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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I have enjoyed reading and watching on TV the Inspector Banks series for a few years now so jumped at the chance to read an advance copy of the latest book. I have missed a few of them but it hasn’t really mattered, even though the character’s personal lives are ongoing the book could easily be read as a stand alone novel.
There are two cases that Banks is involved in. Both are investigations that appear far too often in our news. One is a cold case, a celebrity accused of rape and the other is child sex grooming. Neither were easy to read but both were very well written and made very compelling reading. Banks was mainly involved with the investigation into the celebrity who was one of the most convincingly obnoxious characters that I have come across. I can only admire an author who can create such a despicable character. The other is being handled by Annie Cabbot, and a new DC Gerry. Banks has to get involved to smooth over ruffled feathers. The police in the area concerned don’t appreciate having two women from another force on their patch.
It’s very modern, the first crime novel I have read that features a historical sex case alongside modern day sex abuse and murder. Some may not appreciate its storyline, I don’t think it will be for everybody but I really liked it. Its gritty, topical, and thought provoking. There were twists, not everything was how I assumed it to be. It’s one that I will read again, I will probably appreciate the writing even more on a second read.
With thanks to Hodder for the copy received.
There are two cases that Banks is involved in. Both are investigations that appear far too often in our news. One is a cold case, a celebrity accused of rape and the other is child sex grooming. Neither were easy to read but both were very well written and made very compelling reading. Banks was mainly involved with the investigation into the celebrity who was one of the most convincingly obnoxious characters that I have come across. I can only admire an author who can create such a despicable character. The other is being handled by Annie Cabbot, and a new DC Gerry. Banks has to get involved to smooth over ruffled feathers. The police in the area concerned don’t appreciate having two women from another force on their patch.
It’s very modern, the first crime novel I have read that features a historical sex case alongside modern day sex abuse and murder. Some may not appreciate its storyline, I don’t think it will be for everybody but I really liked it. Its gritty, topical, and thought provoking. There were twists, not everything was how I assumed it to be. It’s one that I will read again, I will probably appreciate the writing even more on a second read.
With thanks to Hodder for the copy received.
When I read Robinson's 2017 novel "Sleeping In The Ground," it made reference to a previous and particularly harrowing case. This is the one. In this book, Banks has just been promoted. He's getting the usual teasing and is enjoying the coffee machine he was given as a gift - one that was given with the understanding that anyone could come in and get a cup. He walks into his new office and is immediately assigned to a case that is going to be both very difficult and highly political.
A beloved celebrity, Danny Caxton, now retired and in his mid 80's has been accused by multiple women of raping them when they were underage teenagers. Another woman has come forward, and Banks meets with her more than once. She is an attractive widow with grown children and - no surprise if you follow these books - a poet who name is known to Banks although he has never read any of her books. He makes a point to buy her newest book. In the meantime he interviews her along with DS Winsome and finds her credible. He asks her to write her memories as best as she can remember them.
The book, however, opens with the naked body of a young woman being thrown out of a moving van. She falls into the mud on her hip which has been injured. She is covered with bruises. She manages to get up and is picked up by a van. She never makes it home. DI Annie Cabbot and DC Gerry Masterson are assigned to the case.
Interestingly enough, this book was published before #NOTME took such a hold on the American consciousness - at least for a short time. While the two stories aren't at all related in time, they ARE related in the way men treat women and how underage women are often exploited.
The celebrity story is based on a real story, the late Jimmy Savile who was knighted and raised millions of pounds for charity. He was a celebrity in the 60's and lived in the area where the Banks books take place.
"In January 2013, a joint report by the NSPCC and Metropolitan Police, Giving Victims a Voice, stated that 450 people had made complaints against Savile, with the period of alleged abuse stretching from 1955 to 2009 and the ages of the complainants at the time of the assaults ranging from 8 to 47.[19][20] The suspected victims included 28 children aged under 10, including 10 boys aged as young as 8. A further 63 were girls aged between 13 and 16 and nearly three-quarters of his alleged victims were under 18. Some 214 criminal offences were recorded, with 34 rapes having been reported across 28 police forces.[21]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Savile
A beloved celebrity, Danny Caxton, now retired and in his mid 80's has been accused by multiple women of raping them when they were underage teenagers. Another woman has come forward, and Banks meets with her more than once. She is an attractive widow with grown children and - no surprise if you follow these books - a poet who name is known to Banks although he has never read any of her books. He makes a point to buy her newest book. In the meantime he interviews her along with DS Winsome and finds her credible. He asks her to write her memories as best as she can remember them.
