Product Description

During a blistering summer, drought has depleted Thornfield Reservoir, uncovering the remains of a small village called Hobb's End - hidden from view for over 40 years. For a curious young boy this resurfaced hamlet has become a magical playground . . . until he unearths a human skeleton. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is given the impossible task of identifying the victim - a woman who lived in a place that no longer exists, whose former residents are scattered to the winds. Anyone else might throw in the towel but Banks sets out to uncover the murky past buried beneath a flood of time...

'A WONDERFUL NOVEL' Michael Connelly

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53329 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
On the outs with their superiors, Detective Inspector Banks and Detective Sergeant Annie Cabbot are lumbered with a case that is supposed to frustrate and annoy them--and find the challenge fascinating. When a reservoir dries out, a flooded village emerges and a boy finds a skeleton buried in an outhouse--by solid police work, and the use of experts, Banks and Cabbot find out who she was and when she died, and then have to find out why. The reader knows more than they do of course--elderly crime writer Vivien has written her own account of what happened during World War Two when she was an intense unhappy teenager, and this is presented in alternate chapters--but there are surprises still in store... An intense sense of period and a celebration of the virtues of solid investigation, this admirable combination of the police procedural and the psychological period thriller was nominated for the Edgar, the US crime writers' best of the year award. Peter Robinson's acute portrayal of his flawed, humane detectives and the charismatic doomed victim the truth of whose death they are trying to uncover has a desperate sadness which comes together in a climax of unexpected power. --Roz Kaveney

Amazon.co.uk Review
On the outs with their superiors, Detective Inspector Banks and Detective Sergeant Annie Cabbot are lumbered with a case that is supposed to frustrate and annoy them--and find the challenge fascinating. When a reservoir dries out, a flooded village emerges and a boy finds a skeleton buried in an outhouse By solid police work, and the use of experts, Banks and Cabbot find out who she was and when she died, and then have to find out why. The reader knows more than they do of course--elderly crime writer Vivien has written her own account of what happened during World War II when she was an intense unhappy teenager, which we get in alternate chapters--but there are surprises still in store... An intense sense of period and a celebration of the virtues of solid investigation, this admirable combination of the police procedural and the psychological period thriller has been nominated for the Edgar, the US crime writers' best-of-the-year award. Peter Robinson's acute portrayal of his flawed, humane detectives and the charismatic doomed victim the truth of whose death they are trying to uncover has a desperate sadness which comes together in a climax of unexpected power. --Roz Kaveney

From the Publisher
Wonderful advance praise and reviews
"IN A DRY SEASON is a wonderful novel. From Peter Robinson's deft hand comes a multi-layered mystery woven around the carefully detailed portraits of characters all held tightly in the grip of the past. At its heart is Inspector Banks. A man for all seasons, he knows that often the clues to the answers he seeks can be found hidden in his own soul." --Michael Connelly, author of BLOOD WORK "Anyone who loves a good mystery should curl up gratefully with a cuppa to enjoy this rich 10th installment of the acclaimed British police procedural series...Robinson's work stands out for its psychological and moral complexity, its startling evocation of pastoral England and its gritty, compassionate portrayal of modern sleuthing." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Customer Reviews

WONDERFUL/A GREAT FIND ! - Super
Re : IN A DRY SEASON by Peter Robinson...

'In a dry season' is probably the most involving novel I have read since 'Black Dog' by Stephen Booth. The characterisation totally enchanting and the plot just sucks you in, but at all times there is this subtle menace, just shimmering on the surface, like the petroleum rainbow on a greasy puddle.

This is my first Inspector Alan Banks novel, and will not be my last, as I have just picked up 'COLD IS THE GRAVE' and then I must read 'AFTERMATH', so please forgive me if some of the back-story on Banks is somewhat fuzzy. Alan Banks is a wonderful character, middle aged angst and cynicism, and just enough lack of respect for authority that makes a great series character. Separated, starting a new life with a real tosspot of a boss ACC Jimmy Riddle, Alan Banks is given a blind-alley of a case, the investigation of a skeleton found in a drained reservoir. The skeleton dates from WW2, and an involving case (partially told in first person by one of the protagonists).

From here the story is woven like a fabric carpet, between Banks's life and the investigation vis-a-vis the story of the Skeleton from the past.

Wonderful, Wonderful and totally bewitching, with an ending that just zaps you totally. I read this book slowly firstly as I was/am still suffering from this head-cold, but also to savour Robinson's mastery of the English language. I had figured all the possible endings, and was not surprised at the close, but more amazed at how he pulled it off so deftly.

The real mystery is how I had not discovered Inspector Banks before !

Well done Mr Robinson...

I can not recommend this book highly enough, world-class and extremely moving with something to say about the human condition and relationships.

ALBERTO

Excellent Crime Fiction

Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire, and is the author of thirteen previous novels featuring Inspector Banks. He is the winner of numerous awards in the United States, Britain and Canada, and in 2002 he won the CWA Dagger in the Library. As I also come from Leeds the background to his stories is something that I have experienced first hand and because of this I have a special affection for his books. However they would be first class crime fiction wherever they were based.

Many of the reservoirs dotted around Yorkshire and other parts of the country have strange things lurking beneath their surfaces. Woodland, old farm buildings and in the case of Thornfield reservoir a whole village was sacrificed in the name of progress and the populations `thirst' for water.

When a blistering summer causes a draught that sees the small village of Hobb's End resurface after more than forty years underwater, it becomes a magical place for one curious young boy, that is until he finds more than he bargained for, a human skeleton. Detective Chief Inspector Banks is given the difficult if not impossible task of identifying the victim . . .

In A Simmering Summ er
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is the kind of man it is easy to like. He is a wounded man, straight from a divorce that he did not want, strained relationship with his two children, and not looked at kindly by his superiors. How can he go wrong? Not much further for him to go down. Here he is on a day off, just finished painting his living room when he receives a call from Chief Constable Jeremy Riddle. Riddle had put Banks career in Siberia. But, now it seems, he has a job for him to do. A skeleton has been found in a small town and Riddle wants Banks there, now.

Years ago a village, Hobb's End, lay under the present Thornfield Reservoir. The reservoir had gone dry in this summer season and bones had been found. Thus starts a mystery that will take all of Banks skill and persistence. This story is presented in a seamless weaving of the past and present. Characters that lived in that small town come alive. And, the present is quite a story in itself. Banks meets Detective Sergeant Annie Cabbot who is part of the investigative team. They are attracted and the inevitable happens. Both of them have histories that cause them to be wary, but there is a strong bond and besides lovers they become friends.

The mystery deepens as the characters come forth from the past. Gloria, the beautiful blond bombshell, either loved or hated by most in town and married to Michael who has the best chance of making something of himself. Gwen, Michael's sister and Michael Stanhope the artist and painter. Young American servicemen who come and go. The skeleton turns out to be the remains of Gloria. She was murdered and now the hunt for the murderer goes on. Banks and Cabbot use all of their cunning to move from clue to clue and to provide the suspense and mystery in this novel. This is a multi-layered mystery that explores all human behavior and the human psyche.

Peter Robinson has written a superb mystery. It encompasses detail in the characters, present and past. DCI Banks must find a killer who has escaped detection for fifty years.
Can he reach this daunting challenge? One of the better written mystery novelists that leave us guessing until the last minute. Now onto the rest of the series. Highly recommended. prisrob