PIECE OF MY HEART
Peter
Robinson
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 0-340-83686-5
June 19th, 2006
 |
PIECE OF MY HEART
written
by
PETER ROBINSON
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is back and author Peter Robinson
has come up with a gem of a novel that is rich, entertaining and utterly
compelling.
As volunteers clean up after a huge outdoor rock concert in Yorkshire
in 1969, they discover the body of a young woman wrapped in a sleeping
bag. She has been brutally murdered. The detective assigned to the case,
Stanley Chadwick, is a hard-headed, strait-laced veteran of the Second
World War. He could not have less in common with – or less regard
for – young, disrespectful, long-haired hippies, smoking marijuana
and listening to the pulsing sounds of rock and roll. But he has a murder
to solve, and it looks as if the victim was somehow associated with the
up-and-coming psychedelic pastoral band the Mad Hatters.
In the present, Inspector Alan Banks is investigating the murder of
a freelance music journalist who was working on a feature about the
Mad Hatters for MOJO magazine. This is not the first time that the
Mad Hatters, now aging rock superstars, have been brushed by tragedy.
Banks finds he has to delve into the past to find out exactly what
hornets` nest the journalist inadvertently stirred up.
Described by none other than Stephen
King as “the best series on the market”, it is difficult
to argue with such an appraisal of Peter Robinson’s abilities.
Piece Of My Heart
rips along at such a pace it is akin to being placed in a jet-fighter
during take-off, as the comparison’s between the latter days
of the “swinging sixties” and contemporary Yorkshire underline
how little has changed with regards to attitudes towards the young
amongst their elders and supposed betters.
The overall key to the beauty of the
novel, however, is the author’s ability to convey dialogue so
deftly, naturally and succinctly. The context of each scenario is
so well defined it is as visible as television in its clarity and
so avoids some of the clutter that often hold back cross-generational
novels so badly.
As gripping as they come, Piece
Of My Heart deserves to be hailed from the rooftops
for being the worthy addition to the Crime fiction genre it undoubtedly
is.
www.inspectorbanks.com
- Peter Robinson Official Website
Order this book online - Linghams
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