Cold is the Grave

'The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong' – Stephen King
A runaway girl. An inescapable past. Banks is pulled into a perilous world.
With his personal life in turmoil, DCI Banks is considering his options. But then, late one night, the architect of his professional misfortune, Chief Constable Riddle, summons Banks to his house. Riddle's daughter, Emily, has run away, and compromising photos have appeared online. Riddle wants Banks to use his unorthodox methods to find her without a fuss.
Banks, a father himself, cannot refuse, and he follows the trail to the dark heart of London. But when a series of gruesome murders follows soon after, Banks finds himself pulled into the dangerous world of his most powerful enemy: Chief Constable Jimmy Riddle.
Cold is the Grave is a pulse-pounding thrill-ride. If you enjoyed it, then you'll love the next instalment in the Banks series – which became the major British ITV Drama DCI Banks – Aftermath.
*****
Critical acclaim for the Inspector Banks series:
'A powerfully moving work' – Ian Rankin
'Top-notch police procedure' – Jeffery Deaver
'A wonderful novel' – Michael Connelly
'An addictive crime-novel series' – The New York Times
'A guaranteed page-turner' – Mirror
'Demonstrates how the crime novel, when done right, can reach parts that other books can't . . . A considerable achievement' – The Guardian
'One of the most authentic and atmospheric of crime series' – The Independent
'The master of police procedural' – The Mail on Sunday
'Near, perhaps even at the top of, the British crime writers' league' – The Times
'Banks is genuinely human, rather than a hard man' – The Observer
'Move over Ian Rankin – there's a new gunslinger in town looking to take over your role as top British police procedural author . . .' – Independent on Sunday