'The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong' - Stephen King A lost village. Past crimes. Present evil. During a blistering summer, drought has depleted Thornfield Reservoir, uncovering the remains of a small village called Hobb's End - hidden from view for over forty years. For a curious young boy this resurfaced hamlet is a magical playground . until he unearths a human skeleton. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is given the impossible task of identifying the victim - a woman who lived in a place that no longer exists, whose former residents are scattered to the winds.

Anyone else might throw in the towel but DCI Banks is determined to uncover the murky past buried beneath a flood of time . Widely acclaimed as Robinson's best and most ambitious novel, In A Dry Season is a gripping, high-paced tale in which past truths and presents secrets collide. If you enjoyed it, then you'll love the next instalment in the Banks series - which became the major British ITV Drama DCI Banks - Cold is the Grave . ***** 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' 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' Guardian ' One of the most authentic and atmospheric of crime series' Independent 'The master of police procedural' 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' Observer.