Careless Love

A DCI Banks Novel

By: Peter Robinson

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

His fans include Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Tess Gerritsen, Ian Rankin, and Louise Penney. He has won acclaim and numerous international prizes and awards, including the Edgar. Now, Peter Robinson, one of the world’s greatest suspense writers, returns with a powerful mystery in which his legendary Detective Superintendent Alan Banks must solve two perplexing crimes.

Two suspicious deaths challenge DS Alan Banks and his crack investigative team.

A young local student’s body is found in an abandoned car on a lonely country road. The death looks like suicide, but there are too many open questions for Banks and his team to rule out foul play. The victim didn’t own a car. She didn’t even drive. How did she get there? Where - and when - did she die? Did someone move her, and if so, why?

A man in his 60s is found dead in a gully up on the wild moorland. He is wearing an expensive suit and carrying no identification. Post mortem findings indicate that he died from injuries sustained during a fall. Was it an accident - did he slip and fall? Or was he pushed? Why was he up there? And why are there no signs of a vehicle near where he fell?

As the inconsistencies multiply and the mysteries surrounding these two cases proliferate, a source close to Annie reveals a piece of information that shocks the team and impacts the investigations. An old enemy has returned in a new guise - a nefarious foe who will stop at nothing, not even murder, to get what he wants.

With the stakes raised, the hunt is on. But will Banks be able to find the evidence to stop him in time?

©2019 Peter Robinson (P)2019 HarperAudio

Slower than molasses in winter

When I started this book, I kept going with it thinking that it had to speed up at some point. It did not. The plot outlines for this series sounded pretty interesting but after struggling through this one, I cancelled my pre-order and removed the other titles from my Wish List. You can skip a few chapters and still not lose any of the plot.

A good DCI Banks yarn though not my favorite

A little more predictable than most but a good story. All my favorite characters. I would have liked a bit more detail about how the court case against the doctor went down but it was enjoyable as always with the best reader of this series, Simon Prebble.

Skillful writing but a bit dull IMO

I like a little more of a challenge than this - we really don’t need quite so much handholding and explanation/exposition - it feels like this guy is writing for a 6yo or something. Nothing offensive, and again skillful composition, but man I just kept waiting for it to get more interesting...
not worth going into the details but this could have been edited down to like a quarter of the length and maybe would have been more compelling. Seems like he’s calling it in to me, just milking it and trying to keep the story going for as long as possible. But at the end of the day, he’s a great author I’m sure. We all need to make a living!

The list after list of music titles and performers is a drag.

I know the stories would be significantly shorter but much more enjoyable to me with much less of the music and literary information. It almost feels like filler anyway. In spite of that, this was an interesting mystery, thank goodness.

5

Oh, my. I do like the DCI Banks series. These characters snagged my attention, the author kept their stories alive
in some cases longer than the characters lived. A thoughtful
book, I liked it. It is contemporary British sleuthing
with unusually well drawn characters, involved with unusual
behaviors and choices. I do wish Banks were more involved with Blues over Jazz... but he does appreciate 60s music.
Excellent narrator!

For those who love DCI Banks

For those of us who have read several (or all) of the others in the DCI Banks series, this is an interesting addition. Still, it does seem more listless than the others. The story takes a long time to introduce the set cast of characters, thus the plot develops later than in some mysteries. That’s the price series readers sometimes pay to allow new readers access.
Overall, Peter Robinson is a great writer whose characters bring me back again and again to check in on their lives. His plots are generally far superior to the majority, and I enjoy learning something more through his musical and cultural references.
Simon Prebble’s narration is excellent.
Although not the best one, I’m still a DCI Banks series reader.

Like visiting with old friends

I have read or listened to all of the Alan Banks books by Peter Robinson. I have enjoyed them all! I have even gone back and read the earliest ones when Banks was an unmarried detective. It was good to see how my old friends are doing these days---Annie, Winsom, Raymond, and of course, Banks.

A big plus for this audiobook is Simon Prebble, a narrator extraordinaire! I always pay attention when I see that he is reading a book. In fact, I think I could even listen to him read the telephone book (if such a thing existed anymore).

Some have said they dislike Banks' love of music of all kinds and his constant talk of what he is listening to at the moment. That doesn't bother me. Actually, I only wish my knowledge of music was a diverse as his. Wonder whether author Peter Robinson also likes music so much.

I highly recommend this book, but readers will enjoy it more if they start at the beginning of the series.

Take me out and shoot me

If I buy another Peter Robinson book take me out and shoot me.
Robinson has always been an obnoxious opinionated music snob. He creates a Jamaican character and then makes her disdain reggae? Now he's bashing Neil Diamond. And his mediocre writing and impoverished plots do not compensate.

Good Procedural

This was a good novel, but not great. Simon Pebble makes the book memorable with his outstanding narration.