Before the Poison: A Novel

“The accomplished Robinson never disappoints, mixing well-developed characterizations with edge-of-the-seat action.”
—New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Make no mistake, he’s among the very best.”
—The Times (London)

Already justifiably acclaimed for his bestselling crime fiction novels featuring British Chief Inspector Alan Banks (“The best series now on the market” —Stephen King), Peter Robinson delivers a truly stunning standalone thriller, Before the Poison. Brilliantly combining the rich, atmospheric narrative of his award-winning In a Dry Season with the twists and suspense of the noir classic Laura, Before the Poison tells the riveting story of a composer who comes to the scene of a notorious crime and becomes obsessed with a beautiful, mysterious, and possibly very dangerous woman. Evocatively set in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales, Before the Poison is a masterful tale of mystery and suspense from the Anthony and Edgar® Award winner whose extraordinary fiction Janet Maslin of the New York Times compared to, “the masculine, brooding work of Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, George P. Pelecanos, and Jonathan Kellerman.”

After twenty-five years abroad in America, Chris Lowndes decides to return to the Yorkshire dales of his youth. The rambling old mansion he buys is charming, but something about it disturbs him—a feeling made ever stronger when he learns that the house was the scene of a murder more than fifty years before. The former owner, a prominent doctor named Ernest Arthur Fox, was supposedly poisoned by his beautiful and much younger wife, Grace. Arrested and brought to trial, Grace was found guilty and hanged for the crime.

The more Chris discovers about the case, the more convinced he becomes that Grace may have been innocent. Ignoring warnings to leave things alone, he sets out on a quest that takes him deep into the past and into a web of secrets that lie all too close to the present.

“Brilliant.” - Globe and Mail on Before the Poison

“A widower falls in love with a ghost in this deft novel of romantic suspense… Robinson outdoes Daphne du Maurier in creating the proper atmosphere for the imaginative fancies of a grief-stricken man.” - New York Times Book Review

“A stand-alone novel that stands firmly above most.” - Crimespree Magazine