Yet another story where Albanians get a bad press! Banks investigates the disappearance of Ray Cabott's partner, who was originally trafficked from Moldova, whilst Annie Cabott investigates the murder of a local organised crime boss and a rape on the premises. Interesting cast of characters and good exchanges in Annie's interviews. ( )

Peter Robinson died in 2022 so this book, which came out in 2021, was the last one he saw published. A final Inspector Banks was published posthumously but I was struck listening to this book how Banks seemed to have lost his zest for police work. Perhaps Robinson suspected his own time was drawing to a close; I'll have to read Standing in the Shadows to see if Banks' attitude changes. Meanwhile, I have many of the back list to read so I won't run out of Inspector Banks books for quite a while.

An Eastvale property developer, Connor Blaydon, and his bodyguard/companion, Neville Roberts, were gruesomely murdered in Blaydon's luxury home. Annie Cabot is in charge of the investigation and she discovers SD cards of videos taken from cameras in and around the property. On one the rape of a young woman is captured. It is not clear who the rapist was but the face of the young woman can be discerned. Annie eventually identifies her as a part-time catering worker but by the time she discovers this the woman has already committed suicide. Meanwhile, Inspector Banks meets in London with an old mate who tells him that his friend and partner of Annie's father, Zelda, has been sticking her nose into places that the police would rather she not. Banks agrees to talk to Zelda. Zelda was an orphan raised in an institution in Moldova. On the day she left the institution she was kidnapped and made a sex slave by Armenian human traffickers. Zelda finally managed to extricate herself from that life in France and came to the UK where she met Annie's father. But we know from some chapters in Zelda's first person accounts that she has been pursuing those responsible. Could Zelda be responsible for the deaths of Blaydon and Roberts who did have some contact with the Armenians? It's a complex tale and one that involves Zelda and then Banks himself being kidnapped. They both manage to escape but their kidnappers die in a fiery blaze and Zelda might be responsible for their deaths.

The title of this book comes from a Bob Dylan song. One of the things I love about Robinson's books are all the references to music in them. And it's not just rock that he listens to. Here's a sampling of the music in this book's playlist:
Brahms Clarinet Quartet
Dream Time by Abdullah Ibrahim
Blue Monk by Thelonius Monk
Tous les garcons et les filles by Francoise Hardy
Be sure to listen to at least some of these during or after reading this book. ( )

It helps if you remember the Zelda arc that precedes this. Seems to be more musical references as others point out. Sometimes it’s distracting as I stop to search and listen. ( )

Nowhere near his best work. ( )

Rather out of the ordinary for the author and his character, plotlines somewhat less credible than usual. ( )