Series · police procedural
Inspector Banks
The Inspector Banks series by Peter Robinson has 28 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Gallows View (1987).
- Books
- 28 books
- First published
- 1987
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: Gallows View (1987) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Gallows View
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Gallows View - Book 2:
A Dedicated Man
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Dedicated Man - Book 3:
A Necessary End
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Necessary End - Book 4:
The Hanging Valley
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hanging Valley - Book 5:
Past Reason Hated
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Past Reason Hated - Book 6:
Wednesday's Child
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wednesday's Child - Book 7:
Dry Bones That Dream
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dry Bones That Dream - Book 8:
Innocent Graves
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Innocent Graves - Book 9:
Dead Right
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead Right - Book 10:
In a Dry Season
Alternative text for cover: Cover of In a Dry Season - Book 11:
Cold Is the Grave
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cold Is the Grave - Book 12:
Aftermath
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Aftermath - Book 13:
The Summer That Never Was
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Summer That Never Was - Book 14:
Playing with Fire
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Playing with Fire - Book 15:
Strange Affair
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Strange Affair - Book 16:
Piece of My Heart
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Piece of My Heart - Book 17:
Friend of the Devil
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Friend of the Devil - Book 18:
All the Colours of Darkness
Alternative text for cover: Cover of All the Colours of Darkness - Book 19:
Bad Boy
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bad Boy - Book 20:
Watching the Dark
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Watching the Dark - Book 21:
Children of the Revolution
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Children of the Revolution - Book 22:
Abattoir Blues
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Abattoir Blues - Book 23:
When the Music's Over
Alternative text for cover: Cover of When the Music's Over - Book 24:
Sleeping in the Ground
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sleeping in the Ground - Book 25:
Careless Love
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Careless Love - Book 26:
Many Rivers to Cross
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Many Rivers to Cross - Book 27:
Not Dark Yet
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Not Dark Yet - Book 28:
Standing in the Shadows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Standing in the Shadows
About the Inspector Banks series
Alan Banks left a burnt-out career in the Metropolitan Police for what he expected to be a quieter posting in the fictional Yorkshire market town of Eastvale — and instead spent nearly three decades investigating murders that dig into the fault lines of small-town and rural England: old grudges, class resentment, and secrets that surface decades later. Peter Robinson wrote Banks as a genuine music and whisky enthusiast whose personal tastes colour the prose, and let his home life evolve in real time across the series — a failing marriage, a difficult divorce, a string of relationships, and a slow rise from DCI to Detective Superintendent, all against the backdrop of the fictional Yorkshire Dales he made as vivid as any real place in British crime fiction.
The series is squarely in the tradition of literary, character-driven British police procedural: less about twisty plotting and more about atmosphere, moral ambiguity, and a detective whose flaws (a temper, a tendency to go it alone, a weakness for the wrong women) are never smoothed away. It's for readers who loved Inspector Morse or early Wallander and want a long-running, slow-burn Yorkshire equivalent — and it's the basis for the ITV series DCI Banks (2010–2016).
How to read this series
Publication order, starting with Gallows View (1987), is the only sensible way to read this series — Banks's marriage, divorce, relationships and career all progress continuously book to book, and there are no prequels or out-of-sequence entries to worry about. There is no separate chronological order; publication order and story order match throughout.
One quirk for readers shopping in North America: Dead Right (book 9) was retitled Blood at the Root for its US edition, so don't be thrown if you see both names. Peter Robinson died in October 2022; his final novel, Standing in the Shadows (2023), was completed before his death and closes out the series.
Frequently asked questions
How many Inspector Banks books are there?
There are 28 novels in the Inspector Banks series, from Gallows View (1987) to Standing in the Shadows (2023).
What order should I read the Inspector Banks books in?
Publication order, starting with Gallows View (1987). Alan Banks's personal life and career build continuously across the series in the order the books were written.
Is the Inspector Banks series finished?
Yes. Author Peter Robinson died in October 2022; his final Banks novel, Standing in the Shadows, was published posthumously in 2023, and no further books are planned.
Is Dead Right the same book as Blood at the Root?
Yes. Dead Right is the UK title of the ninth Inspector Banks novel; it was published in North America as Blood at the Root.
Is the Inspector Banks series related to the ITV show DCI Banks?
Yes. ITV's DCI Banks (2010-2016), starring Stephen Tompkinson, adapts several of the novels, though it compresses and reorders some plots and character details from the books.
Reading order last verified .