This is the fifth novel in the series, which continues the story of Inspector Banks and the new life he has carved out for himself in Eastvale after leaving his stressful life in London.There have been some personnel changes at Eastvale Regional Headquarters since the last book. Susan Gay has moved from Police Constable to Detective Constable and is now upstairs with the CID team of Grsithorpe, Banks, and Richmond. Jim Hatchley, who had been considered a problem for some time, has been assigned to a small office on the east coast. He was never suitable for promotion and was blocking Philip Richmond’s way to a deserved promotion to Detective Constable. Richmond had already passed his exams and showed an excellent aptitude for the job, but there was never room for two Detective Sergeants in such a small station. When the region was expanded, Gristhorpe decided to establish a small outpost on the coast to deal with day to day matters there, and appointed Hatchley in charge. Although still a Sergeant, Hatchley has a small increase in pay and more authority, so he is happy.Susan’s appointment has created a new perspective and different tone in the department. She is young, competent, anxious to do well and a little nervous in her new job. And although she has a way to go, she brings a new and different perspective to the job they do. It seems women often see things differently and pick up nuances that men miss entirely. On one of Susan’s first nights on duty alone, a murder is reported. A beautiful woman has been discovered by her flat mate, naked, and sprawled out on the sofa with multiple stab wounds to the chest and throat. Interestingly, a record by Vivaldi is playing on the record player, set to repeat infinitely, and there is Christmas wrapping tossed carelessly on the floor. A chocolate cake is on the coffee table with one slice eaten. It is an entirely macabre scene: the blazing fire, Christmas lights, candles, a sheepskin rug and a beautiful young woman draped dead on the sofa.Banks and Susan are the two most heavily involved in the investigation of the crime. Since this is Susan’s first criminal investigation since joining the team, she is determined to do well and show Banks that she is up to the challenge of detective work. But there is an annoying and difficult problem both she and Banks must deal with: there are too many suspects with too many motives and far too many opportunities to commit the crime. The investigation gives Banks an opportunity to visit London and we get a sense of what his life was like while he was there. He thinks about how things started to go wrong and why he left. And though the city seems nosier, dirtier and busier he does have a chance to reminisce about both the good times and bad in a city he liked but couldn’t tolerate. Things are also in a state of flux at home. Sandra now has a part time job and is often away. She is managing Eastvale’s new gallery at the community center where she organizes exhibitions of local art, sculpture and photography. Their daughter Tracy is now fifteen and long conversations about history with her Dad are no longer her only interest. And their son Brian, now seventeen, is often off with his friends. Banks is aware life is getting on, and that next year he will be forty. Where did the time go? He feels life is slipping by with everything in a state of flux. All the changes make him uneasy. Banks continues with his music, although he seems to be back to more classical as well as jazz choices and now has a Walkman which he uses when he is not out driving his car. He is still smoking, although Sandra has quit and also declared the house a no smoking zone, much to Banks’ chagrin. The station has also been declared non smoking although he can still light up in his office. But now even those brought in for questioning can object if a police officer smokes in the room. Even more changes Banks does not appreciate. As an investigator, Banks seems to be developing a harder edge, pushing suspects when he is questioning them and not letting them off the hook when they give him vague answers. He seems to be gaining more confidence now that he has settled into his new work situation, and worries less about what others think, although he is well aware that most people still consider him a “new arrival from the big city” despite the fact he has been in Eastvale three years.Again Robinson refers to the scar by Banks’ right eye, but we are no closer to knowing the story behind that injury. It is a tiny thread that just continues through all the books.Still wonder how they manage after all the pints and cigarettes and a diet that seems to consist mostly of sandwiches!Nice tight plot and characters with depth and complexity.Will definitely continue with the series.
