Friend of the Devil: DCI Banks 17 Robinson, Peter

Two bodies. One in a burning boat on a reservoir, charred beyond recognition. Another in a remote cottage, stabbed to death in what looks like a botched burglary. DCI Alan Banks doesn't believe in coincidences, and when forensics links the victims, what seemed like separate crimes spirals into something far murkier. Peter Robinson's seventeenth Banks novel is a masterclass in procedural tension — methodical, atmospheric, and packed with the Yorkshire grit that's made this series a staple of British crime fiction. Robinson weaves rural noir with psychological depth, giving Banks plenty of personal baggage to carry alongside the case. If you're drawn to Ian Rankin's Rebus or Ann Cleeves' Vera, this hits the same sweet spot: detective fiction that's smart without being showy, dark without being gratuitous.