---
product_id: 23070069
title: "Watching the Dark: An Inspector Banks Novel (Inspector Banks series Book 20)"
brand: "peter robinson"
price: "920090₫"
currency: VND
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.vn/products/23070069-watching-the-dark-an-inspector-banks-novel-inspector-banks-series
store_origin: VN
region: Vietnam
---

# Watching the Dark: An Inspector Banks Novel (Inspector Banks series Book 20)

**Brand:** peter robinson
**Price:** 920090₫
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Watching the Dark: An Inspector Banks Novel (Inspector Banks series Book 20) by peter robinson
- **How much does it cost?** 920090₫ with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vn](https://www.desertcart.vn/products/23070069-watching-the-dark-an-inspector-banks-novel-inspector-banks-series)

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- peter robinson enthusiasts

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Watching Inspector Banks darkly
  

*by K***B on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 6, 2013*

I have read quite a few Inspector Banks novels by Peter Robinson and though I’ve read them out of order (Which is fine to do) I’ve grown very fond of the ethical, gruff and clever DCI Banks and have read enough to be both rewarded and frustrated by where he’s at professionally and personally now – as I’m sure Robinson intends.Watching the Dark is the twentieth book in the Banks series and in this novel we find the intrepid inspector investigating the murder of a convalescing peer, DI Bill Quinn, a man recently widowed and who, for some reason, never quite recovered from not being able to solve a case from six years ago about a young English woman who went missing in Estonia. When Quinn is found dead with a crossbow in his chest, and compromising photos are found in his room, Professional Standards in the form of the lovely Joanna Passero arrives to partner an irascible Banks on the case.Not long after Passero is assigned, another man, who appears to be an illegal European immigrant, is also found murdered. Connections between Quinn and this man and the cold case of the young woman start to emerge. It’s at that point that Banks understands he has to travel to Estonia and perhaps solve an old case in order to bring the current one to a close and find the killer. Given permission to travel overseas, he is furious and frustrated to discover that Passero is to accompany him. Able to get under his skin, it’s not sparks that fly so much as hair and teeth when Passero and Banks are forced to work closely together.Added to this is the fact that Banks’ old partner, Annie, who has also just come out of extended convalescence, has returned to work. Determined to find form and fast, Annie refuses the favours offered by Banks and their boss, except where it means being treated as a fully-functioning member of the team. Throwing herself back into her job, she’s forced to confront her fears and memories and finds, once she becomes heavily involved in the case that the professional can be and is personal as well.Nothing and no-one is as they seem in this case and the further Banks and Annie delve, the darker and deeper they’re drawn into the shady world of prostitution, illegal immigrants and drugs and the cruelty that other humans can and do inflict upon each other…I find the more I read these books and love them, the more uneven they can be as well. Robinson has a fabulous way of bringing the characters to life on the page but sometimes, just sometimes, their actions don’t always ring quite true and seem to solve a particular narrative purpose rather than be part of their motivation. For me, one example here, was the relationship between Passaro and Banks. While initially we understood that Banks was annoyed and felt hobbled by the presence of someone from Professional Standards, when he and Passaro have it out and, in his own mind he acknowledges that his beloved Annie also worked for that section and she’s not tainted, past novels tell us that Banks would have moved on and work at building the professional relationship with Passero. In this novel, it doesn’t happen and Banks’ attitude to Passero, particularly when they’re in Estonia and he reverts back to resentment, galled a bit. Banks is not a misogynist though, typical of his generation, he struggles sometimes with women and what they want, but he has always been respectful and appreciative of what they bring to their professional roles and the workplace – this is proven with Annie. With Passero, he becomes, as Winsome accuses him at one stage, childish. But then again, I also put this behaviour down to a growing sexual attraction that he might feel for Passero and the emotional toing and froing that can cause. Likewise, after Passero unloads to Banks about her personal life, the door is open down the track for romance, so perhaps my comments are unfair and this is what Robinson was setting up; but there were times in their relationship at least that the Banks we’ve grown to know and I guess rely on to be stable was not and that was disconcerting. Love might explain a great deal, however ☺Robinson also explores the seamy and seedy side of the underworld with ease, introducing characters you hope you never meet on a dark night. While at the same time, he also manages to bring the beauty of Estonia to life, the novel sometimes reading like a travel book, but as seen through Alan Banks’ eyes – not a bad way to view another country and culture.Overall, I really enjoyed this book as I have the other Banks in the series and will look forward to trawling back and discovering more of his life and cases and fleshing out the holes that currently exist in my knowledge of DCI Banks.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Four stars
  

*by K***R on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 29, 2016*

This is the first book I've read by this author.  Since this is book 20, I suspect I've missed a lot of Banks' personal life, and by the events in his recent life that were referenced while reading the book, I'm pretty sure I'm right.  Even with that, I didn't have any issues keeping up with what was going on.Banks is called out to the murder of a man who's been killed by a crossbow.  Since he's dealing with a cop, the case ends up making Banks work with Professional Services.  He's not happy about it, especially since his partner, Annie, is coming back after recovering from a serious injury.As the case progresses, Banks discovers that this isn't just a murder investigation. There's also a missing girl, blackmail, immigrants who are being mistreated, and corruption. Banks believes the murder and the disappearance of the girl are connected, but he has some trouble getting others to agree with him.Overall, I enjoyed this book.  It's a little on the long side, and like most books I read that are this length, it could have been shorter.  With it's length and the amount of twists and turns, it's no wonder that every case on the TV series is two episodes long!  I found that the length didn't bother me, though.  There is some minimal language and references to sex and rape in there.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Banks back in form
  

*by G***A on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 9, 2013*

After the last Banks novel, the less than satisfactory Bad Boy, it was a pleasure to see that Banks is back in form in Watching the Dark, a thoroughly enjoyable police procedural.  The plot is complex, involving two seemingly disparate crimes, but Banks has a gut feeling that there is some connection and sets about trying to unravel the knots.  Annie Cabbot rejoins the team after her convalescence and quickly begins to make important discoveries (too quickly perhaps?).  There is also a trip to Tallin, Estonia, where Banks tries to locate a young woman involved in a possibly blackmail of a murdered DI, as well as trying to see if anything new can be discovered about the disappearance of a young English girl six years previously, a disappearance that the DI had also investigated.  Joining Banks' team is an attractive woman from the Professional Standards Division (same as Internal Affairs in the US) whose responsibility is to discover whether or not the murdered DI may have  been "bent."  The tension between her and Banks adds to the complexity.  In the end, the dots are connected, including the connection with a couple of lowlifes involved in the exploitation of eastern Europeans brought to the UK with promises of jobs.  Why the euphemisms?  It's slavery, with all its ugliness and evil.  The personal issues are settled and the two crimes solved, if not happily.  The deeper problems of the sex trade and the exploitation of workers remain.  The novel was engrossing and had the added blessing of not having Dirty Dick Burgess appear anywhere.

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*Product available on Desertcart Vietnam*
*Store origin: VN*
*Last updated: 2026-03-10*