DCI Banks gets a break from reports, memos, and presentations when the chief constable sends him to investigate a discovery of bones in a village drowned under a reservoir in the 1950s but which has resurfaced because of drought. He and the other police are able to find out quite quickly who the buried person was, but uncovering how she came to be there takes more effort and a bit of good luck too. With the way the book weaves in another narrative, as a reader you know more than the police and keep wondering how they might get there too. ( )

Lots of twists and turns--love a complex mystery story! ( )

Not a bad cold case investigation story, but I hated the way Robinson wrote Annie's character in romantic scenes and introspective bits. ( )

A drought caused the remains of a town flooded to create a reservoir to emerge. As a boy plays among the ruins seeking a treasure, he find the treasure, but he also finds a skeleton. Jimmy Riddle puts the disgraced DI Alan Banks on the case. No missing persons reports fit the skeletal remains, but as they look over historical records, DI Banks and DS Annie Cabbot believe the young woman may be someone who lived in that house.They must search for persons who lived in the town who knew the young woman and determine if the woman's killer is alive or deceased.It's a pretty good mystery, but I could do without romantic/sexual interests thrown into the mix. ( )

This is No. 10 in the Inspector Alan Banks series. I have not read any of the others, but this was handed to me with a recommendation by a friend who borrows a lot of books from me, so I felt I should give it a go.

In the late 20th century, a Yorkshire village that had been flooded to create a reservoir in the 1950's re-emerges during a dry spell, and a young boy playing among the ruins discovers the skeletal remains of a murder victim. Who was she? How long has she been there? Did no one ever miss her when she disappeared? Who killed her? Why? All the usual questions. The investigation takes us back to World War II, as DI Banks searches for the answers.

I found the story premise intriguing, but it needed to be tightened up a bit in the telling. And probably because I hadn't read any of the earlier books and didn't have an attachment for the main character, his personal story line just got in the way for me. Even though elements of that personal story were left unresolved at the end, I don't feel much inclined to explore this series further. I have been told by others who have read more of it that this installment is one of the best. 3 stars is all I can give it.
Read and reviewed in 2011
Note for 2023: Other respected readers have recently encouraged me to read this series, and I mean to begin at the beginning very soon.