For all that I adore Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks books, this one frustrated me. In all fairness, it still had wonderful characters, Banks himself demonstrating compassion and empathy towards suspects and guiding, through example, a new and eager DC, Susan, as she embarks on her first case. Peripheral characters are roundly drawn and you get a marvellous sense of them with merely a few words or some dialogue - something Robinson does so well. Place and the season are also evoked with flair. What irritated me was the fact that usually the criminal and the motive behind the crime are buried beneath a mountain of clues and the reader joins Banks as he digs and sieves through the layers, each chapter bringing us closer, each page leading towards a revelation that can leave you on the edge of your seat. In this way, we delight in various discoveries; the links formed and enjoy the 'light bulb' moment where everything becomes clear. With this book, the murderer and the rationale for the crime are apparent within pages. It is quite obvious and while ordinarily this doesn't detract (too much) from the pleasure of embarking on the investigation, in this instance it was annoying and spoiled the reading and investigative experience. This is because 'knowing' Banks as a regular reader does, there is no reason that he too wouldn't be aware, so you become bothered by his overlooking of the apparent. Instead, a red herring is planted at the beginning and in a burst of irksome perseverance, Banks cannot let it go and it preoccupies him (and thus the reader) at the expense of clues staring him in the face. Throughout the book, Banks expresses his exasperation with this case and the fact that he feels something is eluding him. Yes, it was and it didn't ring true to his character and his ability to laterally think, to understand the criminal mind and, most obviously, the blatant clues strewn before him. That the new DC Susan also fails (conveniently for the author) to pass on information that would lead to identifying the killer is just hair-tearingly stupid. I won't spoil it by revealing what was evident, but I wonder if other readers felt the same? I kept reading hoping, believing I was wrong in my assumptions... Disappointingly, I wasn't and so ended up pissed off with Banks for being so thick-headed! But, perhaps this is also a sign of how invested I am in the books and the principal character - I know he is better than this (as is Robinson). I still adore the books, but this one wasn't as clever or satisfying as the others.
What do You think about Past Reason Hated (2000)?
Just a few days before Christmas, Caroline Hartley, a young amateur actress, is stabbed to death in her home. There are several suspects -her lover, her lover's ex-husband, his current partner, one of several jealous members of the community theater group, and her angry younger brother who has been saddled with the sole care of their dying father. It's up to DCI Banks and his team to sort it all out. The team has undergone some changes. Jim Hartley, the sergeant, has gotten married and been moved to an auxiliary station on the coast. Phil Richmond, the young tech whiz, has been promoted, and young PC Susan Gay has been made a DC. Her first case is a series of vandalism incidents, including one at the amateur theater where the murder victim was performing. Gay is dedicated, ambitious, a linear thinker and at times dangerously naïve. Banks, on the other hand, is more intuitive and empathic, and has years more experience. Gay has problems dealing with the relationship between the murder victim and her lover. Banks is much more open and accepting. The book was written in 1991, but is still surprisingly timely in the issues that it raises and its tone.
—Monica
This is my first Inspector Banks mystery. This is much better writing than many recent mysteries I have read. For example, within the first 9 pages, the reader is introduced to most of the characters in such a way that they become 3 dimensional immediately. The characters themselves are acting, talking, and thinking, rather than have the author describe what they are doing.Another nice touch is that the author presents the clues as Inspector Banks uncovers them; so about halfway through the book the reader knows who the culprit is, and the rest of the book is figuring out why. But Banks hasn't yet figured out who the culprit is, so it plays out pretty well.At any rate, the basic plot centers around a woman who has a small role in the local theater production of Twelfth Night. She is found murdered, nude, with a record on continuous play. Turns out she is a lesbian with some talent for acting. As does the rest of the cast, so how do the coppers know who is telling the truth?I plan to read more in this series.
—Ishmael Seaward
The last Inspector Banks I read was disappointing. This is more the Banks (and Peter Robinson) that I know and love. It is Christmas time, and a beautiful young woman is murdered. There seems to be no motive, but as Inspector Banks looks into her past, he realizes that she had been a troubled young woman. She was abused by her father and runs away to London, where she has an illegitimate child and becomes a prostitute. She tries to leave that life behind her and becomes involved with a female writer and realizes that she is a lesbian.Happy at last, she moves to Yorkshire with the woman she loves and is murdered. The probing of Caroline's past while trying to find the killer is fascinating. And the killer is a surprise...highly recommend "Past Reason Hated".
—Karen Gail Brown
