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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
The fifth book in the Inspector Banks series sees Alan Banks investigating the death of an attractive young woman in her own home in the days before Christmas. The book does feel a little dated, having been first published in 1992. The plot is interesting with a whole bunch of suspects to sift through. The character of Banks continues to develop nicely, and it was nice to get to know new DC Susan Gay in this book.
I enjoyed the narration by Simon Slater.
I enjoyed the narration by Simon Slater.
Oh my this was quite a hard read. It didn’t keep my attention like good books normally do. I’m gonna give the author a rest and go read something else for a few days. I’ve still got another 6 to read of this batch. Here’s hoping they get better !
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Not my favourite book in this series so far, it took me a long time to get through it as if felt really repetitive
The plot seemed to plateau half way through
The plot seemed to plateau half way through
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
In this is early Peter Robinson book a lesbian is found dead at home by her partner, and local young ruffians are breaking into local community centres. Banks is called in to solve the murder, while an underling investigates the ruffians. He has recently moved from London (in the last couple of years), so he is still feeling a bit out of water, but he approaches the case with his typical vim and vigour.
It's a standard detective book, but there are issues. First, in every series about a character, the books improve to a point, before either plateauing, or falling off. Often, the early books aren't as good (I feel), so I would suggest you read this book before the later books in the series.
Second, it would also make sense. In this book he's married, in later books he's divorced, so if you don't want have that "Wait... what?" feeling, start with the earlier books.
Thirdly, there are characters here that don't appear in later books, and others who haven't appeared on the scene yet (like Annie Howe), so if you don't want to miss the later characters just yet, start here.
Finally, this book is horribly dated. There was undoubtedly a time when the police were homophobic (like society in general), that isn't the case now. It just feels strange to read a book with this amount of low level homophobia these days. It get why it's there, but...
It's a standard detective book, but there are issues. First, in every series about a character, the books improve to a point, before either plateauing, or falling off. Often, the early books aren't as good (I feel), so I would suggest you read this book before the later books in the series.
Second, it would also make sense. In this book he's married, in later books he's divorced, so if you don't want have that "Wait... what?" feeling, start with the earlier books.
Thirdly, there are characters here that don't appear in later books, and others who haven't appeared on the scene yet (like Annie Howe), so if you don't want to miss the later characters just yet, start here.
Finally, this book is horribly dated. There was undoubtedly a time when the police were homophobic (like society in general), that isn't the case now. It just feels strange to read a book with this amount of low level homophobia these days. It get why it's there, but...
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Eh, okay I guess. Some parts of this story were especially sad. I guessed the killer almost from the beginning. I didn’t particularly like the character Susan Gay. I alternated between feeling sorry for her and being annoyed with her.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
I will probably never re-read anything by Peter Robinson, but so far, they're definitely worth reading once. Good plots, characters reasonably compelling and not too annoying, and not too much violence and gore. Although I am deeply irritated by the constant recital of what Banks is listening to right now. I really don't care how a fictional character feels about music.