The book, however, opens with the naked body of a young woman being thrown out of a moving van. She falls into the mud on her hip which has been injured. She is covered with bruises. She manages to get up and is picked up by a van. She never makes it home. DI Annie Cabbot and DC Gerry Masterson are assigned to the case.
Interestingly enough, this book was published before #NOTME took such a hold on the American consciousness - at least for a short time. While the two stories aren't at all related in time, they ARE related in the way men treat women and how underage women are often exploited.
The celebrity story is based on a real story, the late Jimmy Savile who was knighted and raised millions of pounds for charity. He was a celebrity in the 60's and lived in the area where the Banks books take place.
"In January 2013, a joint report by the NSPCC and Metropolitan Police, Giving Victims a Voice, stated that 450 people had made complaints against Savile, with the period of alleged abuse stretching from 1955 to 2009 and the ages of the complainants at the time of the assaults ranging from 8 to 47.[19][20] The suspected victims included 28 children aged under 10, including 10 boys aged as young as 8. A further 63 were girls aged between 13 and 16 and nearly three-quarters of his alleged victims were under 18. Some 214 criminal offences were recorded, with 34 rapes having been reported across 28 police forces.[21]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Savile
Alan Banks has been promoted. Annie, Gerry, and Winsome are back (happily). Two major crimes to solve: a rape of an underaged girl by a celebrity that occurred fifty years earlier and a gang rape and murder of an underaged girl.
You can always count on an Inspector Banks books to be a nice enjoyable read and this one did not dissapoint.
#36 a book whose title is a cultural reference (song title)
Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series is one of my must read crime series. Banks is strongly drawn character and Robinson covers many important social issues. This one deals with an accusation of past child sexual abuse by a Jimmy Savile like character and a current investigation of a teenage girl's horrific death which has resonances with the earlier crime.
Whilst I really like the Banks character, I didn't find this novel as compelling as many in the series.
Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series is one of my must read crime series. Banks is strongly drawn character and Robinson covers many important social issues. This one deals with an accusation of past child sexual abuse by a Jimmy Savile like character and a current investigation of a teenage girl's horrific death which has resonances with the earlier crime.
Whilst I really like the Banks character, I didn't find this novel as compelling as many in the series.
I started watching the repeats of the DCI banks TV series and decided to try one of Peter Robinson's novels. This was the only one in my local library.
A police procedural which is two cases, a historic child rape by a celebrity and another involving child grooming. The cases both reflect what has been in the news in the UK in recent years. In fact Robinson leaves the reader in no doubt where he got his ideas from by constant reference to Jimmy Saville and the child grooming cases in the UK, especially Rotherham.
At 480 pages the book is quite a long read and like most of these crimes it reflects the length of time it can take to resolve.
It was a page turner and I found the relationship between Linda Palmer, the child victim in 1967 Blackpool interesting. The novel in effect becomes 3 books in one when Banks suggests to Palmer, as an aid to remembering events to write a memoir which the reader gets to see.
Linda Palmer is a well respected poet and this gives Robinson through Banks the chance to portray his love of the subject. I suppose when you have written over 20 books you're allowed to do that
A police procedural which is two cases, a historic child rape by a celebrity and another involving child grooming. The cases both reflect what has been in the news in the UK in recent years. In fact Robinson leaves the reader in no doubt where he got his ideas from by constant reference to Jimmy Saville and the child grooming cases in the UK, especially Rotherham.
At 480 pages the book is quite a long read and like most of these crimes it reflects the length of time it can take to resolve.
It was a page turner and I found the relationship between Linda Palmer, the child victim in 1967 Blackpool interesting. The novel in effect becomes 3 books in one when Banks suggests to Palmer, as an aid to remembering events to write a memoir which the reader gets to see.
Linda Palmer is a well respected poet and this gives Robinson through Banks the chance to portray his love of the subject. I suppose when you have written over 20 books you're allowed to do that
This is the first of this series I've read. Works well as a stand-alone. Interesting mention of specific music and musicians as a thread throughout the book. Two murders, years apart and seemingly unconnected, One has to do with a celebrity accused of sexual propriety years ago. One had to do with the current world of sexual exploitation of minors. This book stayed with me a long time and revealed another side of things I wish didn't exist. I'll certainly read other books by this author.
Interesting and engaging as all of his books are. Interestingly watching the TV series and reading the original writer. The two have definitely diverged.
My first go at this long-running series. It's obviously quite popular, but too slow and wordy for my taste.