- first published in the UK 2014, Hodder & Stoughton
- #22 in the Alan Banks series
- ISBN 978-1-444-70496-4
- 367 pages
- source: my local library
Taking the title from the Nick Cave album, this sophisticated thriller, featuring DCI Alan Banks, follows the success of No.1 best-seller Children of the Revolution, which shot to the top of the UK charts earlier this year.
When two boys vanish under mysterious circumstances, the local community is filled with unease. Then a bloodstain is discovered in a disused World War Two hangar nearby, and a caravan belonging to one of the youths is burned to the ground. Things quickly become much more sinister.
Assigned to the case, DCI Banks and his team are baffled by the mystery laid out before them. But when a motor accident throws up a gruesome discovery, the investigation spins into a higher gear – in another direction. As Banks and his team struggle desperately to find the missing boy who holds the key to the puzzle, they find themselves in a race against time where it’s their turn to become the prey…
My Take
The blurb (above) promoting this novel, tells you almost as much as the reader needs to be told. The setting is North Yorkshire and Terry Gilchrist, recently discharged from the army is walking his dog. Peaches disappears inside an old hanger and Gilchrist recognises what Peaches has found as blood. Meanwhile Annie Cabot is investigating the theft of a tractor and Alan Banks is returning from holidays.
Crime scene investigators affirm that what Peaches found is human blood and Banks takes over the investigation.
I think what I enjoyed most about this novel was the exploration of the roles played by the various members of Banks' team, and particularly the part played by DS Winsome Jackman. And I enjoyed watching from the sidelines as the various plot threads converged.
An excellent read.
My rating: 4.8
I've also reviewed
FRIEND OF THE DEVIL (2007)
4.6, ALL THE COLOURS OF DARKNESS (2008)
4.6, BAD BOY (2010)
4.9. BEFORE THE POISON
4.7, WATCHING THE DARK (2013)
4.3, CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION
I think this is a great series, Kerrie, and I'm glad this entry in it lived up to the series' standard.
ReplyDeleteI like Robinson's novels very much indeed, and so I tend to spread them out rather than binge on them. You've reminded me that I'm overdue to read another -- many thanks! Meanwhile, my wife is lining me up to watch one of the tv adaptations this evening . . .
ReplyDeleteOh, and I too am a big DS Winsome Jackman fan!