::READERS REVIEWS::

Cold Is The Grave - I have been reading the Peter Robinson series with inspector Banks in order. This is #11. Many times authors start repeating their stories but this series keeps getting better. I am reading as much for the new mystery as to keep up with the personal life of the inspector. I know I will miss them when I finish the series.

Just a bit disappointing - Having thoroughly enjoyed "In a Dry Season,", I looked forward to reading this, the follow-up. Sadly there is a chasm between the two. "Cold is the Grave" is one of those 'body count' books. Just when you think there cannot be yet another murder, along comes another body. I know the areas in which the novel is set very well, and Robinson has a real knack of getting the feel of different parts of England absolutely right. This book is also, like other Peter Robsinson novels - a very classy piece of prose - it's a joy to read. But the story is actually preposterous and it protrays a weird Britain where everyone smokes like a chimney (England is largely a non-smoking country these days) and the story - which starts well - becomes just a chain of ever-more unlikely events. Here's hoping Robinson and Banks get back on track with the next effort.

An interesting mystery with lots of twists - DCI Alan Banks is tired of life in the Yorkshire constabulary, and is ready to move on. However, something strange happens when his boss asks him to quietly find out what has become of his runaway daughter. It seems that young Emily has started out on a life of adventure, partying and living with a big-time villain. And then, when people start turning up dead, it looks as though Banks has chanced upon a major criminal enterprise. Banks must get to the bottom of this strange and murky case, and what he finds along the way is filled with unpleasant surprises.

This is the eleventh of Peter Robinson's Alan Banks mysteries, and does a good job of upholding the quality of the series. I love mysteries of all sorts, and I must say that I loved this book. I found the storyline to be quite interesting, and I liked the characters. Some authors spend too much time on character development, spending page after page focusing on the detective's home life and family and so forth, but I thought that Mr. Robinson did a great job of balancing everything out.

So, let me just say that I really liked this book, finding it to be an interesting mystery with lots of twists. I highly recommend it.

Crime Writing at its Best - Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire, and is the author of a number of previous novels featuring Chief Inspector Banks. He is the winner of numerous awards in the United States, Britain and Canada, and in 2002 he won the CWA Dagger in the Library. As I also come from Leeds the background to his stories is something that I have experienced first hand and because of this I have a special affection for his books. However they would be first class crime fiction wherever they were based.

Detective Chief Inspector Banks is at a low point in his life. His wife has finally left him to live with another man in London and his career is going nowhere thanks to a high ranking officer becoming more and more frustrated with Banks's methods of solving crime.

Maybe a move to the National Crime Squad would kick start his career? Maybe even another chance with Sandra? Then late one night he is summoned to the house of Chief Constable Riddle, which was strange in itself, as the Chief Constable is the senior officer who has been blighting Banks's career.

The Chief Constable's 16-year-old daughter Emily has run away and for once he is happy to allow Banks to use his unorthodox methods to find the girl and bring her back without any fuss. Will it be as simple as that?

Well-Done Police Procedural - Robinson spins a very well-crafted novel about Inspector Banks and the other fascinating characters he encounters in his baliwick of Yorkshire. Robinson has a good eye and sharp ear for the psychological travails his characters face, often providing a nice counterpoint to his nicely honed plot. The magic of the Inspector Banks series is the author's careful pacing of the plot and the characterization which carry you (usually)gently to the end. This is not a fast-paced crime story that you can't set down. It's not like a shot of gin or vodka; but rather, like a fine single-malt Scotch which you'll savor to the end. Robinson has become one of my favorite authors and, for my money, ranks with the best of the authors of his genre.