This is the 8th Inspector Banks mystery. It was published in 1996 before I became aware of Peter Robinson and this mystery series. So I've slowly been reading all the back list. I have at least 3 more to read before I get to the point when I discovered this series.

On a foggy night in Eastvale, Yorkshire, Rebecca Charters, wife of the vicar of St. Mary's church, made a gruesome discovery in the cemetery next to the church. Sixteen year old Deborah Harrison had been strangled and her clothing torn as she took a short cut from school to her home. DI Banks and his crew are called to investigate. DNA technology was sufficiently advanced to allow the crime lab to test skin found under one of her fingernails but until they have a suspect they won't be able to make a match. It is a new member of the team, DI Stott, who follows evidence leading to a professor, Owen Pierce, who admits to being in the neighbourhood that night but denies knowing or meeting Deborah Harrison. However, a small blood spot on his anorak is found to be from her and it is his DNA under her fingernail. Seems like a pretty solid, if circumstantial, case and the prosecutor is willing to take it to trial. DI Banks still has some niggling doubts but he puts those aside once Pierce is charged. And then he has to reopen the case when Pierce is found not guilty which means going over all the other evidence and re-interviewing people. There are a number of other possibilities including: a Croatian who used to work at the church and made lewd remarks and gestures to Deborah: a teenage boy with whom Deborah had a fling in the summer, a teacher at the school having an affair with the vicar's wife, and more. Count on DI Banks to weed through all these possibilities.

When I first started reading books in this series Banks was separated from his wife and she had moved back to London with their daughter, Tracy. But the Banks still seem to be happily married in this outing so I will have to wait to see what caused their marriage to disintegrate. ( )

Banks and his colleagues investigate the murder of a schoolgirl found in the churchyard on an ordinary Monday. She seems to have had a secret and her diary is missing, but in the course of investigations one suspect quickly starts to loom large, with good evidence available even if the detectives cannot really find a good motive for his guilt. Unusually for this series of novels, this book spends a long time in the court process which delivers a not guilty verdict for the suspect, so late in the day, the police have to start again. Definitely worked as a pageturner, I read this in a day. ( )

I stopped reading Robinson's Banks novels years ago, too many nasty stories featuring children. This one is better, police procedure plus court room drama. Sadly it is unsatisfactory as there are too many loose ends. ( )

When the pastor's wife discovers a rich school girl's corpse in the cemetery, suspicion points to Owen Pierce, a teacher with a reputation for enjoying the company of his students and whose home shows a fascination with pornographic photography. Owen maintains his innocence. His attorney shatters the case. When another girl is murdered in a similar fashion, Banks and his team must examine the evidence once again. I enjoyed this story narrated by James Langton who did a wonderful job as usual. ( )

An early Inspector Banks. I really should read them in order. A schoolgirl is murdered. Plenty of suspects, though the novel concentrates on the devastating impact of being believed guilty. ( )