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Inspector
Alan Banks Series , #21
Peter Robinson
William Morrow
3/25/2014/ ISBN 9780062240507
Mystery
Reviewed
by Elise Cooper
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Peter
Robinson’s latest book, Children Of The Revolution,
intertwines a murder mystery while bringing back the seventies
era. As with all of his books Robinson explores a few social
issues within a strong character based story. For this novel,
he discussed the issues of date rape, sexual abuse, abuse of
power, betrayal, Marxism, and the comparison of students in
the seventies with today. What makes the plot intriguing is
the use of folk music lyrics to enhance it.
Being a Grateful Deads fan he used their songs to enrich the
plot. He noted, “ Folk songs talk about love and murder.
I thought of the idea from the time I did performances in England
with Martin Carthy. I wrote a story specifically around the
songs he wanted to sing. He would open with a song and then
I would start reading the story, pause, and have him sing another
song. Five songs were chosen throughout and the short stories,
Deadly Pleasures, was specifically written for this performance.
By the way, Carthy was one of the people who introduced Bob
Dylan to England in the sixties.”
Children of the Revolution begins with Inspector Banks
investigating the death of a recluse college professor who was
dismissed for alleged sexual misconduct four years ago. Along
with 5,000 pounds found in his pockets, Professor Gavin Miller’s
body position indicated that the cause of death was not natural.
Banks struggles to find answers as to why Miller would have
committed suicide and begins to wonder if he was pushed off
the nearby bridge. Robbery, blackmail, or revenge is the possible
motive for the untimely death. Banks suspects Lady Veronica
Chalmers because of her apparent link with the victim going
back to the early seventies at the University of Essex, then
a hotbed of political activism. After the inquiries, he is brought
on the carpet by his supervisors and warned to stop. Banks continues
to conduct his investigation under the radar, with the help
of new DC Geraldine Masterson, DI Annie Cabbot and DS Winsome
Jackman.
Robinson commented, “My stories start with the setting,
in this case the old abandoned railway line that had a bridge
overhead. I thought this would be an interesting place to find
a body. Then I began to look at British contemporary history
and thought it would be interesting to see what happened to
those people from the seventies era. I came up with a plot that
allowed me to do this. I enjoy writing about the characters.
In fact, I never know who did it until I am part way through
the plot and a character seems to present itself.”
Readers can see the evolution of Detective Alan Banks from his
initial appearance in 1987 to now where he is a lot more cynical
and melancholy. He is an old fashioned detective that would
rather use his thought process, assessment of characters and
his own decision-making than the modern technology of today.
This can be exemplified with the quote by Banks, “I’ve
often thought that solving a crime has far more to do with understanding
people and their motives than it does with spectrographic analysis
and DNA.” Robinson does not see his main character as
a hero figure or a brilliant sleuth like Sherlock Holmes but
does think “he is from the age group that finds political
correctness rather tedious.”
Blackfive.net was given a heads up about his next book, whose
title for the British audience will be Abattoir Blues, but could
change for the American reader. The theme deals with some rural
crimes in Northern England, that Robinson considers “a
nice backdrop for a murder mystery.”
Children of the Revolution has Banks pondering aging
and his mortality as well as his career. Through his contrast
of the different periods including student life the readers
will learn about those eras. This book is complex and thought
provoking between a riveting mystery and an exploration of social
issues. |
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