In
The Dark Places
by Peter Robinson is a police procedural featuring British
Inspector Alan Banks. An interesting side note is that in
the UK and Canada the title is Abattoir Blues, based upon
the song with the same name by the Australian alternative
rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Because of the author’s
love of music he always has some kind of reference to bands,
songs, or lyrics.
The books open with an investigation of a stolen tractor,
possibly insurance fraud. Yet, the investigation takes a dark
turn when two of the suspected thieves go missing and blood
is found in an abandoned hanger. After a truck careens off
an icy road two bodies are found, one the driver and the other
a missing person, chopped and bagged among the parcels of
a meatpacking plant. The murder weapon of choice is a bolt
gun as in “nuts and bolts.”
Robinson commented, “I remember telling my publisher
I am starting the book with a stolen tractor. They did not
find the idea very exciting at all. But of course it moves
on to a story involving criminals and organized crime. Most
of the true rural crime involves equipment, but I took it
a little farther and had profit and smuggling involved. I
also wanted to include some different facets of our culture
so I discuss in detail the different types of bolt guns and
‘potholding.’ This is popular and dangerous because
people go down these holes that are entries into underground
cave systems that run under landscapes.”
As with most of his books a certain detective is highlighted
and readers find out about the backstory. This novel can definitely
be considered DS Winsome Jackman’s book. How she sees
and experiences events are emphasized. She is athletic, English
proper, very moralistic, tough, smart, and funny. Winsome
is shy, awkward, and tentative in establishing personal relationships
until she meets an English war veteran, Terry Gilchrist, who
fought in Afghanistan, receiving the Military Cross and an
honorable discharge after being severely wounded.
Robinson
gave a heads up regarding his next books. No Cure For
Love is a book published only in Canada in 1995, and
was just recently released in the UK. It will be released
in the US early next year. Set in Los Angeles, it has a forward
by Michael Connelly since it is a crime novel based on the
Threat Management Unit of the LAPD. This story has two detectives
(neither Alan Banks) investigating threatening letters and
phone calls of an English actress who plays an LA detective.
The author noted he decided not to update it and is not against
the idea of possibly writing this as a series. The other book
published next summer will have as the main characters Detectives
Banks and Gerry Masterson. The plot of When The Music’s
Over involves the investigation of the rich and powerful
that exploit the young.
In
The Dark Places is an entertaining story about relationships,
how there are consequences for someone’s actions, and
how quickly a person can find they are underwater based upon
their bad decisions.
Reviews of other titles in this series
Cold
is the Grave,
11
Aftermath,
12
Close
to Home,
13
Playing
Fire,
14
Strange Affair, 15 [audio]
[book]
Piece
of My Heart,
16
Friend
of the Devil,
17
All the Colors of Darkness, 18
In The Dark Places, 22 [review
1] [review
2]
When The Music's Over, 23 [review
1] [review
2]
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