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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
I like this much more than most of Robinson's other books. The historical element is very well done, and there's less of Bank's brooding or musical tastes.
I actually listened to the audio of this one. The narrator drove me nuts so I'll be reading the rest of the series. Not a bad mystery though
A nice little mystery. The narrative moves between the present and the 1940's as detectives try to find answers to a body found buried in a reservoir that had flooded a Yorkshire town in the mid 1940's.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Racial slurs
I enjoyed this book and it explains a lot about the relationship between characters that one misses when not reading a series in order of being written. But it's a book that does stand up on it's own two feet without having had to have read any of the others in the series.
This novel is a mix of an old story and a new story, linked across the decades, that come together rather well. Mostly, it's evenly paced but there are times when Alan Banks gets retrospective that slows the story down, just when the pace has picked up some. This sort of thing is fine at the beginning of a story but not in the last 100 pages when we are all waiting for the climax.
Worth reading.
This novel is a mix of an old story and a new story, linked across the decades, that come together rather well. Mostly, it's evenly paced but there are times when Alan Banks gets retrospective that slows the story down, just when the pace has picked up some. This sort of thing is fine at the beginning of a story but not in the last 100 pages when we are all waiting for the climax.
Worth reading.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You’ve got to like someone who listens to Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater!
Chief Inspector Alan Banks, CID, recently transferred from London to Eastvale, a town in the Yorkshire Dales, is no Harry Bosch or Harry Rebus. But then Eastvale isn’t New York City, London or Edinburgh either. Alan Banks is a real man with real characteristics – he loves opera; he enjoys a jar or two of his favourite beer; he’ll even indulge in a scotch if the problem he’s considering is a little deeper or a little more pressing; he’s mourning the loss of his wife who left him for another man; he’s having difficulties communicating with a son that he loves and is clearly proud of; and, he’s doing his best to keep a stiff upper lip and deal with the fact that his career is in the doldrums as he sits on the administrative sidelines at the behest of a superior who can’t stand him. In other words, unlike so many of today’s detective protagonists, he’s a real man without edging into darkness, neuroses or sociopathy. It’s easy to get behind him and cheer him on as he works toward the solution of a clever, but perfectly straightforward police procedural old style murder mystery. The tension, doubt and, indeed, fear that Robinson conveys as Banks explores the possibility of a new relationship with a police colleague, Annie Cabbott, is powerful, heartwarming and, at times, downright electric without ever being explicit. Talk about a master of the writing dictum, “Show, don’t tell”!
When a reservoir is drained for maintenance and a young boy accidentally discovers a skeleton, Robinson uses an excellent informative section on forensic anthropology to move the story forward disclosing that the skeleton belongs to a young female who was brutally murdered at the close of World War II. The hunt is on and Banks is assigned to close a new case that was a stone cold file on the day it was opened and to find a murderer who may or may not even be alive so long after the event!
Having only recently discovered the joys of CID Alan Banks in Robinson’s GALLOW'S VIEW, IN A DRY SEASON is only my second read in a series that now extends to (can you believe it?) 24 titles, I’m pleased to say that I’ve obviously got a lot of great reading enjoyment to look forward to.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Chief Inspector Alan Banks, CID, recently transferred from London to Eastvale, a town in the Yorkshire Dales, is no Harry Bosch or Harry Rebus. But then Eastvale isn’t New York City, London or Edinburgh either. Alan Banks is a real man with real characteristics – he loves opera; he enjoys a jar or two of his favourite beer; he’ll even indulge in a scotch if the problem he’s considering is a little deeper or a little more pressing; he’s mourning the loss of his wife who left him for another man; he’s having difficulties communicating with a son that he loves and is clearly proud of; and, he’s doing his best to keep a stiff upper lip and deal with the fact that his career is in the doldrums as he sits on the administrative sidelines at the behest of a superior who can’t stand him. In other words, unlike so many of today’s detective protagonists, he’s a real man without edging into darkness, neuroses or sociopathy. It’s easy to get behind him and cheer him on as he works toward the solution of a clever, but perfectly straightforward police procedural old style murder mystery. The tension, doubt and, indeed, fear that Robinson conveys as Banks explores the possibility of a new relationship with a police colleague, Annie Cabbott, is powerful, heartwarming and, at times, downright electric without ever being explicit. Talk about a master of the writing dictum, “Show, don’t tell”!
When a reservoir is drained for maintenance and a young boy accidentally discovers a skeleton, Robinson uses an excellent informative section on forensic anthropology to move the story forward disclosing that the skeleton belongs to a young female who was brutally murdered at the close of World War II. The hunt is on and Banks is assigned to close a new case that was a stone cold file on the day it was opened and to find a murderer who may or may not even be alive so long after the event!
Having only recently discovered the joys of CID Alan Banks in Robinson’s GALLOW'S VIEW, IN A DRY SEASON is only my second read in a series that now extends to (can you believe it?) 24 titles, I’m pleased to say that I’ve obviously got a lot of great reading enjoyment to look forward to.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss