dem Ort spurlos verschwunden ist?
Ganz schön viele Verbrechen für ein kleines Kuhkaff.
Der Krimi hat sich irgendwie auch auf meinem Tolino gefunden. Er war auch ganz gut wegzulesen, aber irgendwie fand ich einen großen Teil der Charaktere irgendwie unglaubwürdig und nicht wirklich nachvollziehbar. Daher gibt es auch nur 2,5 Sterne.

[Balthazar Lawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read many books in the Inspector Banks series, not in order, and this would have to be the weakest so far. The main character in this series is Inspector Banks but you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise while reading this book. The secondary characters in a novel play an important role in any story but they seem to take over a little too much with this story and really didn't add much to the series.

It was enjoyable enough but I found it slow to read at times and the ending was just so much of a let down as to be disappointing.

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Banks now seems settled in Yorkshire and into his team at the Eastvale station. When he is called to a dead body in a remote area of the Dales he is drawn into a murder, a cold case that Supt. Gristhorpe had failed to solve. There are privileged young men that are hiding behind their money and social position and skeletons in the cupboard.

A dated story, set when the police detectives spent lots of time drinking beer, driving under the influence and smoking in the office and shared cars. How times have changed. Competent storytelling and enjoyable enough.

3 stars

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An early book in the Banks series with a murder on the fells near a tight insular Yorkshire Dales village where an unsolved murder took place 5 years ago. Banks is still the incomer from London but pursues the limited leads he has with determination. A good read, looking forward to tracking down the next in the series.

[Tiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Banks #4 and another enjoyable, easy book to read. A hiker is found dead in an area the locals call "The Hanging Valley" and the suspects are many for such a small town. When Banks starts to investigate he finds there was another unsolved murder in this village just 5 years earlier. Part of his journey takes him to Toronto which was a nice addition.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent crime novel, but I was disappointed with the lame ending.

[Surreysmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

[These notes were made in 1992:]. Less psychologically serious than Past Reason Hated (though it certainly starts with a gruesome enough corpse), this must have been a real romp to write, most especially the Toronto chapters. You see, the first clue that Inspector Banks & his team turn up to the identity of the mangled corpse is a cash register receipt from the Wendy's at Yonge & Dundas! Before he goes haring off after Bernie Allen's Toronto connections, however, Chief Inspector Banks tracks down his local ones in Yorkshire, and it turns out he's a local boy, and his death may be related to an unsolved one in the same village 5 years ago, together with the concurrent disappearance of a young woman. The 'usual suspects' in this case are: the two Collier brothers, Nicholas and Stephen, who are the local gentry, and have Oxford in their past; John Fletcher, a local farmer with ties to the Colliers; Sam Greenock, the guest-house keeper, social climber & wife-beater, & Katie, his wife, attractive & sexually very repressed, to whom numerous men seem attracted (including, briefly, Banks). Banks eventually drags from Katie that Bernie had come back to Swainshead (that's the name of the village) with the news that Anne Ralston, the woman who had run off, was alive & well & living in Toronto. Sensing that Anne might have passed on some knowledge to Bernie which, if used as blackmail, might have been the cause of his death, Banks takes off to Toronto, and (after a pub crawl which allows for a great deal of local description!) tracks her down in Feathers, in Scarborough. There Anne tells him of the night Steven Collier came to her distraught, and practically confessed to having committed the unsolved murder I mentioned earlier, because of something that had happened in Oxford. Ready to slam the cuffs on Stephen, Banks arrives back to find him dead of an alcohol-sleeping-pill o.d. Less than convinced that it's suicide, he continues to investigate the Oxford angle, & discovers that Nicholas, not Stephen, murdered a prostitute there (tho' the police did not prove it), and that the man killed in the first murder in Swainsdale was a private detective hired by the prostitute's parents. Tho' it is possible that Stephen killed both this detective & Bernie Allen to protect his brother, it is certain that Nicholas killed the girl and his own brother. All this too late, tho' - Katie, under sexual attack by Nicholas, goes off her rocker and murders him violently. The surprise ending is very good. The Toronto descriptions of Robinson's cronies at Feathers are perhaps a little self-indulgent!

[Charlotte (Buried in Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A man with his face bashed in while walking "The Hanging Valley", an unsolved murder of a private detective and the disappearance of a woman in the recent past. Are these things connected and what do they have to do with the local lords of the manor - the Collier Brothers.

The dead body is identified as Bernard Allen a teacher from the area who had emigrated to Canada after failing to find a job in this country. He had mentioned to the landlady of the B & B (whom he knew rather well), that he had been in touch with the woman who had disappeared (Anne Ralston). There's clearly a lot more to the story and anyone is telling.

I'm not entirely sure it was necessary for Banks to travel to Canada to track down Ralston. Even he himself said if he hadn't then one of the brothers wouldn't have ended up dead - in fact they probably would have told him everything - but I guess that wouldn't have made for such an interesting story. It all seemed rather forced though. The trip to Oxford explained a lot more - giving more background to the Colliers.

The landlady character - Katie, was bit too much for me with her religious background and rather old fashioned views.

Nicholas Collier was absolutely vile. I'm still a bit confused as to who actually killed who (am I just supposed to accept Banks's view on things).

I guess I just expected a bit more.

[AndrewP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 4 of the DCI banks series. I put books 3 and 4 on hold at the library a couple of weeks apart and and this one came in a couple of days before book 3. I don't usually like to read books out of order but need to here or wait another month for them to cycle around the library system.

This story begins when a body is found up the dale. Even when the body is identified the crime is still baffling. Lot's of people with connections to the victim but absolutely no motive. To solve this one DCI Banks and has to dig deep into the past and also take an excursion to Canada.

Like many good crime books it took a twist right when I thought I had it figured out. Looking forward to continuing with this series. It's probably worth mentioning that the setting for the books is a small town in the Yorkshire dales, not a big place as depicted in the TV series of the same name. There's a typical British feel to this as the police seem to spend a great deal of time in the pub for one reason or another. The audio narration by James Langton is great as he does a good number of Yorkshire accents.

[AngryGreyCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hanging Valley is book 4 in the Inspector Banks series. In this book in the series, Banks travels to a picturesque community where a fells walker has found a faceless corpse on his hike. Obviously a murder, Banks soon uncovers links to a past murder that was never solved and a community member who disappeared without a trace. There are wealthy brother landowners, displaced farmers, newly landed recently divorced gentry, an unhappy wife and bully boy husband rounding out the cast in the community. Very well written mystery, richly developed characters with a sense of despair that comes through, and an engaging story line. I have many more to read in this long running series.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: DCI Alan Banks
SETTING: Eastdale, UK
SERIES: #4 of 22
RATING: 4.0
WHY: DCI Alan Banks and his team are assigned to investigate the killing of a man whose rotting body was discovered in a wooded valley outside Swainshead. As it turns out, there have been other deaths in the area; and Banks feels that they are connected. Many of the locals come under suspicion. This is a series that I really like, but I did find the ending disappointing. Many important threads went unresolved.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chief Inspector Banks is called in when a hiker finds a decomposed body in a valley out on the fells. It soon becomes clear that the victim is somehow connected to a cold case from before Banks' arrival in Yorkshire. I enjoyed this investigation and the way Banks is becoming more comfortable and settled in his new constabulary. Although the ultimate culprit wasn't that hard to figure out, I enjoyed the journey.

[Gary · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 4th book in the Inspector Banks series and for me the weakest yet.
I must admit I have not been blown away with this series and have found them a decent read but fall short compared to others such as Rankins Rebus or Connelly's Bosch.