There are human bones buried in an open field, the remains of a lost teenaged boy whose disappearance devastated a community more than thirty-five years ago ... and scarred a guilt-ridden friend forever. A long-hidden horror has been unearthed, dragging a tormented policeman back into a past he could never truly forget no matter how desperately he tried. A heinous crime that occurred too close to home still has its grip on Chief Inspector Alan Banks -- and it's leading him into a dark place where evil still dwells. Because the secrets that doomed young Graham Marshall back in 1965 remain alive and lethal -- and disturbing them could cost Banks much more than he ever imagined.

As volunteers clean up after a huge outdoor rock concert in Yorkshire in 1969, they discover the body of a young woman wrapped in a sleeping bag. She has been brutally murdered. The detective assigned to the case, Stanley Chadwick, is a hard-headed, strait-laced veteran of the Second World War. He could not have less in common with – or less regard for – young, disrespectful, long-haired hippies, smoking marijuana and listening to the pulsing sounds of rock and roll. But he has a murder to solve, and it looks as if the victim was somehow associated with the up-and-coming psychedelic pastoral band the Mad Hatters. In the present, Inspector Alan Banks is investigating the murder of a freelance music journalist, who was working on a feature about the Mad Hatters for “MOJO” magazine. This is not the first time that the Mad Hatters, now aging rock superstars, have been brushed by tragedy. Banks finds he has to delve into the past to find out exactly what hornet’s nest the journalist inadvertently stirred up.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sleeping in the Ground comes this brilliantly nuanced short story collection of twenty stories—most never before published in the US, and one of them an Edgar winner—which also features three Inspector Banks tales. Peter Robinson pens thrilling tales rich with keen observations, pitch perfect dialogue, and shocking plot twists that have fascinated readers all over the world and made him one of the greatest suspense novelists alive. His acclaimed novels featuring Detective Inspector Alan Banks rank among the most celebrated police procedural series in modern fiction. In Not Safe After Dark and Other Stories, Robinson showcases once again his extraordinary talents with a collection of twenty stories, including three featuring Inspector Banks. In “Going Back”, Inspector Banks’ trip to celebrate his parents’ Golden Anniversary reveals how evil can wear many disguises. In the Edgar Award-winning “Missing in Action”, the disappearance of a young boy in the early days of WWII sparks a mob mentality with chilling results. “Innocence” captures the desperate plight of a man trapped by a set of coincidences that derail his life and lead him down a path he was destined to travel. The title story, Not Safe After Dark, is an exhilarating tale with a sudden conclusion that will leave readers’ hearts pounding. Not Safe After Dark and Other Stories deftly explores the darkest edges of humanity in which everyday people must commit desperate acts as they face fear, temptation, and impulses too irresistible to control. “American readers who know Robinson only through his nine Inspector Banks novels are in for a treat. . . . The finish throughout is faultless.”—*Kirkus Reviews* Publisher's note: Peter Robinson is both a widely acclaimed and internationally bestselling novelist and an Edgar-winning author of short stories. This special edition of Not Safe After Dark collects 20 of his finest short stories -- previously published in different editions under the same title, but never before available in its entirety in the US. The new Not Safe After Dark is a publication to be celebrated by Robinson fans and newcomers alike. **About the Author One of the world’s most popular and acclaimed writers, Peter Robinson is the bestselling, award-winning author of the Inspector Banks series; he has also written two short-story collections and three standalone novels, which combined have sold more than ten million copies around the world. Among his many honors and prizes are the Edgar Award, the CWA (UK) Dagger in the Library Award, and Sweden’s Martin Beck Award. He divides his time between Toronto and England.

