Bad Boy

Starred review from June 14, 2010
Robinson tries something different in his excellent 19th novel to feature Det. Chief Insp. Alan Banks (after All the Colors of Darkness) by keeping the Yorkshire policeman offstage for the first half of the book. Banks's daughter, Tracy, knows that her friend, Erin Doyle, is dating a bad boy. But she doesn't know how bad Jaff McCready is until the recovery of a gun at Erin's parents' home results in a fatal accident. Before Tracy knows what's happening, Jaff whisks her on an adventure, eventually hiding out at Banks's house while her father is on holiday in America. As Det. Insp. Annie Cabbot searches for Jaff, Tracy's infatuation turns sour when she finds Jaff's suitcase of drugs, money, and a gun, and becomes his hostage. When Banks returns to Yorkshire, he has to balance his roles as a cop and a father. Robinson deftly integrates Banks's personal life with an acute look at British attitudes about police, guns, and violence in this strong entry in a superb series.

The latest Robinson mystery to feature Chief Inspector Alan Banks is as much a character study as an entertaining thriller. In an unusual device, Banks is on vacation for nearly half the book, leaving others to investigate matters in ways that may follow procedure but lead to complications. Banks returns to solve the mysteries that arose while he was away. Although the story meanders and the characters are rather formulaic, narrator Simon Prebble makes the most of the material. Prebble understands the value of both understatement and carefully timed emotions. For those unfamiliar with the Inspector Banks series, Prebble's performance may be the most satisfying aspect of the book. D.J.S. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

August 15, 2010

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks returns from a reflective U.S. vacation to contend with the abduction of his daughter and the shooting of his female partner.

In the 19th novel in British author Robinson's series, the Yorkshire inspector has no sooner gotten over the emotional fallout of the terror attack and romantic betrayal of his last adventure than he is hit with a double dose of upsetting news: His 24-year-old daughter Tracy is being held captive by a drug dealer being sought on a gun charge, and his partner and former lover Annie Cabbot is in critical condition after being shot by the dealer. Complicating matters is the fact that Tracy and the dealer, Jaff, the slick boyfriend of one of her flat mates, were sexually involved before life on the lam turned bad. It's up to Banks and his supporting cast of Eastvale cops to link Jaff to an unsolved killing from several years back and a brutal gang involved in the sex trade. The threat to Tracy is kept at a low boil; even after Jaff ties her up and rapes her, in her father's bed, the two act like any sparring couple. Her acting out with drugs, piercings, an assumed name and an unstable bad boy because her father neglected her in favor of his rock-star son Brian is superficially handled. And Annie's recovery is never in doubt. But the recharging feelings between Banks and Annie raise expectations for the next installment.

A lightweight but entertaining outing.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from July 1, 2010
Robinsons long-running series starring Alan Banks, now detective chief inspector of the Yorkshire Constabulary, plays off the character of complicated, morose, solitude- and music-loving Banks, a throwback to the depressed detective of classic hard-boiled fiction. This time Banks is not only complicated and depressed, but hes also completely offstage for about half of the action, on holiday in the American West and seen only briefly. Fans will be disappointed, but the absence of Banks picks up the pace quite a bit. Banks sometime lover and longtime ally, Inspector Annie Cabott, fills the void nicely in a case that begins when a former neighbor of Banks reports her daughter has a gun in the home. The Armed Response Team arrives and tragically mucks up a tense situation. Part of Robinsons narrative talent is his ability to convert police procedure and politics into gripping reading. The gun at the scene of the botched police operation belonged to an exotic, handsome young man, boyfriend of the girl holding the gun and acquainted with Banks daughter, Tracy. The bulk of the book is an absolutely stunning examination of how Tracy fell for this bad boy, hiding him from police and coming to the horrific awareness that he is a sociopath more than willing to kill her. We dont really need Banks when he gets backthe character study of Tracy and the tension of her situation drive the book. A change of pace for the series, to be sure, but another outstanding crime novel from Robinson.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)