Playing with Fire: A Novel of Suspense: 14 (Inspector Banks Novels) - Softcover

Robinson, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 006147052X ISBN 13: 9780061470523

Publisher: Harper Large Print, 2008

Synopsis

Chief Inspector Alan Banks finds himself up against a diabolical arsonist in this electrifying novel of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Peter Robinson.

In the early hours of the morning, a man reports a fire on two old canal boats. One of the firefighters notices the use of accelerant at the scene and calls the police, but by the time Inspector Banks arrives, the fire brigade have put out the flames and only the smoldering wreckage remains. A body has been found on each barge, and all the evidence points towards a deliberate arson attack.

One of the victims is Tina, a young girl with a drug addiction and a terrible past who had been living with her boyfriend Mark. The other is Tom, an artist who had been living alone. Now, with little evidence to go on and a number of possible suspects, including Tina's boyfriend, the local 'lock-keeper' who reported the fire, and Tina's own father, Banks must begin to delve into the lives of the victims, and to discover who could have wanted them out of the way forever...

From the master of psychological suspense, Peter Robinson, comes a mind-bending thriller of secrets and murder.

About this title

Product Description:

Paperback. Pub Date: Jun Pages: 592 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Fire-It consumes futures and pasts in a terrified heartbeat. devouring damning secrets the while leaving even greater mysteries He commanded that the prisoners as flames engulf two barges in the ashes.The night sky is moored side by side on an otherwise empty canal. On board are the blackened remains of two human beings. To the seasoned eye. this horror was no accident. the method so cruel and calculated that only the worst sort of fiend could have committed it. There are shocking secrets to be uncovered in the charred wreckage. grim evidence of lethal greed and twisted hunger. and of nightmare occurrences within the private confines of family. A terrible feeling is driving police inspector Alan Banks in his desperate hunt for answers-an unshakable fear that this killer's work will not be done until Bank...

Review:

Playing with Fire is a typical Peter Robinson book. And if that sounds like damning with faint praise, it's anything but. Since Gallows View in 1987, Robinson has been turning out one of the most assured and entertaining series of crime novels in the genre, with his doughty Inspector Alan Banks one of the most solidly drawn of protagonists.

But perhaps the real reason behind the considerable success of the books is that unerring combination of brilliantly turned plots and wonderfully evoked locales: the Yorkshire Dales have proved a very fertile stamping ground for Robinson's irresistible brand of restrained mayhem.

Banks is handed his most piquant problem in Playing with Fire, and the rural backdrop is once again a key player in the action. On a chill winter's morning, a fire is found to have consumed two narrow boats on the Eastvale canal. Banks and his associate DI Annie Cabbot find themselves examining some grisly remnants: charred bodies found on the remains of the two boats. But who are the victims of what appears to be a calculated act of murder? An enigmatic artist with few friends? A young couple who spent most of their time stoned on illegal substances? Banks and Cabbot quickly find themselves with a host of possible perpetrators on their hands, from the father of the young girl who died in the attack to a duplicitous art dealer. But the heat is turned on for Banks--literally--when the murderous arsonist gets to work again.

As in the seminal In a Dry Season, Robinson doesn't shirk from tackling some pretty convoluted plotting, but any confusion the reader is plunged into is very satisfyingly resolved, and Robinson's already strong reputation will grow with this book. --Barry Forshaw

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Large Print
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 006147052X
• ISBN 13: 9780061470523
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 592