Inspector Banks Series by Peter Robinson

[Bianca]

I was just wondering what everyone else thought of this series?

I decided to start reading the series after seeing an article about the author in a magazine.

The first book, Gallows View, made it seem like a promising start. I did quite enjoy the story, however, i did not like the character Inspector Banks due to his feelings towards another woman while being married, yet i felt the twists throughout kept me reading. There are so many people who could be the Peeping Tom, you just can't correctly predict the culprit till Robinson decides to reveal.

The second book, A Dedicated Man, seemed to drag on a bit too much. It was set at a much slower pace, and i must admit, i was not reading as much as i usually do as the story was not gripping. It does not get exciting till the last third part of the story.

I am now at the beginning of the third book, A Necessary End, and yet this again is not gripping enough. These books just dont seem to be the type where you feel you just can't put the book down when reading.

Do the other titles in this series get any better? I like reading books that grip me from the beginning and make me want to carry on reading to find out what happens next, so far this series is just not doing that to me.

[frankie]

I've only read one book by him, and I have to say I don't really remember much about it (that's how it usually goes for me with thrillers etc.), but I do remember liking the novel and thinking I should read the series from the start. I didn't mind the main character. I understand why you would resent him if he was married and thinking about some other woman, but in a way it's great that the main characters in thrillers aren't all wonderful supermen who do the job well and have a stabile life: we all have flaws and faults of our own, and the characters in books should be able to reflect realistic traits in real people. Not that I'm really keen on such characters, but it makes them seem more real, if you know what I mean

[ian]

I've read I think about 3 or four of these, not in any particular order. While I enjoyed the stories and the main characters, I did think there are some fairly old-fashioned notions in there. Most of the minor characters have very old-fashioned names that don't seem to fit the time they are set in. I wasn't therefore surprised to find that Peter Robinson hasn't lived in England for some years, so I think there is a little bit of rose-tintedness about some of the writing. That sounds very negative, but I have to reiterate that I have enjoyed the 3 or 4 books that I have read, and would always pick up another if I come across it.

[Ophelia]

A friend lent me 'In a Dry Season' (10th in the series) and I enjoyed the book; liked the detective, Alan Banks, and wanted to find out more about him so started at the beginning. I've read most of them now and, with the odd exception, have loved them. I did find that the stories became darker as the series progressed.

 

I'm so pleased that I didn't see the TV version, 'DCI Banks' first or I may never have read the books!

[frankie]

A friend lent me 'In a Dry Season' (10th in the series) and I enjoyed the book; liked the detective, Alan Banks, and wanted to find out more about him so started at the beginning. I've read most of them now and, with the odd exception, have loved them. I did find that the stories became darker as the series progressed.

 

Darker, aye? Sounds promising, thanks! I'll have to investigate if they have any books on this series at the library.

[Martin]

I've read a few of Robinson's books and do enjoy them to a degree. My main gripe is that I find them wordy. He seems determined to use 100 words when twenty would do. Anyone else feel this way?