'The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong' - Stephen King.A dead body. Hidden secrets. Banks will find the truth.The brutally murdered body of a supposedly well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a dry stone wall. But who would kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man?Young Sally Lumb, locked in her lover's arms on the night of the murder, tries to find the killer herself. But her good-intentions only leads to more danger. And when Chief Inspector Alan Banks is called to investigate and soon discovers that disturbing secrets lie behind the seemingly untroubled façade . . .From the master of police procedural and bestselling author of Standing in the Shadows comes A Dedicated Man, book two in Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series. The next instalment in the series is A Necessary End.*****Critical acclaim for the Inspector Banks series, which became the major British ITV crime drama DCI Banks:'A powerfully moving work . . . watch out for those twists - they'll get you every time' - Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus series'Top-notch police procedure' - Jeffery Deaver, author of the Lincoln Rhyme series'A wonderful novel' - Michael Connelly, author of the Ballard & Bosch series'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' - ObserverAftermath was a Sunday Times bestseller when it first published in 2001.