Before the Poison - Tapa dura

'Most admirers of Robinson will find themselves utterly involved in this haunting, textured mystery ... If Robinson is to turn out one-off novels as assured as this perhaps we wouldn't mind too much if Alan Banks was to retire and take up beekeeping in Sussex.' -- Barry Forshaw, Daily Express 'Together with a stunning landscape, vibrant characters and an evocative story, Robinson has created a highly intelligent and well-crafted standalone novel ... Gripping stuff and highly recommended.' -- www.milorambles.com 'With adept professionalism, Robinson brings to the reader a story that is tantalisingly unravelled like a poisoned present ... a haunting, moving tale that will get you thinking days after the last word has been read.' -- crimesquad.com 'Admirers of the author will find themselves utterly involved in this haunting, textured mystery.' -- Good Book Guide 'With this stand-alone novel, Mr. Robinson - best-known for his award-winning Inspector Banks mystery series - has fashioned a gripping tale that brings to mind not only old-time Hollywood but also British "golden age" storytelling in the Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier tradition' -- Wall Street Journal 'Robinson outdoes Daphne du Maurier in creating the proper atmosphere for the imaginative fancies of a grief-stricken man. Winds wail, snows fall and floorboards creak, accompanied by the melancholy strains of the sonata Chris is composing on Grace's grand piano. But it's not all shadows on the wall and creepy sound effects. Once Chris gets his hands on Grace's journals, written when she was a battlefield nurse in World War II, the ghostly revenant whose presence he feels in the house is swept aside by the vital woman who emerges from these pages. So, in a sense, romantic suspense does turn out to be a woman's game -- but one Robinson plays very well indeed' -- New York Times 'The story never loses its momentum despite, or rather because of, the intersecting strands contributing to its central core -- Grace's wartime journal as a nurse in Dunkirk and Singapore; and Sir Morley's record of 'Famous Trials: Grace Elizabeth Fox, April 1953'. With his ear for individual voices, Robinson captures the style and authenticity of each narrator. Robinson has won many awards for his short stories and Det Chief Insp Banks series, some of which have been televised. His latest thriller cries out to be made into a film -- it has an exciting quest culminating in a shocking climax, underpinned with big issues of evil, punishment, retribution and self-sacrifice' -- Oxford Times

Through years of success in Hollywood composing music for Oscar-winning films, Chris Lowndes always imagined he would come full circle, home to Yorkshire with his beloved wife Laura. Now he's back in the Yorkshire Dales, but Laura is dead, and Chris needs to make a new life for himself. The isolated house he buys sight unseen should give him the space to come to terms with his grief and the quiet to allow him to work. Kilnsgate House turns out to be rather more than he expected, however. A man died there, sixty years ago. His wife was convicted of murder. And something is pulling Chris deeper and deeper into the story of Grace Elizabeth Fox, who was hanged by the neck until she was dead ...