A dozen of the very best mystery stories from crime-fiction’s maestro, including one brand new Inspector Banks story. Best known—and much admired—for his long-running and bestselling Inspector Banks series, Peter Robinson is also widely and highly praised by mystery mavens for his riveting short stories. Robinson’s versatile talent is on full display in the twelve stories that comprise his latest short story collection, The Price of Love and Other Stories. Spellbinding plots, suspense that grips and won’t let go, utterly unpredictable twists, psychological truths both sweet and scary, characters you’d like to meet (and some you’d hope never to encounter), all set in places that are characters themselves—these are the fundamentals of story and mystery that Robinson plays like the virtuoso he is.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sleeping in the Ground comes this brilliantly nuanced short story collection of twenty stories—most never before published in the US, and one of them an Edgar winner—which also features three Inspector Banks tales. Peter Robinson pens thrilling tales rich with keen observations, pitch perfect dialogue, and shocking plot twists that have fascinated readers all over the world and made him one of the greatest suspense novelists alive. His acclaimed novels featuring Detective Inspector Alan Banks rank among the most celebrated police procedural series in modern fiction. In Not Safe After Dark and Other Stories, Robinson showcases once again his extraordinary talents with a collection of twenty stories, including three featuring Inspector Banks. In “Going Back”, Inspector Banks’ trip to celebrate his parents’ Golden Anniversary reveals how evil can wear many disguises. In the Edgar Award-winning “Missing in Action”, the disappearance of a young boy in the early days of WWII sparks a mob mentality with chilling results. “Innocence” captures the desperate plight of a man trapped by a set of coincidences that derail his life and lead him down a path he was destined to travel. The title story, Not Safe After Dark, is an exhilarating tale with a sudden conclusion that will leave readers’ hearts pounding. Not Safe After Dark and Other Stories deftly explores the darkest edges of humanity in which everyday people must commit desperate acts as they face fear, temptation, and impulses too irresistible to control. “American readers who know Robinson only through his nine Inspector Banks novels are in for a treat. . . . The finish throughout is faultless.”—*Kirkus Reviews* Publisher's note: Peter Robinson is both a widely acclaimed and internationally bestselling novelist and an Edgar-winning author of short stories. This special edition of Not Safe After Dark collects 20 of his finest short stories -- previously published in different editions under the same title, but never before available in its entirety in the US. The new Not Safe After Dark is a publication to be celebrated by Robinson fans and newcomers alike. **About the Author One of the world’s most popular and acclaimed writers, Peter Robinson is the bestselling, award-winning author of the Inspector Banks series; he has also written two short-story collections and three standalone novels, which combined have sold more than ten million copies around the world. Among his many honors and prizes are the Edgar Award, the CWA (UK) Dagger in the Library Award, and Sweden’s Martin Beck Award. He divides his time between Toronto and England.

Inspector Alan Banks' ninth case sees him investigating the murder of a young racist. A man who, it seems, has lived by the sword and now died by the sword. But it is never that simple… A night at the opera had offered Chief Inspector Alan Banks a temporary respite from his troubles – both at work and at home. But the telephone call summoning him to Easlvale brings him back to reality with a bump. For the body of teenager Jason Fox has been found in a dirty alleyway. He has been kicked to death. At first it looks like an after-hours pub fight gone wrong – until Banks learns that Jason was a member of a white power organisation known as the Albion League. So who wanted him dead? The Pakistani youths he had insulted in the pub earlier that evening? The shady friends of his business partner Mark Wood? Or someone within the Albion League itself? Someone who resented the teenager's growing power in a brutal and unforgiving organisation…?

Whatever the profession (from medicine to cuisine), it's always good to sit back and relax, knowing that you're in the hands of a consummate professional. So it is with crime fiction, and Peter Robinson is one of the most reliable names around. He has written 17 books in his much-acclaimed Inspector Bank series (Friend of the Devil is the 17th), and his writing has the confidence that is commensurate with the best in the field. DI Annie Cabbot is on loan to another area (and is not working with her colleague, Chief Inspector Alan Banks), and finds herself saddled with a difficult case. A woman's body is found in a wheelchair by the sea. Her throat has been ripped open. At the same time, a teenage girl has been raped and murdered after an alcohol-fuelled night out. DCI Banks is dealing with another case. The two detectives experience very dissimilar results: Banks is faced with a multiplicity of suspects, while Annie Cabbot makes absolutely no progress in her case. Those familiar with detective fiction won't be surprised to learn that the various cases turn out to be interrelated, and when the duo begin to make considerable inroads into the mysteries, they find that aspects of their own pasts are coming back to haunt them. And a burning question becomes ever more pertinent: just how many killers are involved in these cases? We may be used to relationships between male and female detectives that alternate between the fractious and the reluctantly affectionate, but Peter Robinson has always been able to steer a very confident route down this particular avenue, always firmly keeping cliché at bay. But (as always with this author), the plot's the thing to catch the attention of the reader, and Friend of the Devil works out a labyrinthine narrative with a particularly pleasing attention to detail. --Barry Forshaw

Peter Robinson has Republican parents and grew up in a Republican neighborhood. In college he helped found the notorious Dartmouth Review and infuriated dons at Oxford by revealing an enthusiasm for Margaret Thatcher. He returned to the United States to accept a position as a speechwriter in the White House of both Reagan and Bush. Nevertheless, this inveterate political insider has come forward with a no-holds-barred, honest appraisal of the party that owns his heart. In a political book with attitude, Robinson shares his sometimes angry, sometimes befuddled, sometimes downright amused perspective on the most pressing questions facing the party and the voting public. "It's My Party" promises to be one of the year's most entertaining and perceptive looks at America's political battlefield.