Thursday, November 26, 2020

Banks and Gristhorpe hunt a psychopath.


Peter Robinson. Wednesday’s Child (1996) An early DCI Banks tale. A child goes missing, a gruesomely killed corpse is found above the town, DCI Banks and Supt Gristhorpe split the load, but the two cases converge (of course). The perp is a text-book psychopath. Robinson’s plotting is near immaculate.
     I find these books a good read. Robinson’s ability to invest even secondary characters with enough suggestive detail for realism, and his leisurely but steady narrative pace make for a better than average entertainment. He keeps the gore to a minimum, sets the scenes well, and traces the twisting and turning and occasionally dead-ended path of the investigation clearly. Recommended, as is the TV series. ***

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Wycliffe x 3: How to Kill a Cat (1970); the Scapegoat (1978); Four Jacks (1985).

W. J. Burley. Wycliffe and How to Kill a Cat (1970) A victim deliberately disfigured to prevent or delay identification. Wycliffe is on hol...