The Hanging Valley

An Inspector Banks Mystery

By: Peter Robinson

Narrated by: James Langton

Length: 9 hrs

Publisher's summary

No one dreamed something so hideous could grow in so beautiful a place....

Many who visit the valley are overwhelmed by its majesty. Some wish they never had to leave. One didn't: a hiker whose decomposing corpse is discovered by an unsuspecting tourist. But this strange, incomprehensible murder is only the edge of the darkness that hovers over a small rural village and its tight-lipped residents, who guard shattering secrets of sordid pasts and private shames.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks knows that both the grim truth and a cold-blooded killer are hiding here, far from the city, the noise, and safety. And he's determined to walk into the valley of death to expose them both.

Investigate another case with Inspector Banks.

©1990 Peter Robinson (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Robinson excels in the depiction of character, especially in his portrait of his pleasingly fallible copper. He is steadily ascending toward the pinnacles of crime fiction." (Publishers Weekly)

Good story

I have just learned of Alan Banks mysteries and have become addicted. This was my fourth and while good-- not the best
As for the performance, it was terrific

Loved the ending

I can’t help but imagine how these DCI Banks books would be different if written today (2020). The author doesn't shy from subjects like immigration backlash and how some men and women perceive sexual encounters very differently. For example, in "The Hanging Valley," a woman is raped by a man who thinks of himself as a kind and gentle person and DCI Banks describes the act as her having "surrendered" to him. This word is emphasized and it feels wrong to ears in 2020, and yet you can feel the police struggling to improve their responses to such attacks. The author also seems to disagree with the DCI's assessment -- I wish the victim had been strong enough to respond differently.

It's another interesting character-driven mystery as the faceless body of a hiker is found on a fell in northern England, and the nearby town's local movers and shakers seem to know more than they are telling.

I liked the way this one ended the most of the first four novels in the series -- where all of the explanation of who did it appears earlier and the final page is like a club to the head.

Bechdel test: Pass

Grade: B+

Another great Inspector Banks myster

I've read all of Robinson's Inspector Banks series. Great books with characters I really care about.

Good story but the ending needs work.

I enjoyed the story but it seemed like the ending.was rushed and abrupt. Otherwise, it was good.

Ya for Katie!

Good tail! Happy that Katie was the hero in the end. I'll read more. All my best, Angela Jones

Did not see that coming

Would you listen to The Hanging Valley again? Why?

Yes, but I enjoyed the slow build up to the truth, and I really enjoyed the twist at the end, I just wished it hadn't ended on such a cliff hanger. The author normally does a little summary at the end, and I was a little disappointed, and felt a little cheated.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, because the truth was revealed slowly, and murderer was not who the author had led you to think it would be.

Did James Langton do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

James Langton did an ok job, it would have been excellent if not for the way he did the Yorkshire accents. It was good, but he kept ending certain sentences with a "th",like a tick. It was most annoying, and he would forget who was talking and add it to characters that did not have a Yorkshire accent.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The inner dialogue of the character Katie, really moved me. It made me very sad, and showed how extremism in any form can be damaging.

Disappointing

Too descriptive which slowed the story up somewhat. The narrator had an annoying whine when some female characters were concerned. Very disappointed and has put me off these Banks' titles. I have bought others that have been better. But narrated by a different person. I'll try again once more. The storylines are good..........

Not nearly as good as later books.

I've listened to a fair number of dic Banks series. I really disliked this narrator especially at first.

What I felt lacking in the writing I realized at some points, could be the delivery of the narrator.

Still intent upon listening, ideally in order from here out. The other 5 or 6 books that I had read were so much better.

An interesting story.

Over all a entertaining book. Only complaint I find is the ending. It was too abrupt and unlike the author's previous books did not tell the reader the aftermath of the final scene.

I really enjoy Robinson’s descriptive voice

Not only do we get to travel deep into the Yorkshire dales but travel on an archaic air travel to Toronto. The ending, like many of Robinson’s books, was a bit abrupt but sufficient & finally granny helped poor Katie out;-