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Loading... Strange Affair (original 2005; edition 2005)by Peter Robinson
Work detailsStrange Affair by Peter Robinson (2005)
None.  Balthazar-Lawson | Mar 30, 2013 |  I've read a number of Peter Robinson’s ‘Inspector Banks’ novels and enjoyed them very much. I haven’t read them in sequence, though, and it is a mark of a skilled author, that this hasn’t really made a difference. Strange Affair focuses on Inspector Banks and his family - with the plot revolving around the disappearance of his brother. We learn a lot more about Banks in this story, and it helps fill in some of the gaps in the back story. Banks is recovering from injuries received in an explosion in the last book in the series. His affair with DI Annie Cabot has ended; and he is at a loose end, not sure he is ready to return to work. Then Banks receives a disturbing and mysterious call from Roy, his stockbroker brother in London. This is something of a novelty in itself, as they have not spoken in some years. Banks immediately leaves his patch in Yorkshire and heads off down to the big city to seek out his brother. Meanwhile, Cabot is called to the scene of a murder on a quiet stretch of road just outside Eastvale. A young woman has been found dead in her car. The strange thing is that in the woman's pocket is a slip of paper with Banks’ name and address written on it. Meanwhile, Roy has disappeared without a trace. Banks is staying in his brother’s luxurious, but empty house, uncovering more and more details about a brother that he never really knew and didn't particularly like. Up north, Annie tracks down the female victim's friends and colleagues. It seems that both trails are looking likely to intersect at some point and the consequences could be terrifying for both Banks and Annie. If you have read other "Banks" novels you won't be disappointed; and if this is the first you pick up and you like a good crime story you should enjoy it. (  ) Jawin | Dec 26, 2011 | A good page turner,an engrossing mystery. ( ) adithyajones | Sep 23, 2011 | pretty good. pretty ugly ( ) mahallett | Jun 19, 2011 | British mysteries are my favorite read. Likable characters such as Inspector Banks. Good plot to keep the reader guessing (  ) AdmiralLHH | Mar 4, 2010 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0060544341, Mass Market Paperback)Without a doubt, the family and friends of fictional sleuths are two of the most endangered species on the planet. Crime novelists seem to have no qualms about sacrificing the people nearest and dearest to their protagonists, if doing so will advance plot development or bestow emotional depth upon their series stars. Peter Robinson continues this ruthless tradition in Strange Affair, his tension-packed 15th novel featuring headstrong British Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. Still on the mend after the blazing finale of 2004's Playing with Fire, temporarily sworn off whiskey but back to smoking, Banks is interrupted in the midst of brooding over his life and failed relationships by a message from his estranged younger brother, Roy, who says he needs the DCI's help in "a matter of life and death." Concerned, especially since Roy boasts a history of dubious business dealings, Banks leaves Yorkshire for his sibling's home in London, only to find that residence unlocked, Roy's computer missing, and his cell phone left behind. After learning that Roy was last seen stepping into a car with an unidentified man, and receiving on Roy's mobile what appears to be a photo of his only brother slumped over in a chair, the cop fears that a kidnapping has occurred.Meanwhile, back in Eastvale, Banks's colleague and ex-lover, Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot, probes the shooting death of Jennifer Clewes, a 27-year-old family planning center administrator from London who's been found in her car, with the address of Banks's once-ruined (and recently broken into) cottage tucked into her jeans pocket. As Annie seeks to identify Clewes's attacker and determine whether this crime fits a pattern of roadway assaults, she's anxious also to discover what connection Banks may have to the case. But the DCI is frustratingly nowhere to be found. Like 2003's Close to Home, Strange Affair adds some welcome bricks to Banks's back story, this time forcing him to reappraise a brother whom he had long resented and distrusted. Simultaneously, Robinson's latest police procedural delivers artfully contrived, intersecting story lines charged with rumors of international arms dealing, hints of misdeeds at a women's clinic, secondary players so shady they might be invisible after sundown, and insights into just how far Banks's career has distanced him from folks less steeped in the ugly side of mankind. An immensely satisfying mystery, filled with professional risks and personal regrets, this is truly an Affair to remember. --J. Kingston Pierce (retrieved from Amazon Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:01:21 -0400) Annie Cabbot investigates the death of a woman found shot execution style who is found with her lover, Alan Banks', address is her hand. Meanwhile, Alan tries to unravel the mysterious disappearance of his younger brother and finds himself in a dark circle of mobsters and murder.… (more) (summary from another edition) |
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I'm looking forward to the next. (