Close to Home

This Peter Robinson mystery is one of the best available,and it is truly difficult to put down once started.The hero, Chief D.I. Alan Banks is a complex character, inboth his professional and his personal life, and this bookcontinues his evolution as he continues to think about hisex-wife, as well as his 2 children and their careers, and ashe wonders frequently where his personal life is headed.Plus, he is facing "burn-out," as the murders and criminalshe faces routinely blunt his emotions and feelings, and hefears he is withdrawing from some of his professional life.The story revolves around 2 missing children, one of whichbecomes his current case when the teen-age boy is found dead,and the other of which was his buddy when he disappeared in1965. There are so many parallels, Banks worries about bothcases, and he is drawn to the investigation of the old 1965 case in his hometown of Petersborough, while handling theinvestigation of the other boy in his own jurisdiction ofNorth Yorkshire.While Banks worries about his relationship with one of hisdetectives, Annie, he meets up with an intriguing red-haired,green-eyed woman detective, Michelle, who is working theold 1965 case with new clues. So Banks has a lot on hismind as he unravels one mystery, and he gets fully involvedin the second.Both cases involve personal danger to both Banks and his staff,and there is plenty of action, as well as the intellectualstimulation Robinson puts together, and this is a verysatisifiying book, and one that is highly recommended.Plus, you can learn a lot about English countryside lifeand work, while Banks visits his retired parents and makesthe rounds while helping with the 1965 case.Entertaining and fun.

Two incidents scarred a 14 year old Alan Banks in 1965: the first was a near assault at the hands a derelict (and possible pedophile/murderer), and the second was the disappearance of his good friend, Graham Marshall. Banks, has always feared that his failure to report the attempted assault may have resulted in Graham's disappearance and death. Now, when Banks reads in the newspapers some 40 odd years later, that Graham's remains have been found in a field, he immediately returns to his childhood home in Petersborough in order to offer whatever help the police officer currently in charge of Graham's case (the fetching DI Michelle Hart) is willing to accept, and to hopefully discover what happened to Graham and, finally, to close one of the more painful chapters of his life. And while a seasoned policeman like Alan Banks knows full well that all kinds of dark and painful secrets are likely to be uncovered and aired while a murder investigation is being conducted, not even he is fully prepared for the level of corruption that he and Michelle soon find themselves in the middle of...This is, I think, the best British police procedural that I've read in the past 4 months at least. I liked the manner in which Peter Robinson juxtaposed the investigation into the long ago murder of Graham Marshall with the more current one of Luke Armitage (another teenage boy with secrets) so seamlessly. And I thought that the manner in which Robinson handled the various motifs -- Banks' memories of what was going on that fateful year, Banks' difficult realtionship with his working-class parents, the fact that parents (no matter how loving) actually have very little idea of what's going on in their children's lives, Annie Cabbot's initial handling of the Luke Armitage case, etc -- was really well done. I also liked the manner in which the authour drew things out, all the while slowly building on the level of suspense/tension (as each new plot development is revealed) so that you really had that on-the-edge-of-your-seat feeling. "Close to Home" proved to be a totally engrossing mystery novel that was incredibly hard to put down -- the characters were well drawn and fully developed; the subplots were intriguing, full of rich detail, atmospheric and vivid imagery; and the narrative style was subtle and nicely nuanced. My vote: "Close to Home" is definitely one of the early contenders for best mystery novel of the year.

Now, this is only my second taste of Peter Robinson. My first came when I eagerly read Gallows View the first Inspector Banks novel, and came away suitably impressed. Impetuous as I am, I decided to abandon series order and read this latest one. Naughty, but true. Needless to say, I am now positive that I have been missing out on a great series. In the summer of 1965, Graham Marshall, a young boy and friend of Alan Banks, disappeared into thin air while on his paper round. Now, decades later, some human bones are unearthed not ten miles from his home. They are quickly identified as Graham's. Alan Banks is holidaying in Greece (recuperating from his last, affecting case) when he reads of the discovery of his old friend's remains in a newspaper, and promptly decides that it's time to return to see if he can lend a hand. While all this is going on, another young boy disappears in Yorkshire, and while the dual cases are entirely unconnected, for Banks they still hold eerie similarities, as they echo each other across the gap of years. Then, curious memories begin to surface about his old friend. Memories which may have a bearing upon what happened, and memories that Banks now wants explaining...It is clear that Chief Inspector Banks has remained the likeable, delightfully realistic protagonist that I met in Gallows View, and I suspect that for long-term fans it'll be a great treat to meet, as we do in this book, his parents. This is often a very nostalgic novel, giving us insight into Bank's childhood at the same time as being both moving and haunting. The writing is clean and sharp, the plot is good (although nothing extra special) and structured well, he develops his characters adequately (in fact, I am probably missing out a little due to not reading the series in order), and they are very interesting. Although I would like to have got to know Michelle Hart a bit better. But then, I expect he's storing that up for the next one... The police procedural aspects are handled with the skill and knowledge of a seasoned profession, and at times he certainly shows himself to be more than qualified to challenge such greats in the field of British police procedure as Ian Rankin and Reginald Hill.The solutions to both parallel mysteries are satisfying and quite unexpected. Existing fans of Banks (and I now count myself most definitely among them) are sure to be pleased with this novel, as are readers new to him. (Although, those of you that are new to him, I would, in retrospect, recommend reading the series completely in order.)Ian Rankin clearly has some hot competition following hot on his heels.

Though he is vacationing in Greece to get away from the griminess of police work, English Detective Inspector Alan Banks follows the news reports from home. He is stunned when he learns that an excavator has dug up the skeletal remains of a teenage boy near his hometown of Petersborough. He knows the victim is his childhood friend Graham Marshal missing since 1965. Just before the disappearance, Alan feels guilty because a stranger assaulted him, but he escaped and never reported the incident to his family or the police.Alan cannot ignore the investigation so he returns home. There he learns that fifteen-year-old Luke Armitage is missing and his former girlfriend Annie Cabbot is working the case. Fearing the worst for Luke and feeling he owes Graham, Alan dives into both inquiries in an attempt to relieve some of the remorse he has carried for too many years.CLOSE TO HOME is an exhilarating police procedural that plays out on several levels besides the obvious dual investigations. Alan is a complex character who seemed on the verge of burn out until his conscience makes him cut short his R & R. The rest of the cast provides depth whether they played chess with the protagonist in Greece or are involved in the inquiries in England. With novels like this character driven compelling who-done-it and AFTERMATH, fans will appreciate the skills of Peter Robinson, who is bound to become regarded on both sides of the Atlantic.Harriet Klausner

When I read a novel and find it wanting (but not intolerable), I tend to skip-read much of the text just so I can get to the end and move on. In reading Robinson's latest, I savoured each word. Enjoyed each nuance. Sunk into it's substance. Empathized with each character and then wished I hadn't read it yet so I could read it again, for the first time.Thanks Peter!