The story dragged on. Not much of a mystery after the first 1/4 of the book. To many references to drinks, food and music. I didn't finish this book. ( )

Fair play to Peter Robinson: in this story, Banks becomes embroiled with the spooks (MI5/MI6) and we all know the rules of literary engagement; you can't win against these people.

This might, in other hands, have lead to a dull, predictable story. Not this one. Right up until the last few pages, this book keeps a twist and, as a compulsive reader of detective fiction, I was impressed to be fooled. I cannot say too much more about the plot, because any detail that I were to divulge, would take some of the surprise from the tale. Read it, you'll enjoy it! ( )

Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot gets a case in which a man is found hanging from a tree. There are no signs of a struggle and by all appearances, it is suicide. When she learns that his name is Mark Hardcastle and he directs plays at a local theatre, she pays a visit and learns that Hardcastle has a boyfriend, Laurence Silbert. Silbert is the next stop on her quest for information and when no one answers the doorbell, Annie becomes skeptical. She breaks in and calls Silbert’s name. When still no answer, she and Winsome Jackman begin a search and find Silbert’s beaten body. At this point, Annie’s boss, Detective Superintendent Gervaise, suggests they call Detective Chief Inspector Banks home from his holiday.

Of course, what for all intents and purposes begins to look like a jealous lover’s murder/suicide, to Banks’ imaginative mind there are sinister doings. I won’t spoil the intrigue by describing these sinister doings, though.

I picked up All the Colours of Darkness, written in 2008, at Warwick’s Albert Wisner Public Library’s Friends bookstore and although it’s signed and normally I’d keep it, I think I’m going to re-donate it and let someone else get some reading pleasure. As always, Robinson’s DCI Banks books are great reading. In this particular book he does not deal with a cold case alongside a current one, which he has in many previous books.

There is intrigue, suspense, espionage, action. Of course, there’s Banks’ extensive and variable taste in music, some of which I want to write down. (Has anyone compiled a list of his music, similar to Michael Connelly’s Bosch CD?…actually there is, so click here.)

Other reviews here include: When the Music’s Over, In the Dark Places, Children of the Revolution, and Before the Poison.

I just received my copy of Robinson’s latest book, Sleeping in the Ground, which I can’t wait to read. It will be great vacation reading. ( )

I love this series and I did enjoy this book, but I wasn't happy with the ending. There was no real resolution to the mystery, and Banks does not get to put this one in his solved file. The body of a man is found hanging in the woods, and his partner is found battered to death in his home, All the powers that be say it's a simple murder-suicide, but Banks isn't convinced. So ignoring his boss's request to let it end, he goes off on his own to try to figure out what actually happened and why. He finds himself at loggerheads with other high level agencies as they try to keep a lid on their many secrets. At much personal risk to himself and to his friends and acquaintances, Banks continues his off-the-books investigation. But the other agencies end up wininng in the end, and all is swept under the rug. Even though it was a murder-suicide, the reasons behind it and the reasons for the intrusions into Banks life and into his friends are neve revealed - not even to the reader. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see where Banks goes with the knowledge he has discovered, and maybe get some closure to this book which seemed unfinished to me. ( )

[All The Colors of Darkness] by Peter Robinson
Alan Banks series Book #18
4 ★'s

From The Book:
In a world of terror and uncertainty, what does one small death matter?

The body hanging from a tree in a peaceful wood appears to Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot to be a suicide. Further investigation into the sad demise of Mark Hardcastle, the set designer for the local amateur theater company, leads to the corpse of Mark's older, wealthier lover, brutally bludgeoned to death.

Suddenly the case demands the attention of Chief Inspector Alan Banks, called back from his vacation even though nothing suggests this wasn't a crime of passion followed by remorse and self-destruction. But machinations within the shadow world of secret government only add to the colors of darkness already shading this troubling affair. And a stubborn policeman who will not be frightened away could lose everything in one terrifying, explosive instant.

My Thoughts:
This book draws on elements of espionage and Cold War treachery, yet it is another solid installment in the Inspector Alan Banks series.

Boys playing in the woods find a body hanging from one of the trees. Alan Banks is away with playing house with his much younger girl friend, Sophie... so Annie Cabot is own her own until she is ordered to call Banks and bring him back. It looks like a domestic quarrel where one partner bludgeoned the other and then hanged himself in grief so Annie thinks she hardly needed assistance with this case. Banks returns and all of a sudden no one wants the case investigated...they want it closed. Of course that raises red flags to Alan and Annie who continue to investigate on their own.

There are many subplots to the main story and investigation, so at times, the whole thing becomes confusing...and in the end it still leaves you wondering if any of the motives for the murder were ever really believable. There are personal developments with our main detective that fans of the series will want to see but I have to say I've read better Alan Banks novels. ( )