In 2025, Pan Macmillan embarked on reissuing Robinson’s celebrated DCI Banks collection, starting with In a Dry Season in March and The Summer That Never Was in August. In the former, DCI Banks investigates old crimes when the remains of a lost village, concealed for over four decades, emerge during an unprecedented drought. In the latter, Banks faces his own history when the body of his childhood best friend, missing since they were fourteen, is discovered. The new paperback editions of these esteemed titles are available through major UK supermarkets. 

Highly praised by crime/thriller titans like Ian Rankin, Jeffery Deaver and Stephen King, this no. 1 bestselling series captivated audiences with its relatable yet complex protagonist, and expertly woven, suspenseful narratives. It was adapted into a major ITV1 drama with Stephen Tompkinson as Inspector Banks and Andrea Lowe as DI Annie Cabbot. 

As part of the Richmond Walking & Book Festival, author Michael Jecks will be giving the Peter Robinson Memorial Lecture on 19 September, 2025, at 7:30 pm, in Richmond, the town Peter called home when he was not in Toronto, Canada. Peter had a home there for many years, and spent time each year in his native Yorkshire.

Michael Jecks is an author of crime fiction, notably a series set in mediaeval times.

Living on Dartmoor, Michael Jecks says, is the best way to research mediaeval stories. He will discuss his feelings about landscape in novels, how characters are shaped by their surroundings, and how authors can get the most from the scenery about them. He regularly wild camps on Dartmoor, and can be found walking over the wilds with his two dogs as he plots his stories. All are grounded in fact and in places he knows well. His work involves intensive research into the crimes committed by our ancestors, reading court records, coroner reports and histories that cover the industrial history of Dartmoor. Michael is the Hon. Secretary of the Detection Club, founder of Medieval Murderers, and was Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association. He is a regular speaker at international crime and literary festivals.

Tickets for the event are available here, and you can find more information about the festival here.

Richmond Town Hall, DL10 4QL
7.30pm
£10
Refreshments, bookstall, disabled access available

In May 2023, a Celebration of Peter Robinson’s Life was held in Toronto, Canada, to coincide with the launch of his final novel, Standing in the Shadows.

The 26th Inspector Banks novel, Many Rivers to Cross, is now available in paperback in the UK.

Buy Many Rivers to Cross from Amazon UK.

The ThrillerFest Conference, scheduled to be held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City on July 6 – July 14, has been canceled, but the organization has set up a virtual conference featuring more than 150 authors, including Peter Robinson.

For more info, go to the ThrillerFest website.

The latest Inspector Banks novel, Many Rivers to Cross, will be released in paperback in the UK on May 28. Find out more about the novel here, and pre-order it from your favorite book store.

I’ve been thrilled this week to hear it announced that I have been awarded the Grand Master Award 2020 by the Crime Writers of Canada. This is awarded to a “crime writer with a substantial body of work who has garnered national and international recognition.” There was supposed to be a gala Awards Dinner in late May, at which the winners of the Arthur Ellis awards would be announced, along with the Grand Master, but this has been cancelled. Any celebrations will have to be carried out online.

Here’s what the Crime Writes of Canada have to say:

Since Peter Robinson’s first mystery, Gallows View, appeared in 1987, his growing readership has eagerly waited for each encounter with Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. Now with twenty-seven of these moody and layered police procedurals, fans around the world have become attached to the complex, music-loving DCI Banks and his always-intriguing colleagues in the fictional town of Eastvale in North Yorkshire. They’ve followed Banks, his twisty cases, his career challenges and the ups and downs of his personal life with interest and affection. The series has also been adapted to television by ITV.

Peter has a shelf full of Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Awards for both best novel and for best short story. Internationally he’s been honoured by Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (France), the Martin Beck Award (Sweden), the Palle Rosenkrantz (Denmark), the CWA Dagger in the Library (UK), and the American Macavity, Edgar and Barry awards. In 2010, he was presented with the Crime Writers of Canada Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to the crime genre.

Peter will be embarking on a tour to meet readers and discuss his latest novel, Many Rivers to Cross, from 16 September to 5 October. Here are the dates and venues where you can meet Peter and hear him discuss this latest book, and his Inspector Banks series.

Monday 16th September , 7pm
Peter Robinson in Conversation
Sheffield Central Library
Surrey St, Sheffield S1 1XZ
More information

Tuesday 17th September, 12.30pm
Book signing at Waterstones Leeds
93-97 Albion St, Leeds LS1 5JS
More information

Tuesday 17th September, 7.30pm
Peter Robinson in Conversation at Ripon Festival
Ripon Spa Hotel, Ripon HG4 2BU
More information

Wednesday 18th September, 12.30pm
Book signing at Waterstones Northallerton
102 High St, Northallerton DL7 8PP
More information

Wednesday 18th September, 6.30pm
Peter Robinson in Conversation
York Explore Library
Library Square, Museum Street, York YO1 7DS
More information

Thursday 19th September, 12.30pm
Book signing at Waterstones Yarm
97 High St, Yarm TS15 9BB
More information

Thursday 19th September, 7pm
Peter Robinson in Conversation at Waterstones Newcastle
Emerson Chambers, Blackett St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7JF
More information

Friday 20th September, 12.30pm
Book signing at Waterstones Darlington
1 – 3, Cornmill Centre, Darlington DL1 1LS
More information

Saturday 21st September, 4pm
Bloody Scotland Festival
We Are Detectives with Mike Craven and Mari Hannah
Golden Lion Hotel, Stirling FK8 1BD
More information

Monday 23rd September , 12.30pm
Book signing at Waterstones Perth
King Edward Street, Perth PH1 5UK
More information

Monday 23rd September , 6.30pm
Peter Robinson in Conversation at Waterstones Aberdeen
33 Bon-Accord Centre, Aberdeen AB25 1HZ
More information

Tuesday 24th September, 12.30pm
Book signing at Waterstones Inverness
Eastgate Shopping Centre, 1 Crown Rd, Inverness IV2 3PR
More information

Tuesday 24th September, 7pm
Peter Robinson in Conversation at Elgin Library
In association with Waterstones Elgin
Elgin Library, Cooper Park, Elgin, IV30 1HS
More information

Wednesday 2nd October, 4.30pm
Wigtown Book Festival
More information

Saturday 5th October, 7.30pm
Ilkley Literature Festival
More information

A special note for Canadian readers. Many Rivers to Cross has been selected by Indigo as one of their most anticipated forthcoming releases, and as a result of this the book can be pre-ordered at a 40% discount between July 15 and 21. Click this link to pre-order the book, which will be released in October in Canada.

From Jack Laidlaw to John Rebus, from Jane Tennyson to Harry Bosch, the police detective has long been the dark, beating heart of the crime novel. Plain clothes, plain speaking, plain old brilliant at catching the bad guys, they are what make the genre tick.

Mike Craven’s DS Washington Poe is a relative newcomer to the ranks of fictional detectives but his appearance in Black Summer has already seen him hailed as one of the best. Mari Hannah’s DCI David Stone and DS Frankie Oliver form a dream detecting team in The Scandal. Peter Robinson’s DCI Banks may have been promoted to Superintendent in Many Rivers to Cross, but he’s lost none of the brilliance that has endeared him to legions of fans.

The event takes place on Saturday 21st September from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm.

For more information, visit the Bloody Scotland website.