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A Peeping Tom is frightening the women of Eastvale; two glue-sniffing young thugs are breaking into homes and robbing people; and, an old woman may or may not have been murdered. Investigating these cases is Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, a perceptive, curious and compassionate policeman recently moved to the Yorkshire Dales from London to escape the stress of city life. In addition to all this, Banks has to deal with the local feminists and his attraction to a young psychologist, Jenny Fuller.
As the tension mounts, both Jenny and Banks' wife, Sandra, are drawn deeper into the events. The cases weave together as the story reaches a tense and surprising climax. "The novels of Peter Robinson are chilling, evocative, deeply nuanced works of art." - Dennis Lehane. "If you haven't encountered Chief Inspector Alan Banks before, prepare for a crash course in taut, clean writing and subtle psychology. And watch for those twists - they'll get you every time." - Ian Rankin.
About the Author
Peter Robinson's award-winning novels have been named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, a Notable Book by the New York Times, and a Page-Turner of the Week by People magazine. Robinson was born and brought up in Yorkshire, England, and now divides his time between North America and Richmond, Yorkshire.
Peter Robinson's much admired detective books featuring Chief Inspector Alan Banks are becoming increasingly popular; it is all the more interesting to read again the first in the series. Published in 1987, it introduces Banks as he moves from London to Yorkshire and the little town of East Vale. Banks loves his cigarettes, his music and has an eye for a pretty girl and, at this stage in his development, he has some forthright and somewhat unfashionable opinions about comprehensive education and women libbers. Banks's colleagues are just as well drawn, from the gruff and heavy-handed Sergeant Hatchley to Superintendent Gristhorpe. All the skills that have earned Robinson his place in the top league of crime writers are already there: a sure grasp of police procedure, neat plotting, good characterization and realistic dialogue and settings. A splendid map of the town helps the reader to follow the police investigation as Banks and his team follow up the unpleasant activities of a peeping Tom and a nasty spate of burglaries. When Gristhorpe invites a woman psychologist to advise Banks on the possible profile of the peeping Tom, Banks is reluctant and surly but he accepts that politically it may be a sound move since she has contacts with the local Women's Liberation group. To encourage his chief detective Gristhorpe describes her as 'a bobby dazzler' and Banks is not disappointed. Sandra, Banks's wife, is fascinated by photography. Could a member of her club be the peeping Tom or could the culprit be the seedy neighbour of one of the robbery victims? All the ingredients are there for a tightly woven story whose tension increases as the pages turn. (Kirkus UK)
ISBN: 9780330491594
ISBN-10: 0330491598
Series: Inspector Banks Mystery Ser.
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 464
Published: August 2002
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Dimensions (cm): 18.0 x 11.2
x 1.8
Weight (kg): 0.165
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