Robinson resided in the Beaches area of Toronto [2] with his wife, Sheila Halladay, and he occasionally taught crime writing at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies. He also taught at a number of Toronto colleges and served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Windsor, 1992–1993. [4] Robinson and his wife had a holiday cottage in Richmond, North Yorkshire. [5] He died on 4 October 2022, at the age of 72. [8] [9] Awards and honours [ edit ] a b c d e Sloniowski, Jeannette; Rose, Marilyn, eds. (25 March 2014). Detecting Canada: Essays on Canadian Crime Fiction, Television, and Film. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 9781554589289. Into the Woods 1,” “Londonderry Air,” “Summertime” from Toru Takemitsu: Complete Music for Solo Guitar by Andrea Dieci

MANY RIVERS TO CROSS | Kirkus Reviews MANY RIVERS TO CROSS | Kirkus Reviews

I began this novel with some trepidation as I’d found its predecessor Careless Love to be a massive disappointment. However, I soon found myself hooked on this latest story featuring Superintendent Alan Banks. The discovery of the body of a young Middle Eastern boy on the East Side Estate, found in a “wheelie bin” (large garbage can), brings Banks and his detective, Gerry, a woman with a prestigious Cambridge degree, as well as his long-time partner, Annie Cabot to the estate to investigate. The boy’s identity is unknown, but eventually they determine he was part of a drug pushing ring operating out of Leeds, that he was 12-years-old and a Syrian refugee. Subsequently, is an area of abandoned decaying houses, a wheelchair-bound man in his 60’s is found dead of an overdose. The police investigation works to determine if these are related to the Leeds drug ring. True enough,’ Banks said. ‘I was just thinking about that, myself. It’ll make identifying him either easy or bloody impossible. Either way, we’d better brace ourselves. I have a feeling this is going to be a big case.’ This is book 26 in the series and unfortunately it falls short of the high standards, previously set. Sally Beamish: Andante from Viola Concerto No. 2 – The Seafarer “ by Tabea Zimmermann, Ola Rudner & Swedish Chamber OrchestraAs the local press seize upon an illegal immigrant angle, and the national media the story of another stabbing, the police are called to investigate a less newsworthy death: a middle-aged heroin addict found dead of an overdose in another estate, scheduled for redevelopment. DCI Banks author Peter Robinson dies aged 72". BBC News. 7 October 2022 . Retrieved 7 October 2022.

Many Rivers to Cross – 2019 – Peter Robinson

True, it’s not like many of Robinson’s procedurals, and it wanders into territory that makes readers fear for the lives of Banks and his friends, but I found it a really good, if somewhat discomfiting, read. It definitely made me anxious to get my hands on the next one to discover who the rat is and what happens Zelda, et al. a b Cogdill, Oline H. (20 February 2005). "Two Writers Modernized British Crime Fiction". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. p.23. ProQuest 389831798 . Retrieved 7 October 2022– via ProQuest. At the same time, Zelda, girlfriend of Annie Cabbot’s father Ray is conducting her own investigation in London. In Careless Love, Zelda came across as a somewhat annoying cliché. However, in this novel, as we learn more about her personal history, she becomes a much more interesting and sympathetic character.Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. The latest absorbing police procedural mystery in the series of Detective Superintendent Alan Banks. This book can easily be read as a standalone. The author Peter Robinson has a wonderful writing style and I love the quirky musical references he adds into the storyline. DS Alan Banks is working class, brooding and has a charming demeanour. In a parallel investigation, Nelia Melnic, known as Zelda, was hunting on her own with Phil Keene, a former nemesis of Banks. Keene had burned down the detective’s house in a previous novel. I don’t think I’ve been this disappointed in a book ever. I’ll just skip to the good part, which is basically the last 3-4 chapters, which is a decent detective story conclusion. Barely. I did find it OK and thankfully that meant an OK ending. However, a Goodreads 2-star rating means “It was OK” (“It” implying the whole book) and this really wasn’t. 25 bit up-and-down, granted, in the series that I hold very dear as a favourite of mine and this? The story itself was not bad, I would say it was even an improvement on the book #25, which in my opinion was the weakest one so far. I liked the new angle and the twist to the story that I did not really see coming and I am quite intrigued about the direction of this particular narrative in the future. That being said, for the first time ever I had multiple issues with the way the characters were portrayed, especially female ones. The author made several attempts at explaining to the reader why sex trade is morally wrong (duh?) but he continued to portray all female characters in a very sexual terms, always mentioning their looks and the way they sexually aroused all the men around them. There was a scene in the high school when Banks is actually wondering what sexual fantasies schoolboys might have about his female partner. Somehow I do not think that remark was super necessary for the plot, “realistic” as it may be because all it did was change my opinion about Banks from being a perceptive, intelligent detective to a sex obsessed aging man trying to feel more macho.

Many Rivers to Cross (Inspector Alan Banks Book 26) by Peter Many Rivers to Cross (Inspector Alan Banks Book 26) by Peter

Set in the fictional English town of Eastvale in the Yorkshire Dales, the Inspector Banks series of crime novels has been translated into 20 languages. Known as the "master of the police procedural," Robinson's other books in the series include Many Rivers to Cross, Careless Love and Sleeping in the Ground , which won the Arthur Ellis Award in 2018 in the best novel category. Although there is a twist at the end, I wasn’t surprised at who the culprit/s was but nonetheless a satisfying conclusion. a b c "Peter Robinson". notablebiographies.com. notablebiographies. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015 . Retrieved 24 August 2015. A young skinny Middle Eastern boy is found dead and discarded inside an elderly homeowners wheelie bin in the Eastvale housing estate. The boy isn’t recognised as belonging to the neighbourhood so it’s a mystery to who he is and where he’s come from. There are possible racial overtones in the case. A middle-aged heroin addict is also found dead in a decaying neighbouring estate and Banks feels the cases may be connected.

Summary

I rate Mr Robinson highly as a writer so I was astonished that he put the authenticity of two of his most important characters at risk by making them slip out of character to spout politics. Very early on one of them makes regretful remarks about Brexit and how she perceives the British to have diminished in her eyes as a result. When I read this I heard the author's voice - intrusive voice - not the character's. This was so jarring it took me a further chapter or so before she regained conviction as a character. Late in the book, as Banks is closing in on the killer, he likens one pompous character to Nigel Farage. Again, I found this to be distracting and it said "authorial voice" to me, the more so because of the theme of the first chapter authorial intrusion. I was sorry that a writer of Mr Robinson's calibre had reversed the customary practice of polishing the distracting flaws out. Allow your readers some refuge from the all pervading ennui that is Brexit, please. This is my twenty sixth Banks novel, and I have read his stand alone novels too. Mr Robinson has moved Banks with the times and the novels are no longer Eastvale parochial affairs. They have spread to encompass London and in the most recent books, international criminal gangs. The author accomplishes this rather well. There is a main story set in Eastvale, and a sub plot involving international gangs running through and alongside the main story, and this international theme is now functioning as a DNA link between the novels. Although Caedmon's Song is a standalone novella, it is related to Friend of the Devil, which is also related to Aftermath.